Canon's profits plunge 84.5%

Canon's profits plunge 84.5%

Japan's Canon Inc said on Tuesday its net profit tumbled 84.5% in the first half of 2009 from a year earlier, hit by sluggish sales of compact digital cameras and other electronics.

[-]I'm missing the link here with Canon? [/-] Article there now.

Canon's the missing link

RPM got the wrong headline in this thread too

rpm said:

The countdown is on in merger talks between India's top mobile firm Bharti Airtel and South Africa's flagship MTN cellular company to create an emerging market powerhouse.

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Canon has a problem with some of their topend stuff, particularly the 1Dmk3 camera. I know of quite a few pros who have switched to Nikon equipment because of problems with the 1Dmk3

BigAl-sa said:

Canon has a problem with some of their topend stuff, particularly the 1Dmk3 camera. I know of quite a few pros who have switched to Nikon equipment because of problems with the 1Dmk3

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I'll gladly suffer a 1Dmk3.

BigAl-sa said:

RPM got the wrong headline in this thread too



Canon has a problem with some of their topend stuff, particularly the 1Dmk3 camera. I know of quite a few pros who have switched to Nikon equipment because of problems with the 1Dmk3

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Nikon has problems too. All Japanese manufacturers have problems because of the expensive Yen and recession which is making non-Japanese consumers more conservative in how much they spend.

BigAl-sa said:

RPM got the wrong headline in this thread too



Canon has a problem with some of their topend stuff, particularly the 1Dmk3 camera. I know of quite a few pros who have switched to Nikon equipment because of problems with the 1Dmk3

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Well that just seems to be dumb. The camera is actually the cheap part. I just don't see anyone with an investment in glass changing between the systems.

Albereth said:

Well that just seems to be dumb. The camera is actually the cheap part. I just don't see anyone with an investment in glass changing between the systems.

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It's easer to switch than you think. The whole "glass investment" thing is a myth; if you have a couple of cheap consumer lenses, you're not going to lose much by switching. If you have decent glass, it's going to keep its value pretty decently. There's a lot of momentum back towards Nikon in the last year or two - since the D3 came out really.

Back on topic, I don't think that Canon is going to be the only camera company posting bad performance As mentioned, strong Yen, poor demand, and the commoditization of digital cameras are conspiring against them.

I'm not surprised.
It's much cheaper to buy a new printer than replace the Ink on my Canon Pixma iP4200.

Wise up Canon.
Consumers have and are voting with their wallets.

Albereth said:

Well that just seems to be dumb. The camera is actually the cheap part. I just don't see anyone with an investment in glass changing between the systems.

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For one, the owner of the Outdoorphoto shop changed from Canon to Nikon very recently - and we're talking about very big glass there.

For the record, Canon were also very conspicuous by their absence at a photography expo held up here recently.

BigAl-sa said:

For one, the owner of the Outdoorphoto shop changed from Canon to Nikon very recently - and we're talking about very big glass there.

For the record, Canon were also very conspicuous by their absence at a photography expo held up here recently.

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I'm sure as the owner of the shop he is almost certain to get top dollar for his glass and a reduced price for replacement lenses. Looking at the 2nd hand prices for my mediocre glass I'm going to take a bath if I switch (in the unlikely event that I would even consider doing so).

BiscuitMonster said:

It's easer to switch than you think. The whole "glass investment" thing is a myth; if you have a couple of cheap consumer lenses, you're not going to lose much by switching. If you have decent glass, it's going to keep its value pretty decently. There's a lot of momentum back towards Nikon in the last year or two - since the D3 came out really.

Back on topic, I don't think that Canon is going to be the only camera company posting bad performance As mentioned, strong Yen, poor demand, and the commoditization of digital cameras are conspiring against them.

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If you have a couple of cheap consumer lenses then I'd suggest that you are not a pro.

BigAl-sa said:

Canon has a problem with some of their topend stuff, particularly the 1Dmk3 camera. I know of quite a few pros who have switched to Nikon equipment because of problems with the 1Dmk3

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Their high end cameras and lens account only for a small fraction of profit. I use a 1DIII and its a damn fine camera. Albeit, why they released the 5DII soon after with some new modern features better than the 1DIII, was bad for marketing and for resentful 1DIII owners.

BigAl-sa said:

For one, the owner of the Outdoorphoto shop changed from Canon to Nikon very recently - and we're talking about very big glass there.

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He, obviously in a fortunate position to do so. For most, it would be professional/financial suicide. Canon & Nikon have been neck & neck for decades. As a Canon user I occasionally envy new Nikon features. Much like Nikon users with Canon.

At the end of the day, or decade, it's not worth nitpicking or re-mortgaging.

BigAl-sa said:

For one, the owner of the Outdoorphoto shop changed from Canon to Nikon very recently - and we're talking about very big glass there.

For the record, Canon were also very conspicuous by their absence at a photography expo held up here recently.

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I think that Canon photographic in South Africa is a joke. The stuff that is sold here is imported from Europe - I mean just how dumb is that? All it does is price their stuff out of the market. And the guys who are going to buy are going to import from overseas.

I did the numbers when the 1D first came out and it was cheaper to fly first class to New York and buy the camera there than get one here.

Another word on professionals - the 1DMk3 or whatever isn't necessarily the camera of choice of all professionals. A professional is defined as anyone who makes a living from photography. Canon have different bodies depending on the need - high resolution is more important for people doing studio work whereas a large buffer may be important for sports photographers. Maybe the IIIs is best of both worlds but it is a huge camera and that needs to be considered.

But I guess the most loyal users are the serious amateurs. They can't afford to have their companies buy them camera systems every year.

And then a last word on some other pros. Sometimes people are commissioned for a specific shoot. Let's take timeslice as an example. If you need to set up 30 cameras for one shoot it really doesn't matter what camera you may have been using in the past - you now need either 29 or 30 more, with lenses. Suddenly the economics make the decision, or an esoteric technical point (try syncronising 30 cameras).

The D3 is a good camera - some even say the best DSLR (at the moment) but the price is just ridiculous. The top Canon is competing with other Canons - cheaper but able to deliver just as good images. Maybe the D3 is getting some attention because it has taken Nikon long enough to bring out a full frame camera.