Why are cameras, especially SLR, dominated by Japanese? Cheap and good quality, not to mention domestic, can't Americans and Germans make cameras?

Japanese SLR cameras dominate this problem for a long time.

After World War II, the Japanese government advocated vigorously developing industries that consume less resources according to its own characteristics of less resources. The camera industry just meets the requirements of this industry.

In the early 1950s, many Japanese companies also began to imitate the German camera industry. Today, Nikon is a company that produced optical products for the military in World War II, such as military telescopes and periscopes. It has a certain basis for the production of cameras. From the late 1960s to the early 1970s, there was not much difference between the camera and Germany in mechanical performance, but there was still a certain gap in optics.

The late 1960s witnessed the great development of film SLR cameras. In the field of SLR, Japan and Germany started almost at the same time, with little difference in technology. After entering the 1970s, SLR appeared the direction of electronic development. Several Japanese companies were the first to realize that this technology can be applied to the SLR field. They give full play to the Japanese one-track mind and the spirit of specializing in research, and quickly apply electronic technology to production and market. From electronic photometry to autofocus, it quickly swept the world. At that time, Germany and other enterprises were still engaged in traditional manual processing and manufacturing. Due to the high labor cost in Europe, the cameras produced are of high quality and high price. Japan has entered the mass production mode. Since 1980s, computer technology has been rapidly applied to the design of cameras and lenses. In a word, Japan's camera industry has advanced technology, large output and low cost. In contrast, it is obvious who has the advantage.

Different from other consumer electronic products, SLR digital cameras are relatively complicated because they need the combination of optics, electronics and machinery, and are more accurate. Therefore, the reserve requirements for future technologies are higher.

At present, Japan occupies a dominant position in the market, because their technical reserves in film and television equipment far exceed those of other countries for two or three generations. In other words, as long as the products you have worked so hard to design have a tendency to push to the market, the Japanese will launch the next generation of products. Sony's camera technology reserves far exceed the application and requirements of the existing market. Therefore, no country will challenge Japan in the technology and production of film and television equipment in the short term.

After Germany's cameras and other equipment could not compete with Japan in the market, they changed to luxury goods. Germans are slow-paced, advocating handcraft, and doing one thing is another. The impression they give is a symbol of their status and their way of life. For the same reason, Swiss watches were defeated by Japanese mass-produced electronic watches, and only luxury watches could be produced.

It seems inevitable that the digital camera market, especially digital SLR, will be dominated by Japan.