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Separate Board For "Big Four"?
Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2022 12:34 pm
by FatBassPlayer
Could we possibly have a separate message board for the big four? It seems like there's a lot of talk about Nikon heads, Olympus objectives, Zeiss illumination and Leica whatever.
Could we possibly keep all this in one place?
Just means that those of us who have instruments that actually work can discuss what we're looking at.
Thoughts?
Re: Separate Board For "Big Four"?
Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2022 9:49 pm
by Javier
There is a small group of people who often share observations through pictures and videos, both on the "Picture and Videos" and "ID help". You are most welcome to join us.
Re: Separate Board For "Big Four"?
Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2022 10:28 pm
by apochronaut
FatBassPlayer wrote: ↑Sun Aug 14, 2022 12:34 pm
Could we possibly have a separate message board for the big four? It seems like there's a lot of talk about Nikon heads, Olympus objectives, Zeiss illumination and Leica whatever.
Could we possibly keep all this in one place?
Just means that those of us who have instruments that actually work can discuss what we're looking at.
Thoughts?
Prior to about 1990, there were approximately 15 active microscope companies that provided most of the microscope equipment to the world's population outside of China and India. These companies, made almost everything in house. Several of them were thieves and had no compunction about pilfering technology but even in those cases, their products were produced in the country of origin.
By 1995 and really before there was a distillation of the microscope industry : several companies ceased operation, a great number consolidated effort and a few continued in a greatly modified form but all began to lean heavily on a cooperated effort with China and India.
It might seem like the so called big four are these gifted, world dominant optical giants that have risen to the top due to their expertise but in reality they all are just the heirs to a history of manipulation, worker exploitation, good fortune, government favouratism, technology theft, creative accounting, graft and corruption, mergers and good luck ,: and I am sure I have left out a few slurs that could be applied. They all buy heavily from India and China and try to conceal that as best they can. The industry is so integrated between companies and countries that there really isn't such a thing as the big 4 but the big 6. And then there are the little 4: Meiji, Kyowa, Carton and Seiwa plus Taiwanese and Korean interlopers.
It's a little more complicated than just the big four now.