Why can only Japan make more affordable photographic equipment?

It is impossible to make a breakthrough in precision optical system without decades of accumulation. This is not a problem to overcome several technical difficulties. The key is that there are no shortcuts to basic industries. Why do you always say that you have a poor foundation? It is because the longer an industry develops, the more things it accumulates, and the less problems it encounters in the application and integration stage. The Japanese brand is right when you say cheap photographic equipment, but it doesn't mean that it is the only one that can do it. Germany's photographic products are superior to Japan in both technical strength and product quality, but the product positioning is different. The cameras produced by Hasselblad and Leica are mainly used to shoot large-scale commercial themes, and the requirements are naturally high. If they want to produce some low-end products, they need to adjust their strategies and change their production lines.

In fact, this technology does not belong to the category of cutting-edge technology. If it is to be incorporated into the national strategy, it is also possible. However, first of all, research and development needs a process, and it takes time to form products that can be put on the market. A new brand has to compete with a mature old brand that has occupied the market for a long time. Unless you have outstanding advantages in price and technology, it will be a long process.

Let me give you an example of vertical development and horizontal development. Automobile transmission shaft, a country with a deep industrial foundation, has examples to follow, whether it is material, structure or integration with the body. For example, the material and the transmission shaft should be subjected to strong torsion test, and their hardness and toughness should be properly matched. It happens that this material has a similar application in aero-engine blades, so the materials will cross. But if it is a country that has just started, it will encounter this kind of material. The overall manufacturing technology of transmission shaft is vertical development, while the application of materials is horizontal development, and the horizontal crossing of industries is insufficient, so the vertical development will be difficult.