pbjosh
missing the neotropics
It is nice to sit here as bino fans and dream of new binoculars, however Swarovski is running a business of what sells, do you think they don't know what sells?
Cameras and lens manufacture is different from the binocular industry, it represents a much greater division in both Canon and Nikon, the Manufacture of Binoculars to both of those companies is peanuts compared to that division.
The only glass that is coming out now in droves are the low/mid range with every brand trying to get into the disposable binocular marketplace, and in a couple of years others will join Zen Ray,... Alpen was the last. Nikon appears to rule this section of market. Disposable products.
Swarovski sells high end products, I think they know a think or two about selling binoculars among other things.
The auto industry is a whole other animal all together. Most people need or have a car, owners of binoculars are few compared to that.
Andy W.
Andy - Swaro clearly does fine business relative to the other Alphas, but the fact that DSLR, automobile, and other markets are larger or different doesn't have anything to do with the fact that complacency is not good business sense. Of course the cost vs return on investment in new products has to be evaluated, new product launches are not free.
Personally I don't think that Swaro is about to fold because of the SF. But if they leave the EL as is for another 5-10 years while other bins continue to improve, I would be surprised if they didn't lose market share.