Tariffs aren’t the only reason why China has been doing so well in the photography world as of late. You see, if you ask many more traditional photographers, the Chinese are simply copying what the Japanese have done. But if you go back even further, the Japanese copied Germany and America. In the end, they’re all the same because they’re simply just going after money. But Japanese manufacturers tend to make many products in China and then raise the prices. In China, however, similar quality products are made by China-based manufacturers and the prices are kept down. So why can’t Japan keep their prices down too?
There was a time where publications and reporters older than this one wouldn’t report on China-based companies. Nor would they do it with Korea either. But when I founded the Phoblographer, I didn’t have this predisposition. Instead, I actively chose to work with Laowa and several others. Today, there are lots of China-based photography brands.
Just to name a few:
- Laowa
- 7Artisans
- TTartisans
- Thypoch
- Viltrox
- Artralab
And that’s just the brands that mostly focus on lenses first. If we got even deeper into it, there’s Meike, DJI, and many others.
It’s time to admit it: Chinese made lenses and products are great. Many of the camera manufacturers make their own lenses and cameras in China. So why would we belittle what the Chinese brands are doing? In many cases, they’re making weather resistant products that can hold up to what Canon, Nikon, Sony, and others are doing.
I want to talk about my Sony camera system just as an example. I pretty much never use my Sony lenses anymore with the exception of my 55mm f1.8 Zeiss. Sony’s image quality to me is like drinking highly pasteurized milk. To that end, it doesn’t bring many people any joy. My zoom lenses are all from Tamron simply because the character these lenses deliver is really nice, where Sony has none. And all my new primes are those made by Viltrox, who lets us keep them after we’re done reviewing them. These lenses rival the G Master lenses while being more affordable. Still, they’re lenses I barely use because they’re way too large at times.
The point is this though: Japan is making products in China and often made with Chinese components. It’s time to give that country their due in the photography world. They’re making good lenses and oftentimes making products that can’t be found more affordably. Take a look at everything that German manufacturers like Leica and Zeiss make, for example. Those lenses can be done so much cheaper — and China is often the country to do it.
Germany, France, Vienna, and other European countries really made photography equipment sales worthwhile. Japan improved what Europe did. China made it cheaper.
So what’s next?
Well, there’s the point and shoot/digicam world. Cameras like those from Digifilm, which are very affordable and hot amongst younger shooters, are the next big thing for the photography world. And Japan is just taking way too long to embrace it.