Kamakura bins in the UK (1 Viewer)

I do not understand why it matters at which stage of the process that contaminants and dust enter the manufacturing process.

Some info on some Vortex products here, apparently made in China:

"BINOCULARS VORTEX DIAMONDBACK-BINOCULARS MO NOCULAR VORTEX 20-60X85 RAZOR HD SC STRAIGH T(ANGLED)SPOTTING SCOPE VORTEX DIAMONDBACK 2 0-60X60 STRAIGHT(ANGLED)SPOTTING SCOPE

Company Name : KUNMING SHUNHOOPTICS CO LTD
Address : M1-1-6 MIDDLE CHANGYUAN RD KUNMING NATIONAL HIGH TECH IND DE KUNMING 650106 CN KUNMING CN"

http://www.usportexaminer.com/company/vortex-optics/109241.php

And here some Vortex bins from Kamakura,japan:

http://www.usportexaminer.com/company/vortex-optics/45992.php

More here; celestron, carson, bushnell a lot of stuff seem to come from china.

http://www.usportexaminer.com/product/binocular.php

The-Wanderer said:

I do not understand why it matters at which stage of the process that contaminants and dust enter the manufacturing process.

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Hard to say what's done in the photos, might have been the R&D department, general quality control etc.
Perhaps visitors are not allowed in the clean rooms.
As long as the lenses are clean before they are assembled I would be happy.

But I agree that something like this looks a bit more sufficient.

Nikon DSLR camera assembly:

http://d1000.org/d610/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/09/Nikon-DSLR-Assembly-Thailand-Factory.jpg

Leica, Wetzlar:

http://untappedcities.wpengine.netd...Factory-Wetzlar-Germany-Factory-Floor-010.jpg

Gijs van Ginkel said:

How about the possibility of Kamakura plants in Japan and in China? Does anyone know?
Gijs van Ginkel

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Kamakura Koki seem to have a plant in China.

"The more well known Japanese manufacture are Light Optical Works, who supply Leupold and Weaver and kamakura Koki, who supply for Alpen, Vixen, Bushnell and Olympus. KKK also have a factory in China who supply [I believe] Zen Ray, Eagle optics and lower end Leupold and Bushnell’s. There is another factory Hiyoshi Kogaku who supplies Swift."

http://www.cloudynights.com/topic/430222-orion-branded-japanese-bins/

David - just a small correction that the VHD is not a Kamakura model.

Although it is sometimes easy to see the origins of an OEM model in the branded Kamakura products, the finished article almost certainly will have cosmetic and optical differences.

A case in point would be the KK SP-83ED. That was the platform for the original Opticron ES 80 ED, a Kite or Bynolyt model the name(s) of which I forget and the Pentax PF-80ED scopes. In our case we are now on the third generation of improvements to the already modified version of the scope. For Kite and Technolyt, they are now on a tailored version of the EDV-81 (as are Zeiss with the Gavia).

Other "brands" such as GO Foto's own Magnipro line can have a lighter touch on the factory version with perhaps just a logo and one of the two or three factory-standard rubber coverings.

Another development in the life of a platform can be that the design gets licensed and/or copied, hence undergoing some improvements and/or cost reductions. That is the case with the JRB (John Riutta Binocular) platform which was the 'original' Leupold Yosemite and which is now in various guises eminating from more than one factory.

Being Japanese, the Kamakura family is very honourable and so there has always been "geographic loyalty" to their various OEM customers and/or distributors - freedom of trade in the EU and the internet have naturally softened those geographical boundaries and we find Kite in the UK, Opticron in the Netherlands and Sweden and so on.

Personally, I'm not surprised that predominantly 'birdy' brands haven't taken on the AKS platform (the Maven B2) - does any birder go into an optics store in the UK and ask for a big, heavy binocular? Even the EDL4/ED Pro/Bonelli is IMO pushing things at 800g+!

HTH

Cheers, Pete

pete_gamby said:

Personally, I'm not surprised that predominantly 'birdy' brands haven't taken on the AKS platform (the Maven B2) - does any birder go into an optics store in the UK and ask for a big, heavy binocular? Even the EDL4/ED Pro/Bonelli is IMO pushing things at 800g+!

HTH

Cheers, Pete

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exactly !

typo said:

Interesting! I was talking to a Viking rep setting up a stand over at Minsmere and I commented that I thought it looked like the ED-S and FF were made in China and the ED Pro in Japan. He said they were all made in the same factory. I asked if me meant the same company and he insisted it was the same factory. He wouldn't say which factory though. Was he right or wrong?

David

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Just an update on this. I asked a former senior Viking employee what was made where and he confirmed the ED Pro was made in Japan and said the ED-S and FF were actually produced by two different Chinese companies. Sorry for any confusion.

David