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Posts Tagged ‘Data’

June 2021 CIPA data: Steady shipments despite chip shortages and COVID-19 resurgences

04 Aug

The Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA) has released the production and shipment data of digital cameras and lenses for June 2021.

So far, in 2021, global camera shipments peaked in March, with 830,006 units. Since then, it’s been a steady decline, with June continuing that trend. That said, global camera shipments are still higher than last year for both volume and value. In June 2021 676,803 units valued at 39 billion yen shipped compared to 511,517 units worth 24.5 billion yen in June 2020, increases of 32.3 percent and 60.1 percent, respectively.

If we ignore compact camera sales and look only at interchangeable lens cameras, the numbers are fairly similar. June 2021 saw 442,679 units worth 33 billion yen shipped in June 2021 compared to 326,094 units worth 19.3 billion yen in June 2020, increases of 35.8 percent and 71.2 percent, respectively.

This chart from CIPA shows total digital stills camera shipments in 2019 (purple, circles), 2020 (black, triangles) and 2021 (orange, squares). These numbers include compact cameras with built-in lenses, DSLR cameras and mirrorless cameras. Click to enlarge.

This data continues the trend we’ve seen over the past year or two wherein fewer units are being shipped (and eventually sold) than previous years, but the value of those units is higher, meaning the loss in volume for camera manufacturers is at least somewhat being made up for with an increase in revenue per unit. This trend is even more noticeable in the interchangeable lens camera market, where mirrorless cameras showed a 104 percent YoY increase in the value of units shipped in June 2021, despite volume only increasing 58 percent.

This chart from CIPA shows total shipments for cameras with interchangeable lenses in 2019 (purple, circles), 2020 (black, triangles) and 2021 (orange, squares). Click to enlarge.

For comparison, June 2021 saw 191,560 DSLR units worth 7.1 billion yen shipped. Those are YoY increases of 14.6 percent and 7.8 percent respectively. What this shows is that despite more DSLR camera units being shipped globally, the value of those units is steadily decreasing. There could be a few reasons for this discrepancy, but the two most obvious ones are that camera companies are discounting their more expensive DSLR cameras to get rid of inventory ahead of the ongoing transition to mirrorless; the second is that those still buying DSLR cameras are more consumer-oriented customers who are getting entry-level DSLR cameras that retail for much less than prosumer and pro-grade DSLR cameras.

Another facet to take into account is the ongoing chip shortage. Camera and lens manufacturers have come out time and time again to announce delays due to the inability to source the required components, but it’s difficult to judge just how much this is affecting the production and shipment data at this time.

CIPA’s complete June 2021 breakdown, which shows production and shipment data from January, February, March, April, May and June 2021 by camera type and region. Click to enlarge.

As for regional data, it’s a little more difficult to judge how shipment and production data is affecting the industry as a whole. There are geographical areas where COVID-19 and its variants are causing increases in cases and travel restrictions, while other areas have seen life more or less return to ‘normal,’ as obscure as that definition may be.

Whatever the case is, June 2021 continues the trends we’ve seen as of late and once again backs up the statements we’ve seen from various camera and lens manufacturers who’ve state that 2021 will be a year of equilibrium that will very much shape the state of the industry going forward.

You can find a full list of companies participating in CIPA’s data and view all historical data on CIPA’s website. You can find the full June 2021 dataset here.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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The Canon EOS R3’s Megapixel Count Revealed By EXIF Data

30 Jul

The post The Canon EOS R3’s Megapixel Count Revealed By EXIF Data appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

The Canon EOS R3's resolution revealed by EXIF data

For months, Canon has teased the upcoming EOS R3 and its groundbreaking features, but – as with the release of the EOS R5 and R6 last summer – the company has remained silent regarding resolution. 

Speculation and rumors have abounded, at times suggesting a 30-megapixel sensor like the Canon EOS R or even a 45-megapixel sensor to match the EOS R5. But thanks to Canon Rumors, we now have what appears to be a definitive answer:

The Canon EOS R3 will be 24 megapixels.

This specification is backed by significant evidence coming out of the Tokyo Olympics, where the Canon EOS R3 has made an appearance. First, Canon Rumors reported “multiple mentions, likely from people in and around the Tokyo games, that the resolution is ‘closer to’ or ‘around’ 24 MP.” This 24 MP rumor was followed by an EXIF data report showing 6000px by 4000px (i.e., 24 MP) dimensions on EOS R3 Olympic files.

