JonathanChemE

I have heard about the chip shortage causing backlogs in certain products like cars. Every lens and camera that I have been looking at lately is backordered. Has anyone heard if the chip shortage is affecting photographic products?

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Yes, the chip shortage is impacting digital cameras too.

Although the cross-industry shortage is an issue of capacity vs demand, there was a fire in late 2019 that was specific to cameras: https://photorumors.com/2020/12/05/potential-component-shortage-for-canon-nikon-and-sony-after-a-devastating-three-day-fire-at-japanese-high-end-ic-components-factory/

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

The other photo-related impact is on high-end graphics cards. I was at Micro Center earlier this week to purchase an unrelated memory upgrade. They are enforcing a once-every-30 days limit on the purchase of any graphics cards, and to have a chance at a high-end card, you have to be in line the mornings that trucks arrive. There is no waiting list and no official notifications of stock arrival. The day's available stock by the time I was in the store at about 11:00 (they open at 10:00).

ejones0310 Loc: Tulsa, OK

My question is why are we experiencing a computer ship shortage? I suspect it is a man made shortage. In other words, somewhere in the supply chain, someone has decided to create a shortage to drive prices up. I know who my main suspect is, I’m curious if anyone has seen any hard data on why there is a shortage.

47greyfox Loc: on the edge of the Colorado front range

Google is your friend...

https://www.mau.com/workforce-insights/the-2021-semiconductor-chip-shortage-what-why-and-whats-next

pendennis

This isn't a shortage based on "greed" for lack of a better word. It's the result of what can best be described as a "Perfect Storm" (read classic supply vs. demand economics).

Response to the COVID pandemic was for manufacturers to stop (either voluntarily or by government fiat) producing. At the same time, there was the resulting shortage from the catastrophic fire in a Japanese manufacturing facility. Chip makers don't operate with any real amount of float. Production is based on actual orders. With no definite sales, chip makers shut down. There was absolutely no way to predict when COVID protocols would be put aside. Since most chip makers are based in the Pacific rim, their countries of origin placed far more stringent health regulations in those countries.

Automakers, like others, stopped producing until COVID sanitizing protocols were put in place. That also pushed demand outward, toward a time when those protocols would ease. Since the pandemic had no defined start or end date, it was impossible to foresee just when things would get back to "normal".

Realize also, that camera makers only comprise a very small portion of total chip sales. Computer makers, television makers, automakers worldwide, cell phone makers, etc., all make up the majority of chip sales and usage.

47greyfox Loc: on the edge of the Colorado front range

Point taken, but I recommend you get savvy on simple laws of supply and demand, inventory and production control, and costs associated with each.

JBRIII

Another reason is I have heard is that the industry jumped a decade ahead of where the use of Zoom, working at home, school use of such things, etc. was estimated to going to be. No one, or very view people, see such rapid changes coming. Even astro stuff flew off the shelves as people wanted something to do at home.

The big question is now what? For example, how many people who moved to burbs or rural areas will move back when they return to say part time in the office from zero and find out what traffic can be like? Maybe in a year or two, lots of stuff at yard sales no longer used?

I ordered a dovetail mount in early Dec. for a telescope, told it has shipped, but still not here, 6 months!

Finally I'll be extremely surprised if in the next five years the chip industry does not crash due to everyone increasing capacity for both demand and national security reasons, or else prices will be higher due to tariffs to protect national efforts.

Nantahalan Loc: Savannah originally; western NC now

And that wasn’t actually necessary for Americans born beginning January 1, 1990 when externally programmable and self-replicating microbots were injected at birth.

lensandcamera

My worry is that the chip shortage will result in firms using all available chips for camera and lens production, with nothing held back for 'spare' circuit boards, panels, flexible chip ribbons, etc. This will come back and kick us in the teeth in X months or years when our $5000 camera or $1000+ lens can't be 'fixed' when the firm decides not to reorder 10,000 or so minimum parts order which would cost them $50,000 for a five cent chip on a ribbbon connector that failed... If the chip is even still available, if it was a special one off design by another defunct company. Anyone have old film cameras with dead LCDs, rotary switches, etc?

47greyfox Loc: on the edge of the Colorado front range

I think your concern is a valid one and may be why less factory repair is done at the component level. More and more are electing to go "assembly," instead. Perfect example, I have a Canon 5d4 where the main dial on top operated intermittently. Talking to Canon, they would've charged me $475 including tax to replace the entire top assembly. Instead, I contacted discountcamerarepair.com in Colorado Springs who was very familiar with the issue. He was able to the individual dial component and my final charge wasn't much more than $150.

pendennis

COVID was but one factor in the overall shortage of chips.

I worked for one of the Big Three automakers for nearly 40 years. And in that time, we employed some of the best financial, marketing, and economic folks in the world. They could forecast to a fair amount of certainty, what market, financial, and economic conditions would be maybe the next two quarters. After that, anyone who says they can forecast a year out, is smokin' dope. No one can forecast a hurricane, snow storm, etc., and those are certainly elements in markets, much less the behavior of financial markets.

What you're suggesting is "market timing", and any honest analyst will tell you that it doesn't work over the long run. There are too many elements involved, from raw materials, to labor costs, to do that consistently.

Companies, by and large, are wed to the expectations of their shareholders. Therefore managements have an obligation to be accurate in their corporate goals and objectives.

Old Coot

Fuji lense also impacted