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Posts Tagged ‘citing’

Nikon, Olympus postpone upcoming financial results, citing COVID-19 challenges

27 Apr

Both Nikon and Olympus have announced the companies will be postponing the announcements of their most recent financial results, both of which were originally scheduled to be announced in mid-May.

In a press release on its website, Nikon explains the rationale for postponing the results of its fiscal year ending at the close of March 2020, which were set to be released on May 12, 2020. Nikon says the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent stay-at-home orders have made it difficult to follow the accounting procedures within the company, which includes auditing the numbers to ensure accurate reporting. As a result, Nikon has pushed back the financial results release date to May 28, 2020.

Olympus, too, has announced it will be postponing its financial results for its fiscal year ending at the close of March 2020. Like Nikon, Olympus says the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the timeliness of the results, saying ‘it is difficult to proceed with the scheduled accounting procedures implemented by the Company and its domestic and overseas affiliates as scheduled.’ Instead of an early May release, Olympus says it will release the latest results on May 29, 2020, just one day after Nikon.

We could theorize other reasons the companies may be pushing back the results, but the truth of the matter is auditing the financials of a multi-national operation is an intensive task; one made very difficult when non-essential employees are being ordered to work from home to reduce the spread of the Coronavirus. That said, it’s unlikely to be good news if Canon’s most recent financial report is anything to go by.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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US Interior Department grounds Chinese-made drones in its fleet citing ongoing security concerns

31 Jan

Yesterday, the United States Interior Department signed an order to ground its fleet of more than 800 drones for non-emergency operations following ongoing concerns of cybersecurity threats.

As reported by NPR, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt didn’t specifically say the fleet of drones were capable of being hacked in the order, but did note that information collected by the drones could potentially be ‘valuable to foreign entities, organizations and governments.’

This new order cements a ‘pause’ Bernhardt ordered roughly three months ago to cease the use of Chinese-manufactured drones for Interior Department business, with the exception of emergency use-cases. In a statement given to The Verge at that time, Interior spokesperson Melissa Brown said ‘the Secretary has directed that drones manufactured in China or made from Chinese components be grounded unless they are currently being utilized for emergency purposes, such as fighting wildfires, search and rescue, and dealing with natural disasters that may threaten life or property.’

No specific companies were mentioned in the initial order, nor yesterday’s, but it’s clear Chinese drone manufacturer DJI is in the crosshairs.

Following yesterday’s order from Bernhardt, Chinese drone manufacturer DJI issued a statement on its website, saying:

‘[DJI] is extremely disappointed by the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) order released today which inappropriately treats a technology’s country of origin as a litmus test for its performance, security and reliability […] We are opposed to the politically-motivated country of origin restrictions masquerading as cybersecurity concerns and call for policymakers and industry stakeholders to create clear standards that will give commercial and government drone operators the assurance they need to confidently evaluate drone technology on the merits of performance, security and reliability, no matter where it is made.’

DJI manufactures specific ‘government edition’ versions of its Matrice 600 Pro and Mavic Pro drones, both of which are currently listed in the Interior Department’s fleet. These specific models use special firmware and software to fit the needs of the Interior Department and were previously signed off for use by the Interior Department following a 15-month testing period that concluded with a 53-page report. Other drones in the U.S. agency’s fleet include the Autel Evo, Parrot Anafi, FireFLY Pro/S, 3DR Solo Quadcopter and Pulse Vapor 55TM Helicopter.

DJI’s Matrice 600 Pro drone is just one of the half-a-dozen different drone models in the Interior Department’s drone fleet.

This new order will, like the pause announced back in October 2019, will remain in effect until a subsequent order overturns it, as there is no end-date mentioned. Like the pause back in October, emergency use-cases ‘will continue to be allowed in approved situations for emergency purposes, such as fighting wildfires, search and rescue, and dealing with natural disasters that may threaten life or property,’ according to an Interior Department spokesperson.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Nikon cancels DL compact series citing high development costs

14 Feb

Nikon has officially put an end to the DL series. Announced just under a year ago, the three DL compacts would have had 1″ sensors. Nikon missed its June target ship date, citing problems related to the image processor. Now, Nikon says that the development costs had become too great to continue. A statement released today also mentions the company’s concern that it wouldn’t sell enough units to make up for the increased costs, due to a slow down in the market.

That wasn’t the only piece of bad news from Nikon this morning. The company released its third quarter financial results and due to costs of a ‘voluntary retirement’ program it initiated last year and semiconductor inventory write-offs, has announced an ‘extraordinary loss’ from April to December of 2016. The impact of this is reflected in an updated forecast for the financial year ending in March, lowering predictions of net sales and operating income. The statement acknowledges a ‘sluggish and shrinking’ market for digital cameras.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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India says no to Google Street View, citing security concerns

13 Jun
Launched in 2007, Google’s Street View service uses imagery captured by cameras mounted on cars, backpacks, bicycles and snowmobiles. Today, the service covers locations all over the globe.

Indian officials have told the BBC that the country has rejected Google’s plans to image its towns and cities as part of its expanding Street View service. Citing security concerns around ‘sensitive defense installations,’ officials point out that planning for the 2008 Mumbai attacks was believed to have involved photographic reconnaissance. As such, the country believes, Street View could compromise national security.

This isn’t the first time that Google’s Street View service has attracted concerns. Several countries have at one time or other raised privacy and security worries. The Czech government has banned the company from taking any new imagery (current Street View images of Prague are frozen at 2014), and in 2010, almost 250,000 Germans requested that Google blur images of their homes.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Lens Rentals Canada halts service citing ‘serious issues’ with Canada Post

01 Aug

Lens Rentals Canada has announced that it is temporarily not accepting new orders. A brief notice on lensrentalscanada.com cites ‘serious issues’ with Canada Post Corporation, and states that current orders will be shipped using Purolator Courier. An email that a reddit user claims was sent to him by Lens Rentals Canada is more to the point, stating that a Canada Post employee has stolen equipment in transit. No estimated timeframe has been given as to when orders will be accepted again. Read more

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Nikon cuts 2013 sales forecast citing poor mirrorless camera sales

09 Aug

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Nikon has lowered its sales and revenue estimates for this year, prompting a rethink of its 1 Series mirrorless cameras. Nikon cites poor market conditions, a large drop in compact camera sales and, most interestingly, a ‘deceleration’ in mirrorless camera sales. Nikon’s measures against these changing conditions include accelerating production of entry-level DSLRs and ‘reconsider[ing] product planning’ of their Nikon 1 mirrorless camera system. Follow the link for additional details.

News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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