Yes, it falls short of the lofty resolutions suggested above and will slot in behind several of Canon’s top mirrorless cameras, but 24 MP is certainly respectable and hardly unprecedented. After all, the EOS R3’s closest DSLR sibling is the Canon 1D X Mark III, Canon’s flagship DSLR, which features a “mere” 20 MP. And “fast processing, low megapixels” has long been the name of the game for sports-focused models, where high-resolution sensors threaten continuous shooting speeds, camera buffer depths, and more.

A 24 MP sensor also assures superior noise performance over higher-resolution models like the EOS R5; the lower megapixel count (and consequently larger pixel size) combined with Canon’s new backside illuminated sensor technology should be a sight to behold.

At present, here’s what you can expect from the EOS R3:

  • A fully-articulating touchscreen
  • 30 frames-per-second shooting (using the electronic shutter)
  • In-body image stabilization
  • 4K video
  • Eye Control AF
  • Top-notch weather sealing
  • Dual card slots

While pricing information is yet to be released, don’t be surprised if the EOS R3 surpasses even the Canon 1D X Mark III, which debuted at a whopping $ 6500 USD.

Fortunately, you won’t have long to wait; Canon Rumors promises an official announcement in September, and I’d wager that the camera itself will ship before 2021 is out, if not significantly sooner.

Now over to you:

What do you think of a 24 MP EOS R3 sensor? Is the resolution disappointingly low? Is it just right? Too high? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

The post The Canon EOS R3’s Megapixel Count Revealed By EXIF Data appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.


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BCN+R data shows digital camera sales in Japan were down 40% year-over-year

12 Jan

BCN Retail (BCN+R), a Japanese analyst firm that collects daily sales data of mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras from both online and in-person points of sale in Japan, has published (translated) a summary of its 2020 camera sales data, confirming camera sales were down in the Japanese market due to an already-shrinking market further compounded by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

According to BCN+R’s data, digital camera sales dropped 40.4% year-over-year (YoY). This is over double the 16.8 percent drop BCN+R recorded in 2019 (compared to 2018). BCN+R’s data shows digital camera sales were down from the onset of 2020, but dramatic decreases in March and April align with when the first spike in cases of the novel coronavirus started spreading across the globe. The YoY decrease peaked in April and slowly declined until September.

Apologies for the low-quality chart. It’s all BCN+R has shared.

October proved to be the month with the smallest YoY decrease, which could be attributed to the release of numerous mirrorless cameras being released in September and October, most notably the Sony a7C (September 15), Canon EOS M50 Mark II (October 14) and Fujifilm X-S10 (October 15). The original Canon EOS M50 has continuously proven to be the most popular cameras in Japan for quite some time, so it’d make sense its successor would sell well, too.

We’ll wait to see what the end-of-year numbers from less region-specific sources (CIPA, etc.) are before making any comprehensive overviews, but it’s clear from BCN+R’s data that the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic managed to make a shrinking market even smaller than it was on track to be, even if the Japanese market alone isn’t indicative as to the state of the industry as a whole.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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EaseUS Data Recovery Review: Fast, Powerful, and Easy to Use

06 Jan

The post EaseUS Data Recovery Review: Fast, Powerful, and Easy to Use appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

EaseUS data recovery review

If you’ve ever deleted photos, videos, or documents by accident…

…then you know how important it is to have good data recovery software on hand. 

Unfortunately, not all recovery software works as promised – which is why you have to be extra-careful when purchasing. 

But what about EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard? It’s a popular recovery program, but can you trust it to bring back your precious files?

That’s what this article is all about. 

EaseUS data recovery review

I put EaseUS Data Recovery to the test, and I share all my findings with you. And honestly, it’s worth stating up front that EaseUS Data Recovery works really, really well. While I’ll share details with you later on in this review, I’d like to emphasize a few facts: 

First, EaseUS is remarkably fast. 

Second, it’s packed full of useful features for sorting and locating photo and video files.

And third: 

It does a great job (flawless, in my experience!) recovering deleted media. 

So to learn more about EaseUS Data Recovery, including what it can do, where you can purchase it, and how you can use it to recover your files…

…read on.

What can EaseUS Data Recovery software do?

