Who really makes GE cameras?

0xDEADBEEF · Mar 7, 2009

Parisis said:
For years people went on once in
a lifetime vacations with cardboard boxed disposable cameras and came
home and made a great album of memories.

I never quite understood that.

Parisis said:
Keep remembering We at Dpreview are the fringe.

Yes we are.

Actually I am sure these GE cameras are quite competent and in hands of person who knows what they are doing they can take very nice pictures.
They just do not appeal to me.
--
-Dominik

John W Peterson · Mar 7, 2009

though I fear that the current "international economic crisis" will be a little bit deeper then the recessions that were seen when microsoft and Burker king rolled onto the scene.

Time will tell. Let's hope for the best (and plan for the less optimistic alternative).

Rumpis · Mar 7, 2009

Years ago (and maybe even now) Sanyo was the biggest maker of compact cameras for variety of brands.

allgoo19 said:
I'm sure it's not GE, it's out sourced.
So, is it one of those struggling Japanese companies, or no name
Chinese company that has been making cameras for other Japanese
makers?
My guess would be the latter.

--
Rumpis

)
http://foto.pudele.com/ - Low intensity blog about
photography, Nikon and some other stuff interesting to
me. Just for fun. In Latvian.

DarienSar · Mar 8, 2009

SchorschB said:
carguy said:

What a terrible choice of a brand name. If anyone has watched GE
stock lately, I wouldn't touch anything with a GE name on it, for
that and many other reasons. Guess who ever really makes them, really
doesn't want to sell many cameras.

Click to expand...

SchorschB said:
It's a marketing strategy of brand image cross-transfer:
if you're flying with an airplane using GE jet engines, or commute in
a train that is pulled by a GE steam locomotive: Wouldn't you want to
own a camera made by the same company?

And from my personal experience [admittedly of a small sample size from only people I know and meet on a regular basis], GE appliances work well, have useful and simple interfaces, and seem to last forever. If I were choosing among dozens of cameras with identical specs, I might just choose GE based on the strength of that previous experience. That's to support what you said about the brand; I have not looked at any of the GE (or General Imaging) cameras and don't know whether I'll like any or not when I come accross them.

Marty4650 · Mar 8, 2009

on which consumers you are trying to reach with a new product.

If you are going after photo entusiasts, then try to license a name like "Contax" or "Zeiss" or "Exakta." And if you do that, you better make darn sure you have a really great product to sell, or run the risk of being laughed out of the market.

But... if you are targeting total photo novices, then you want a name that they are familiar with and trust. So try liscencing a name like GE, RCA, Kenmore, Kraft or Whirlpool. You see these customers have no idea what Zeiss is, but they do know Kraft makes good cheese. So for reaching them, you don't need a high image camera brand, just a name they know and trust.

And GE makes very good lightbulbs.

This also explains why Panasonic calls their cameras "Lumix" and prominently displays the "Leica" name on their lenses. They can reach both groups that way. Those who know that Leica means "great camera" and that Panasonic means "great appliances."
--
Marty
http://www.flickr.com/photos/marty4650/sets/72157606210120132/show/
http://marty4650.zenfolio.com/p82379129/slideshow#h275db7e6

Panasonic FZ30, LX2, TZ5
Olympus E-510, Zuiko 12-42mm, 40-150mm

VTL · Mar 8, 2009

Marty4650 said:
So try liscencing a name like
GE, RCA, Kenmore, Kraft or Whirlpool. You see these customers have no
idea what Zeiss is, but they do know Kraft makes good cheese.

Obviously, you're not a cheese enthusiast. Kraft doesn't make cheese, much less good cheese -- it makes "cheese".

paul613 · Mar 11, 2009

That's right: I owned Pentax bodies, but they couldn't touch my Sears bodies--aka Ricoh XR-2S. The Sears showed me the aperture in the window; used a fluid needle to denote shutter speed; had a much wider film plane; advanced the film with two sprockets, not one; had a larger viewfinder magnification; and used a more versatile, more ergonomic motor winder.

Best of all: Because it said Sears, the authorities, like many of you, didn't take my skills seriously. With a Sears multicoated 50mm lens on front, I could shoot where I pleased and not be told to stop shooting.

0xDEADBEEF said:
And who buys this stuff?
--
-Dominik

--
Paul S. in Maryland

gweedo · Mar 11, 2009

GE consumer electronics, including Cameras, phones, clocks, etc, along with the RCA brand and several other "american" consumer electronics brands are owned by Thomson. At some point in the past when the US TV industry was failing they bought these brands and the right to make consumer electronics under them. The american GE only makes stuff for businesses today.

Thomson is a european giant, generally a huge company. In the past they were nationalized by france, or at least half owned by the french government.

Now they're mostly independant.

But they own a lot of brands, including the above, and Technicolor, etc. Since they've fallen on hard times due to mismanagement, they may have spun off some of these, but not GE so far.

I know all this because I used to work for a subsidiary.

