I have to roll my eyes when seeing negative comments about a branded photographic product rumored to be made by another company. Often indignation, disdain, or worse is expressed. I suppose there are still folks out there who are unaware of contract manufacturing realities.

NOTE: Click on images to enlarge. Photographs have been added to serve as visual breaks.

A few decades ago I used to work for John Deere… one of the most well-known, trusted and venerated companies on the planet when it comes to agricultural equipment and other products that bear the John Deere name. The company earned its stellar reputation over many, many decades, and took great pains to protect and enhance it.

Was every one of the thousands of John Deere branded products available back then, during my tenure, made in a John Deere owned and operated factory? No… of course not.

Some products were produced under strict contract manufacturing agreements. We often started with an outside  company’s own best offering. Then tested and analyzed it… and developed a host of improvements that would need to be done before it could bear the John Deere name.

Was the John Deere branded product marketed at a higher price than the base product produced by the other company. Absolutely. And, it was worth more because of the enhancements that were included in the John Deere version.

If we consider this approach in the photography market, the various enhancements could include compatibility with computational photography technologies and other in-camera capabilities that may not work without OEM firmware enablers.

Is there anyone alive today that is naive enough to believe that every single part in their vehicle was made by the company that puts its brand logo on the hood? Look at your stove. Your refrigerator. Your air conditioner, furnace or heat pump. The glasses that you use to see. And, a wide range of other products you own.

How many of those products were made through contract manufacturing agreements? Or, were made in the same factory to differing specifications? Or simply rebranded with a different logo?

Many years ago I left John Deere to join a company with a stellar reputation in the commercial truck manufacturing business. Since I was going to have a long, daily commute I brought a new car. A diesel Volkswagen Jetta. One of my coworkers took me out for a congratulatory lunch.

On the way back into the corporate building he noticed my new car and commented, “Oh look… your Volkswagen Jetta has Porsche door handles.”

I smiled and replied, “Or, another way of looking at things is that your Porsche has Volkswagen door handles.” As a Porsche owner, he was not amused.  Such is the power of branding.

Contact manufacturing has been a part of the photographic industry for a long time. Often purposely hidden from view from the buying public.. all in the name of branding.

The M.Zuiko 100-400 mm f/5-6.3 IS zoom lens that I own and very much enjoy using, has been rumored to be built by Sigma. Whether this is true or not is of absolutely no concern to me.  All I care about is how the lens performs optically, and under the rigorous field conditions to which it is exposed. Its compatibility with Olympus/OM System computational photography technology. And, what I am able to create with it.

Most of us own lenses that we assume are built by the company whose name is on the lens cap. This may, or may not be, the case.

Well over a decade ago, a photo industry executive I knew, confidentially shared with me, that the third party brand with which he was associated had been building a number of products under contract manufacturing agreements for other brands.

There is nothing deceitful or insidious about this practice. Companies often subcontract some of their production to take advantage of another company’s expertise and cost base. The practice allows them to offer their customers a broader line up of products than otherwise could be produced.

If companies did not engage in contract manufacturing, and tried to  produce all of their own products inhouse in their own factories, their costs would become prohibitively high on some offerings. This would lead to fewer products being offered in the marketplace. It is also quite possible that the price of some products would increase dramatically.

There are also some opinions that all lenses should be custom designed for the sensor format on which they will be used. The thought is that adapting a full frame lens for a smaller size sensor camera  forces people to use lenses that are ‘unnecessarily too large’.

Does that make any logical sense? That would mean that manufacturers of full frame and crop sensor cameras would need to develop completely parallel and duplicate line-ups of lenses for their APS-C and full frame users. Rather than utilize a common mount and most of their lens line-up, in order to serve the needs of both of their customer segments. The economic realities of that notion would result in a dramatic reduction of available products.

We’ll find out more on January 30 when OM System officially launches their new M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS zoom lens. Those of us who are interested in the lens will review its specifications and capabilities, and assess the value proposition presented to us. Purchase decisions will then be made.

The lens may make sense for some buyers… and not others. If you’re one of the latter… then don’t buy it. There… that was easy.

Technical Note

Photographs were captured handheld using camera gear and technology noted in the EXIF data. Images were produced from RAW  files using my standard process. This is the 1,351 article published on this website since its original inception in 2015.

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