When photographer Bill
Fitzpatrick went shopping for a new Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR II lens recently,
he figured he'd have little trouble finding one. The lens had been on the
market for nearly two years and he assumed one of the big online photo
retailers would have it, maybe even for a competitive price. Not so.
"I went to B&H
Photo but it was out of stock. I looked around some other places and damned if
it wasn't the same thing everywhere," Fitzpatrick said. "I was really
surprised."
As any photographer who's
recently tried to find new camera gear knows, Fitzpatrick's case is not unique.
In the wake of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that killed over 10,000
people in Japan in March and wreaked havoc in the country’s industrial north,
camera stores and online retailers worldwide are facing severe gear shortages
with products chronically out of stock due to disruptions in the production and
supply flow.
For further evidence,
check out web sites such as NowInStock.net, which tracks the availability
of popular products. Click the links for the Canon 5D Mark II or Nikon D700,
two cameras that have been around since 2008, and you'll likely see them out of
stock at many of the country's major retailers including B&H, Adorama,
Calumet and even Amazon.
There has also been a
dearth of camera introductions in recent months. While this is due, in part, to
the ebb and flow of product cycles – spring is typically a lean time for gear
releases – retailers we spoke with told PDN that manufacturers had informed
them some camera announcements had been delayed because of the ongoing crisis
in Japan.
In fact, Nikon's
headquarters in Japan said at least one of its Coolpix
point-and-shoot models, the S4100, would not be introduced as planned in
certain parts of the world because of the quake. (The company later said the S4100 and another Coolpix
model, the 6100, will continue to ship in the U.S. and the rest of "the
Americas.")
Crippling Costs
While not being able to
buy a particular camera or lens might sound like a minor nuisance compared to
the massive loss of life and destruction of property in Japan from the
earthquake/tsunami, the problems facing the camera industry affects both
Japan’s economic recovery and millions of jobs worldwide.
How badly camera and lens
factories in Sendai and northern Japan – the region most affected by the
disaster – have been impacted is hard to gauge. Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Pentax
and others have not exactly been forthcoming with how much damage they've
suffered both in the short and long term. (For a good breakdown on how the
earthquake and tsunami affected the Japan Photo Industry immediately after the
disaster, check out this article by Mason Resnick of the Adorama
Learning Center.)
Though some have predicted consumer electronics giant
Sony might gain ground on Canon and Nikon because the factory that produces its
digital SLRs wasn't as hard hit as its rivals, Sony's overall situation is much
more dire. Because of damage to its factories in northern Japan, Sony warned on Monday it might be reporting a $3.2
billion loss in the just-ended fiscal year.
Rationing Power
According to manufacturers
and photo industry experts we spoke with, the biggest problem in getting camera
gear production back to pre-quake levels have been the rolling blackouts that
have turned Japan's electrical grid into a game of checkers.
"When you have people
who need to ramp up production, you can't just turn on an (imaging) chip fabricator
and then turn it off again," said Gary Pageau of PMA, a photo industry
trade group. "It just doesn't work that way."
When we contacted Canon
USA for a comment for this story, the company said while its plants are back on
line, the power rationing in Japan was slowing production.
"As of the end of
April, all Canon factories in northern Japan are again fully operational,
however, production at some factories have not returned to pre-quake levels due
to the availability of necessary parts from our suppliers as well as restricted
use of electricity," the company told PDN in a statement.
As alluded to in that account from Canon, problems with supplies for specific camera parts have
also stymied manufacturing. That same is true for Nikon, which, like Canon,
depends on parts for its cameras from subcontractors, some of which sustained
serious damage during the earthquake and tsunami.
"That shows the
fragility of 'just-in-time' inventory," Pageau said. "If you have a
guy who makes a certain component, such as a lens barrel, and that's the only
place you can get that part and they go under, your product goes under."
In an interview with Reuters published last week,
Canon Inc CEO Fujio Mitari said the company expected production to return to
normal by the end of June.
"As those involved in
parts production have been giving it their best, we expect supplies to arrive
sooner than we had predicted," Mitarai told Reuters.
Nikon also struck an
optimistic tone when contacted by PDN.
"Nikon is actively
working to maximize production during this challenging time," Nikon said
in a statement. "As previously announced, availability of the Nikon
COOLPIX S4100 and S6100 in the Americas will not be impacted and sales of these
products will only be discontinued in some markets. Nikon Inc currently plans
to release new products as scheduled."
Handling Shortages
Things were not looking as
rosy at camera stores across the Untied States though. Nick Gilson, a
sales/social media coordinator at the Utah-based pictureline
camera store, said supply numbers have dropped significantly since the quake,
and more so in recent weeks.
"We used to get well
over 100 of the Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 lens a month from Nikon and last month we got
just ten," Gilson said. "It's between ten and twenty percent of
normal on certain products."
He added that supply of
Canon products has also dropped off significantly. "I haven't seen a Canon
7D in more than a month. The 5D Mark IIs are really hard to get too and that
camera has been out for a really long time."
Despite the supply
problems, pictureline has made it a policy not to raise prices on gear since
neither Nikon nor Canon has increased their prices. This no-gouging approach
has helped business, Gilson said. "We're actually kind of up," he
noted. "I think the reason is people recognize how quickly they have to
act on cameras when they come in. It has increased the urgency so we end up
selling everything that comes in instead of having them sitting on the
shelves."
Fitzpatrick, a contract
photographer for the U.S.
Institute of Peace, ended up finding his lens at Pro Photo,
a local retailer in Washington DC.
"I could've survived
without it but the last thing I want to do is go out and shoot something and
have my equipment fail me," he said.
Rick Neibel, a
photographer who works for an advertising agency in the Midwest, said he found
a Nikon D3s at Calumet just after the quake but hasn't seen one available
since.
"Our needing a camera
is insignificant compared to what those people (in Japan) were going
through," Neibel said. "But it did show that if you wanted a camera,
you had to get it at the right time. At the same time, you're nervous for Nikon
because they, obviously, have a time table for new competitive products and you
hope they can get rolling again."
Increased Demand,
Diminished Supply
Other retailers contacted
by PDN expressed remorse at the
situation and said they were trying to accommodate customers despite the
shortages.
"Our hearts go out to
the families of this disaster," said Ahron Schachter, director of
Strategic Planning at Adorama. "Product shortages have affected every aspect
of commerce."
Joel Meisels, a social
media marketing liaison for Adorama, said the situation has gotten worse
recently as customers start to understand the longer-term impact of the
earthquake.
"We've got hundreds
of back orders, hundreds, it's crazy," he said. "Demand is going
crazy but there's no supply. But this is Mother Nature. It's out of your
control."
When contacted by PDN, someone with direct knowledge of the situation at B&H Photo
gave us the following statement:
"We are looking
forward to steady improvements in a difficult situation. We have experienced
some shortages and delayed deliveries of a variety of products but during the
past week or two have seen the situation improve. We understand customer
frustration and recognize this issue has an impact on our relationship with our
customers just as it has on our suppliers' relationship with us."
Pageau said PMA decided to
move its annual photo trade show in Las Vegas from September 2011 to next year,
in part, because of the ongoing crisis in Japan.