dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

Curious about what? The OP might just as well ask, "has anyone bought a camera with a primarily black body" Or "Has any one been outdoors in a place where the air has oxygen?"

BebuLamar

Not the same type of question. It's more like has anyone bought a camera recently that is not black or "has you been where the air has no oxygen. Buying a camera in recent time the chances of it made in Japan isn't common.

David C.

Yes, Many Japanese brands and some that were the collaborations of German and Japanese manufactures.
My collection includes: Topcon, Leotax's, Canon's, Yashica Electro 35 and my favorite the Leica IIIc, all range finders. The SLR's include: Topcon B & C, R, RE, D and DM, Pentax K1000, Minolta XE7, Nikon FG, F and Nikkormat FTN but my favorites include the Topcon RE, Exakta 500, and Leica R3. Much of my camera use was in the military and what was issued which led me to try brands in my effort to find the best in my opinion. The in hand feel, weight and function location were factors, I often shared my comments with Military departments, friends and photography enthusiast and sometimes with club members and collectors. I have used and owned many other Japanese brands but do not have them in my present collection. David C.

nadelewitz Loc: Ithaca NY

I have been in the Quality Improvement field for years, working for a number of manufacturers who use China (and Mexico, the Phillipines, etc.) for production. I've been to Chinese and Mexican plants.
China is notorious for poor quality, conforming to specifications, doing end-runs around requirements, etc. because it's cheaper for them.
Quality of goods made anywhere is entirely dependent on the company whose name is on the product.
I have personally observed:
1. Companies who don't care about quality as long as it's cheap to make.
2. Companies who lie about conformance to standards.
3. Companies who are willing to accept very high rejection rates on Chinese-made product, since the labor costs saved outweigh cost of rejected materials.
4. Companies who closely monitor their Chinese vendors to ensure what is being made meets required standards.
5. Companies that set up their own plants in China, fully under their control of manufacturing and inspection processes, just as they would if made in USA.

Unfortunately, it can be hard to know if you are buying from a 1,2,3, or a 4-5.

Shutterbugsailer Loc: Staten Island NY (AKA Cincinnati by the Sea)

Which may be one reason why Volkswagens have been rather unreliable. Complicated German design, combined with spotty Mexican quality control is the perfect storm for defects

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

One of my favorite cartoons showed a picture of a man standing outside a window. There was a hose going into the window. The caption read "Carpet Cleaning by the lowest bidder" Of course the real question was "Who wrote the specs?"

nadelewitz Loc: Ithaca NY

?????
In the USA workers show up stoned. And drunk. What's that have to do with this topic?

nadelewitz Loc: Ithaca NY

It's not just "who wrote the specs", but "who is ensuring that the specs are being adhered to".

leftj Loc: Texas

Can't argue with that.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

True.

BebuLamar

There are 2 ways to adhere to the specs.
First is to make products that almost all of them are within specs.
Second is to make a lot of products but throw away a lot of them that do not meet the specs.

The first case is more desirable I mean in the customer point of view.

spaghetti boy Loc: EVERETT , WASHINGTON

Now even my shaver made in Holland is now made in China and is junk!

BebuLamar

Sony mostly made in Indonesia.
Panasonic are made in China now. May be only a few high end made in Japan.
Pentax are made in the Philipines.
Olympus are made in Vietnam.
Fuji used to make the cameras in Japan but the XT-3 is made in China.

spaghetti boy Loc: EVERETT , WASHINGTON

I never went to work stoned so were to you get that crap!

leftj Loc: Texas

Doesn’t erase the fact that many do. Don’t be so thin skinned.