Scales USA · Mar 11, 2009

The simple fact is that point and shoot cameras are assembled from standard parts and sub assemblise that are common to almost all of the p%S cameras. Lens assemblies, sensors, LCD displays, shutters, all the key components. Even the core software is produced by third party companies and customized for the users.

There are also companies who assemble cameras and rebrand them for big name OEM's.

Take a old broken Canon P&S apart and look at the components (I have). You will see other brand names like sony plastered prominently on some of the components, not just the sensor.

Salvatore Castrovinci · Mar 11, 2009

not necessarily Chinese or Korean......

http://www.zoran.com/lang1

Cheers

Salvatore

bearzimages · Mar 12, 2009

The X3 sounds intriguing & like it might be fun. I'd definitely like to test one to see what it's capable of & what I could create with it.
--
If you’re not pushing the boundaries, you’re being strangled by them. -Bearz
http://www.bearzimages.com

brn · Mar 13, 2009

http://www.fisher-price.com/fp.aspx?st=2620&e=cameralanding

Berghof · Mar 15, 2009

it is made by our dear Comrades Communists in China
--
Berghof G.C.

heavyweather · Apr 1, 2009

ZorSy said:
heavyweather said:

You got Aldi in Australia or are you German? I am from Austria...Aldi
is called Hofer here.
Some weeks ago they sold a notebook under the Medion/Tevion brand
that actually was MSI (I know because I use the same MSI Megabook).
Its the same with food. Same product, other name.

Click to expand...

--
Yes, we got Aldi here (the same German one) and they are taking
Australia by the storm, which is good for consumers. I wouldn't care
much, but htey do have a very nice selection of chocolates I am
addicted to...
That notebook, was it a full sized one (MSI) or small 10" one (Compaq)?

They sold both. The named it Akoya and everybody was mad after them.
Usually computers, monitors, hds...are sold out after some hours.
But you just have to wait some month for the next deal

noirdesir · Apr 1, 2009

The two (private) owners of Aldi are the two richest Germans. They really have a great business model.

Scales USA · Apr 1, 2009

The cameras are assembled in China, of course.

However, just like all other point and shoot cameras, the sensors, LCD Displays, lenses, batteries and processors are pretty much standard off the shelf parts and may come from several sources common to other point & shoots.

I disassembled my broken Canon P&S, and in large bpld letters on the back of the LCD and on the Sensor was "SONY" The lens didn't have anything so noticible on it.

The Customer · Apr 1, 2009

VTL said:
allgoo19 said:

I'm sure it's not GE, it's out sourced.
So, is it one of those struggling Japanese companies, or no name
Chinese company that has been making cameras for other Japanese
makers?
My guess would be the latter.

Click to expand...

A little more seriously, it'd be "nice" (well, I don't really care
that much) if Dpreview reviewed some of the more reputable cheap-o
cameras (like the GEs).

In the group test, Dpreview sure reviewed some me-too cameras. I just
wonder how the cheap-o cameras compare to the me-too cameras from the
"real" camera makers. They may really turn out to be quite similar....

--

I agree, on the tests. It WOULD be nice to see full tests of a wider variety of cameras, especially some of the cheaper ones. Partly to know what's out there, but also because there are times when a particular camera's "badness" might be in line with what some photographers want for a certain look. Sort of like toy cameras in the film world -- Holgas, Lomos, Dianas, etc... It could be fun to see which low-end digital cameras are analogous to those...

Cust.

jb_va2001 · Apr 2, 2009

allgoo19 said:
I'm sure it's not GE, it's out sourced.
So, is it one of those struggling Japanese companies, or no name
Chinese company that has been making cameras for other Japanese
makers?
My guess would be the latter.

FTW · Apr 4, 2009

panoptic said:
--
Check the specs and pictures of some of the new low-end Fujis. Very
similar.

and this :

http://www.general-imaging.com/us/G3WP.html

and this :

http://www.pbase.com/equipment/image/103273545

except Olympus and Pentax, there are not many making waterproof cameras and those 2 look very similar. Look the position of the dial, commands and the specs on the respective sites. From there to conclude that Olympus is still close to GE is just a foot-step

FTW · Apr 4, 2009

noirdesir said:
The two (private) owners of Aldi are the two richest Germans. They
really have a great business model.

But the Aldi Company is not the only company owed by the Albrecht family. They run many other similar companies like LIDL where they hold a big part of the capital, they have an electronic supply company, they ow an insurance company, they ow similar shop in french speaking parts of Europe called DIAL, and...and ....

In many parts of Europe they are known for same employment policy and slavery as Wall Mart in the US. So if they pay good in the US or Australia, be happy.
They are real money raptors and there business strategy is hell an aggressive.

They can be compared to Metro also called Makro in many other countries. That same company runs the well known Media-Markt shops. Strange thing, Media-Markt sells same Medion brands as Aldi. From there to find out or presume how far Albrecht is involved in Metro is just a small foot-step

Who really makes GE cameras?

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