EaseUS Data Recovery software offers a quick and easy way to recover deleted files. 

Specifically, you can use it to bring back desktop data that you’ve accidentally deleted, memory card files that you’ve formatted, or video files that you forgot to backup then deleted off your card. 

In other words: 

If you’ve lost your files through some method of accidental deletion, EaseUS Data Recovery can likely get them back.

EaseUS offers a huge list of file types you can recover with their recovery wizard, including plenty of photo file types (JPEGs, TIFFs, PNGs, CRWs, NEFs, ORFs, and DNGs, among others) and video file types (MP3s, WAVs, MPGs, WMVs, etc.), as well as document file types, audio file types, and more. 

the file types EaseUS can recover

Also note that EaseUS can go beyond recovery in select cases. The software can actually repair corrupted JPEGs, MP4, and MOV files, though this functionality unfortunately doesn’t extend to RAW files.

Now let’s take a look at how to actually use the EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard to resurrect your lost files:

How to use EaseUS: A quick guide

EaseUS is impressively simple to use. 

Start by installing the EaseUS software, which you can grab off the EaseUS website here for PC and here for Mac. 

installing EaseUS

Once you have the software set up, you’ll be prompted to select the location to target for recovery:

selecting a location to recover files from

Just hover over the relevant location, then click Scan:

click Scan to begin the recovery process

The scanning process will begin immediately, where EaseUS searches the targeted location for any and all files, including corrupted and deleted photos. 

EaseUS scanning for files

You’ll see a countdown at the bottom of the screen that gives you an estimated scan time.

And files will begin to appear in the EaseUS window as they’re identified for recovery. 

If you like, you can let the scan continue until completion, but you also have the option to recover already-discovered files. In other words, you can let the scan run in the background while you recover the files already present in the EaseUS window.

Eventually, you’ll need to select the files you’d like to recover. Just hit the check mark next to the file names:

choosing files to recover

Then select Recover:

clicking the Recover button

If you’d only like to recover certain files, you have the option to filter specific file types via tags: 

filtering by file type

Or filter specific file types via the Filter option:

using the Filter option

In fact, you can get even more granular with the Advanced Filter; simply open the Filter menu, then click Advanced Filter:

clicking the Advanced filter option

And select your filter options to bring up specific files while scanning: 

the filtering options

After you hit the Recover button, you’ll be prompted to select a location to store the recovered files:

select where to store your recovered files

Hit OK, and you can watch the progress bar as your files are recovered:

EaseUS data recovery review progress bar

Once the recovery is complete, EaseUS will automatically launch the location with your recovered files. You can also click the View Recovered button to launch the location manually:

view the recovered files

Then you can immediately access your recovered files!

the actual recovered files

How does EaseUS Data Recovery perform?

I tested EaseUS Data Recovery with a formatted memory card of my own, and it performed flawlessly. When I’d finished the recovery process, I had access to every one of my photos (all in perfect condition!). 

Of course, it’s impossible for me to test every scenario and every file type, but my Olympus RAW images came back safe and sound, and I’m confident that EaseUS could effortlessly handle plenty of other situations. 

I was handily impressed by the ease of recovery. The process was remarkably simple and took literally zero fumbling around with the software. And I was also pleased by the speed of recovery, because while some recovery software takes hours upon hours to scan and recover photos, EaseUS had all 20+ deleted photos ready for recovery within five to ten seconds. The recovery process itself took thirty seconds at most. 

Since I was just recovering Olympus RAW images from an SD card, I didn’t have much use for the filtering functions. But if you’re looking to recover select media from an entire hard drive of files, filtering is invaluable – it’ll let you find and select the files you’re after, without having to waste precious time going through the entire set of recovered items. And I’m a huge fan of the “recover while scanning” option, which allows you to recover already-discovered items while EaseUS continues to scan the drive. When I was testing the software, I didn’t have to wait for the entire deep scan to finish. Instead, I started recovering images as soon as EaseUS identified them.

A word of caution: There are times when EaseUS Data Recovery will fail; that’s just the nature of recovery software. If your photos or videos are too far gone, even the best recovery software won’t be able to piece them back together. 

For instance, if you fill up a memory card, format it, and fill it up again, the first set of images will almost certainly be unrecoverable, which is why you should always, always, always have a proper backup system from the beginning. And if you ever find yourself with a formatted memory card that needs recovering, do not, under any circumstances, overwrite that card with new images. 

