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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Omid" data-source="post: 3638596" data-attributes="member: 16724">Good piece of news. Thank you for sharing. In my view, there are similarities and differences between the "binocular market" and the "consumer imaging/camera" market. New technologies in the consumer electronic market can make an existing product obsolete so that the market for that product reduces to practically zero.  Examples are desktop computers making typewriters obsolete, digital cameras making film cameras obsolete and, now, smart phones making compact digital camera obsolete.   However, "new technologies" do not make certain products obsolete. Just might change their status from a mainstream product where everyone uses them all the time to a product that only some professional or hobbyists use them. Examples are "knife", "bow and arrow", "bolt-action rifle" and binoculars". All sort of "cutting machines" have been invented both for household use, and for other purposes but a knife is still not obsolete. All soldiers and hunters still carry a knife. The invention of a rifle did not make bow and arrow obsolete. It only changed its use. The invention of semi-automatic and automatic rifles did not make bolt-action rifles obsolete. Nearly all rifles used for hunting are bolt-action despite semi-automatics being available and legal for hunting in many countries. Similarly, I believe digital technology, will not replace binoculars not now and not anytime in the next 100 years. That said, it is also true that the binocular market is probably not expanding either. It is a highly-durable product that works for 40-50 years at least (good for the consumer, bad for the manufacturer),  there is no service fee attached to it (unlike mobile-phones) and it's not marketable to kids or teenagers.</blockquote>

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