Yesterday's column hinted that there will be some delay for a major camera manufacturer in the delivery of promised cameras because of the recent series of earthquakes in Japan. Today I see their largest rival clocked in with a similar press release - but in this case reassuring us that they were good for stocks for the next two or three months.
Not so good for some of the component subcontractors who were in the shake area - they are assessing what impact this will have on the overall supply situation this year. One of the major component manufacturers has suspended production of sensors at a plant that was within the affected prefecture. And they make sensors for a lot of people...
Again, and this is from someone who is always buying things, the best advice is to get your wallet out and purchase now, while stocks are in the shop. An this isn't just earthquakes in Japan - this is also life in Perth.
Perth has a peculiar set of retail circumstances that may not be repeated anywhere else in the world ( I believe the closest retail model that matches Perth is Churchill, Manitoba in polar bear season. That and the stage play " Sweeney Todd "...). We need to recognise this and act accordingly.
We are at the end of the world - or at least at the end of the retail world - just before it resets itself and starts up again half-way across the Indian Ocean. Things arrive here when they arrive - like standard gauge railways and winter fashions. They stay on sale for as long as they stay - sometimes for decades and sometimes for minutes.
You cannot see an item for sale one week and tell yourself that you'll come and get it in a fortnight. Perth does not work that way. If you come back in a fortnight it is frequently gone and the sales staff will tell you that there will never be another one. Sometimes this is because no-one can re-order something that has sat there since the Menzies era, and sometimes it is because the manufacturer has broken up the moulds and tools and is off on another tangent. The basic message is the same; when you see something you want or need, get it RIGHT AWAY. Good or bad, it may be the only chance you ever get.*
Sitting on your money is all very well if you want flat money - because that is what you frequently get. Also flat images and a flat life. Spending a little to get into the modern photographic game can pay off handsomely, and I would recommend to to all the readers. I shall be doing so myself and expect to get an increased low-light capability. You can too.
* This applies to book shops particularly. Lose an opportunity and it is lost forever.
