Wall Street Journal: Stock traders dumping Sony, buying Panasonic ...

Stock traders dumping Sony, buying Panasonic .....

This is a very interesting video. Did not realize that Sony had dug itself into such a big hole:



http://live.wsj.com/video/why-sony-...33.html#!22CDE6B0-F327-4667-9EA5-712324763733

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lancespring said:

Stock traders dumping Sony, buying Panasonic .....

This is a very interesting video. Did not realize that Sony had dug itself into such a big hole:

http://live.wsj.com/video/why-sony-...33.html#!22CDE6B0-F327-4667-9EA5-712324763733

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Click to expand...

Today Panasonic (ADRs) was down -1.55% and SONY (ADRs) -0.78%. So, not exactly dumping Sony and buying Panasonic.

I would have thought by now that the message had sunk in that consumer electronics are a path to nowhere. In fact, I though that that was one of the reasons Sony invested in Olympus (medical technology).

Camera-wise, maybe this is one reason Pany is taking its GH line of cameras seriously - trying to make them fit into the semi-professional (such as wedding photogs) and professional broadcasting worlds. I mention the latter because one of my students who was interning for the CCTV sports channel last summer mentioned that they were experimenting with GH3s, and were liking them.

I was pondering the issues Sony has from the perspective of me as a consumer ... since this is consumer stuff we're talking about, I wondered which of their products I would buy right now ...

= TV - maybe ... my current TV is Sony, but Samsung would be more likely unless I caught a sale.

= MILC - not a chance ... m4/3 is just as good or better for no more money ...

= phone - not a chance ... my son has a hand me down xperia and it sucks worse than any smart phone I have ever seen (I really hope newer models are better)

= BluRay players - yes, but I could easily be swayed by another brand on sale

= game console - well, duh ... yes

= dSLR - not a chance ... system too small and I just like Nikon

I think they have some strengths, but they smell too much like a niche player nowadays excpet in gaming. My opinion of course ...

--
http://kimletkeman.blogspot.com

Sony will not die out. they took such a big hit a few years ago, and that they will pull through once again, not like Kodak.

Kim Letkeman said:

I was pondering the issues Sony has from the perspective of me as a consumer ... since this is consumer stuff we're talking about, I wondered which of their products I would buy right now ...

= TV - maybe ... my current TV is Sony, but Samsung would be more likely unless I caught a sale.

= MILC - not a chance ... m4/3 is just as good or better for no more money ...

= phone - not a chance ... my son has a hand me down xperia and it sucks worse than any smart phone I have ever seen (I really hope newer models are better)

= BluRay players - yes, but I could easily be swayed by another brand on sale

= game console - well, duh ... yes

= dSLR - not a chance ... system too small and I just like Nikon

I think they have some strengths, but they smell too much like a niche player nowadays excpet in gaming. My opinion of course ...

--
http://kimletkeman.blogspot.com

Click to expand...

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One is certainly free to buy what one wants, but some of the rationales seem based on something other than good reasoning or verifiable fact.

Blanket statements such as "m4/3 is just as good or better" than Sony MILC is just silly. It depends of what cameras one is comparing, and what features one finds important. In what universe is an m4/3 sensor "better" than an APS-C?

I know of a number of pros using Sony DSLRs and they seem perfectly satisfied.

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LifeIsAVerb said:

One is certainly free to buy what one wants,

Click to expand...

Thank you. Very kind.

LifeIsAVerb said:

but some of the rationales seem based on something other than good reasoning or verifiable fact.

Click to expand...

In your opinion.

LifeIsAVerb said:

Blanket statements such as "m4/3 is just as good or better" than Sony MILC is just silly.

Click to expand...

In your opinion.

LifeIsAVerb said:

It depends of what cameras one is comparing, and what features one finds important. In what universe is an m4/3 sensor "better" than an APS-C?

Click to expand...

I've processed many an image from many a camera for articles on my blog and if you are a Sony fan then you might not want to know the answer to that one ... but if you insist:

http://kimletkeman.blogspot.ca/2013/09/battle-of-aps-c-and-m43-latest.html

LifeIsAVerb said:

I know of a number of pros using Sony DSLRs and they seem perfectly satisfied.

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Well, since you "know a guy" who "seems satisfied" then I guess you win

I don't dislike Sony as a company, nor do I dislike their mirrorless line. I would shoot them happily if they had the same combination of ergonomics, size, weight, image quality, lens selection, ... well, you get my drift ...

lancespring said:

Stock traders dumping Sony, buying Panasonic .....

This is a very interesting video. Did not realize that Sony had dug itself into such a big hole:

http://live.wsj.com/video/why-sony-...33.html#!22CDE6B0-F327-4667-9EA5-712324763733

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Click to expand...

The video is not about shareholder preferences for Panasonic over Sony. Nor is there any discussion of cameras, which aren't profitable for either company.

The primary comparison between Sony and Panasonic is that the latter has more foothold in industrial products, which have suffered less than consumer electronics. That said, Panasonic is not doing great, but merely less awful, than Sony. Neither compares to Samsung, LG, or the other current leaders in consumer electronics sales.

Fitch is a credit ratings agency that will downgrade Sony's bond status to junk, or worse, unless the company ceases to lose money and erode its debt service coverage and equity. Junk status will raise the debt costs and worsen the downward profit spiral.

Sony would probably lose less money if it terminated TV screen production altogether. It is not likely to win market share in phones. Its global share of camera sales is probably lower than years ago, even as the size of the global camera market shrinks. The outlook for cameras is bad, even for Canon and Nikon. If Sony cut all camera business down to a half dozen high-end models, perhaps sales would stabilize, but the ability to earn profits atop high fixed costs and R&D is no sure thing.

Not a pretty ending in sight.