Inside Sony’s Camera Factory with my friend David Schloss.
Sony is very secretive about their factories and manufacturing facilities, but a few years ago they let me take a look inside the Thailand factory where their cameras are made. In the wake of DPReview closing last week I was looking through archive footage of my trips with the team, and I found the video I made as the then-Editor-in-Chief of Digital Photo Pro magazine. In this video I’ll show you inside the factory and can see exactly how hand-made your cameras are.
That’s good stuff and I remember too when David toured the factory. You’ll probably be surprised to learn that such high-tech equipment is mostly hand made and by women who are more dexterous than men—I learned the same thing is true with bicycles. When using a pro-level camera, you don’t think of the handcrafted manufacturing aspect of the gear, but it is.
The purpose of the trip was to reassure the assembled press that Sony’s manufacturing is back up to full speed after a devasting earthquake. David said so in the article
The trip comes at a time when Sony is eager to remind people that they’re heavily-invested in the photographic space. The company is also eager to show that the disastrous earthquake last year that pummeled the company’s sensor-fabrication plant in Japan and threw manufacturing into chaos is no longer constraining the company’s inventory. With row after row of Sony a7R II boxes stacked at the end of the factory line, the point that production is doing well, thank you very much, was clear.
Read the rest of the story at DPP and watch the edit. Of particular interest, is how Sony is listening to the demands of media and consumers. Also, interesting because tomorrow, Sony is launching another new camera for vloggers. As soon as I hear, I’ll share the news. In a teaser, Sony promises you’ll Vlog to Your Full Potential.
My daily shooter is Sony A1 with a vertical grip and various Sony lenses attached like the FE 20mm F1.8. Find more gear recommendations in our shop. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.