Gear from China: Politics and economic implications aside, I'm wondering what people think of the current roster of products that are available from China. I recently bought a travel...

preachy Loc: Dover Plains, NY

Politics and economic implications aside, I'm wondering what people think of the current roster of products that are available from China. I recently bought a travel size carbon fiber tripod (w/ ballhead) for around $130. It is excellent in build and has a lot of features. The ballhead is meh, but the actual tripod rivals some of the units by name brands that sell for $400 or more. I also have a Yongnuo flash that works great and was less than half the price of the comparable Canon model.

Just askin' around!

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

preachy wrote:

Politics and economic implications aside, I'm wond... (show quote)

There are some excellent things made in China, and some not so good. There are some excellent things made in the USA and some that are not so good.

It is time to think globally and at the same time not to compromise standards. You can get cheap crap in the USA or elsewhere, and you can get top quality things in many other places in the world if you know how to go about it.

Billyspad Loc: The Philippines

preachy wrote:

Politics and economic implications aside, I'm wond... (show quote)

I live in a country that is a dumping ground for cheap Chinese garbage. This is simply because consumer protection is unheard of here so our Chinese friends know that very little will be returned to them. Quality control with many Chinese manufacturers is in its infancy. So all I would say is buyer beware you generally get what you pay for and buy from a reputable dealer where if you have issues with a product it will be sorted out correctly. Apple use Chinese manufactures but strictly control quality themselves.

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

preachy wrote:

Politics and economic implications aside, I'm wond... (show quote)

Most people don't realize that many products coming from countries like China are built according to the specs of an outside manufacturer or supplier. Most countries can build excellent products if that is what is specified by the company that they are building it for and if that company is willing to invest in necessary training and equipment. The company my wife works for has subcontracted some work to Chinese companies on occasion. Once they understand what you want and provided you actively monitor production quality the finished product will meet whatever specs they were provided with. Just like any place else. As an example, Ford builds its diesel pickup engines in Mexico and the quality is outstanding.

rook2c4 Loc: Philadelphia, PA USA

I agree with Peterff; products from China range anywhere from decent to poor.

China is the #1 country for manufacture and export of goods. Most things you have in your home are probably made in China.

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

rook2c4 wrote:

I agree with Peterff; products from China range anywhere from decent to poor.

China is the #1 country for manufacture and export of goods. Most things you have in your home are probably made in China.

#1 exporter title has gone back and forth between the US and China lately. It has only been in the last few years that China has caught up to us. The last time I checked the difference was only a few hundred million out of a total of around 2 trillion dollars in exports by each. So, instead of being the world's largest exporter we are now one of the two largest. Still not bad. The big difference is that our exports are spread out all over the globe while a large percentage of Chinese products come here, hence the trade imbalance.

ras422 Loc: Virginia

Some of their stuff is good especially the new forgeries! These are all over. Some of the watches are really hard to tell the difference. They are very good at reverse engineering. I will go out of my way to buy made in the USA. Too bad it is becoming harder to find those products. Rich

Woodham Lock Loc: Woodham UK

Price is one issue but we might need to think about both the status (or non status) of the people employed to make the cheap gear. Often working in very bad conditions and paid very little should we be a party to this exploitation? Whilst Europe has a minimum wage in place China has nothing and their civil rights are dubious to say the least. Not the only offender in the world but proably the biggest.

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

Woodham Lock wrote:

Price is one issue but we might need to think about both the status (or non status) of the people employed to make the cheap gear. Often working in very bad conditions and paid very little should we be a party to this exploitation? Whilst Europe has a minimum wage in place China has nothing and their civil rights are dubious to say the least. Not the only offender in the world but proably the biggest.

True, but a case can be made as to how well off these workers would be if they had no work, plus in many cases the only source for some products are countries with no worker protections. Workers in the US and Britain had to fight for good pay, benefits, and gov't reforms. Business and gov't certainly were in no hurry to provide them. Workers in many other countries seem to have little interest in fighting those battles, so as much as I would like to see them treated better, I am not going to base my spending on their problems. I'll spend more for a product from a country with good working conditions, but often times that's not possible.

rook2c4 Loc: Philadelphia, PA USA

ras422 wrote:

Some of their stuff is good especially the new forgeries! These are all over. Some of the watches are really hard to tell the difference. They are very good at reverse engineering. I will go out of my way to buy made in the USA. Too bad it is becoming harder to find those products. Rich

Usually those watch forgeries originate from the Philippines, not China. Forgeries can come from anywhere, you never really know. But I suppose it makes it easier for some consumers to simply imagine the forgeries are all coming out of China.

Good at reverse engineering? You don't need to be that good when the original product is manufactured right there in front of you.

mymike Loc: Tucson, AZ

I looked at the bottom of my Nikon P7800 and it says made in China! I wonder if the Nikon DSLRs ar also made in China?

photoman022 Loc: Manchester CT USA

I bought a "generic photo backpack" (that's what they called it) on e-bay, shipping included from China, for forty-something dollars. I was a bit skeptical but bought it anyway--the quality is unbelievably good! It hold two cameras (with zooms), my light meter, and a flash with space for two tripods. I've taken it on photo hikes and am very happy with it. US ebay sellers are now offering it a prices comparable to those of China. But, no matter where you buy it, it is still made in China.

I've had good experiences with buying from China ebay sellers, just as I've mostly good experiences with buying from US ebay sellers.

ras422 Loc: Virginia

rook2c4 wrote:

Usually those watch forgeries originate from the Philippines, not China. Forgeries can come from anywhere, you never really know. But I suppose it makes it easier for some consumers to simply imagine the forgeries are all coming out of China.

Good at reverse engineering? You don't need to be that good when the original product is manufactured right there in front of you.

How about stealth technology or military aircraft parts.as for the watches one of my patients who owns a pawn shop sent an 8000 dollar Carter watch to be evaluated by the factory and they said they could not tell the real one from this one except for their special hologram. I think it will eventually cost us but we have too many not willing to work. Rich

Bridges Loc: Memphis, Charleston SC, now Nazareth PA

I buy items from Cowboy Studios and most of that is from China. So far everything has worked well expect for one Nikon generic battery that would not take a charge. It cost 9.00 vs. 56.00 OEM.

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

ras422 wrote:

How about stealth technology or military aircraft parts.as for the watches one of my patients who owns a pawn shop sent an 8000 dollar Carter watch to be evaluated by the factory and they said they could not tell the real one from this one except for their special hologram. I think it will eventually cost us but we have too many not willing to work. Rich

Everybody reverse engineers the other guy's military hardware when they can get their hands on it. Nothing new there. We've done it for decades. The Soviets were masters of the art. The B-29/TU-4 project was a superb example. They even reverse engineered the Alco locomotives we had sold to Cuba before Castro took over. Identical right down to the casting marks on the cylinder heads and engine blocks. The Chinese haven't invented anything new in that regard. Besides, they don't need to reverse engineer consumer products when they are being paid to make them in the first place. We have plenty of people here willing to work, but we're not willing to work as cheaply or as unsafely, yet we still export just as much as the Chinese do, and there are considerably fewer of us. Don't be so quick to sell us short. We can hold our own against anybody.