Camera shortage

What did you just say? .... Camera shortage, no way! Well due to the unfortunate disaster in Japan, camera manufacturers such as Canon and Nikon have been affected. Camera bodies, lenses, and even certain repair parts are experiencing a delay in production.



Popular camera and video rental company, LensRentals, is also going through the pain of delays and shortages caused by this global supply chain. Lenrentals founder, Roger Cicala, wrote in a post entitled "Summer Shortages" how camera product consumers could and would be affected. As a result of the repair delays, Lensrentals have even picked up some laser collimators. You can read more about laser collimators in a post by Floyd Blue here.



James Kwantes, a writer for the Vancouver Sun, interviewed London Drug's President and CEO, Wynne Powell, in an article titled, "Supply Crunch coming for cameras, electronics from Japan."



Kwantes wrote, "Nikon, which is warning of camera shortages this summer, is another case in point, Powell said. The company had a lens factory near the epicentre of the quake. The firm was able to repair the crack in the floor and get the plant operating again, but had to shut down after running out of a small part that was supplied by a local family business.



'Equipment that’s made today is really world-based equipment, and a variety of small, cottage manufacturers make important components for it,' he said."



For some the solution will be to wait it out. For others it may be to scour the Internet for equipment still stocked in some vendors' shelves. I was recently looking for a Canon 5D Mark II, that up until before the earthquake was being sold on the Canon Direct Store. I thought it was a great buy for a refurbished unit at $2099. The price the Canon 5D Mark II seemed to be as high or even higher than when it was first released in the Fall of 2008. Before the earthquake it was common to see the camera body sell for $2499. Now it is $2699.



REFERENCES:

Kwantes, James. "Supply crunch coming for cameras, electronics from Japan." Retrieved from the Internet on May 12, 2011.