But here’s the bottom line:

EaseUS did a fantastic job recovering my images, and I wouldn’t hesitate to use EaseUS to deal with accidental file deletion of any type.

EaseUS Data Recovery: Plans and pricing

EaseUS offers three editions for PC users:

First, there’s the Free edition, which allows you to recover up to 2 GB of media. If you’ve accidentally deleted a handful of images, this may be enough.

The Pro edition offers unlimited data recovery, plus you get support from EaseUS specialists, all for $ 69.95 USD. This is perfect for most users, assuming you can boot up your drive. 

Finally, there’s the Pro+Bootable Media edition, which offers everything included in the Pro edition, plus the capability to recover files from a crashed drive, all for $ 99.90 USD. This is the edition to purchase if you cannot get your drive to run.

EaseUS Windows pricing table

Mac users also have access to the Free edition. Then there’s a Pro edition for Mac, which offers the functionality of the PC Pro+Bootable Media edition in a comprehensive, $ 89.95 USD package. 

EaseUS Mac pricing table

Who should get EaseUS Data Recovery?

If you’ve accidentally deleted photos or videos, then EaseUS Data Recovery is a fantastic solution. 

It’ll bring back any recoverable files quickly and efficiently – and it’ll even let you sort through the files for easy access. 

So if you’ve lost photos or videos on a memory card, a flash drive, a hard drive, or your desktop, I highly recommend you grab this EaseUS software. If the files can be recovered, then EaseUS will get it done!

You can purchase a version of EaseUS right here for PC users and right here for Mac users.

EaseUS is a paid partner of dPS.

The post EaseUS Data Recovery Review: Fast, Powerful, and Easy to Use appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.


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Report: Canon had 10TB of data stolen off its servers in ransomware attack

06 Aug
A server room — but not Canon’s

Canon can’t catch a break. According to a report from BleepingComputer, Canon has been hit by a ransomware attack that’s resulted in more than 10TB (yes, terabytes) of data being taken from Canon servers.

In a detailed report, BleepingComputer says known ransomware group ‘Maze’ has taken credit for the attack, which has affected nearly every facet of the company, both internal and consumer-facing. BleepingComputer also reports Canon’s IT department has sent out a company-wide message that reads:

‘Message from IT Service Center

Attention: Canon USA is experiencing widesrpead system issues, affecting multiple applications, Teams, Email and other systems may not be available at this time. We apologize for the inconvenience — a status update will be provided as soon as possible.’

A number of the below domains from Canon show this error when attempting to visit.

At this time, the following domains of Canon are being affected:

  • www.canonusa.com
  • www.canonbroadcast.com
  • b2cweb.usa.canon.com
  • canondv.com
  • canobeam.com
  • canoneos.com
  • bjc8200.com
  • canonhdec.com
  • bjc8500.com
  • usa.canon.com
  • imagerunner.com
  • multispot.com
  • canoncamerashop.com
  • canoncctv.com
  • canonhelp.com
  • bjc-8500.com
  • canonbroadcast.com
  • imageland.net
  • consumer.usa.canon.com
  • bjc-8200.com
  • bjc3000.com
  • downloadlibrary.usa.canon.com
  • www.cusa.canon.com
  • www.canondv.com

BleepingComputer also shared a partial screenshot it claims is ‘the alleged Canon ransom note.’ Maze, the ransomware operators claiming to be behind the attack, says it stole 10TB of data, private databases and more, but failed to provide any information on how much of a ransom it’s asking and proof of what was taken.

The recent issues with Canon’s cloud-based media platform, image.canon, are unrelated to this ransomware attack, according to Maze.

BleepingComputer describes Maze as ‘an enterprise-targeting human-operated ransomware that compromises and stealthily spreads laterally through a network until it gains access to an administrator account and the system’s Windows domain controller.’ Maze is behind ransomware attacks on numerous other enterprises, such as LG, Xerox and more.

We contacted Canon for more information on the matter, to which Canon’s PR team replied ‘We are currently investigating the situation.’

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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PhotoStatistica is a macOS app for visualizing the EXIF data of your photos

09 Jun

Looking at the metadata for a single image can be helpful, but sometimes you need to get a more macro-level view of your work. Enter PhotoStatistica, a new macOS app that parses through the EXIF data of your photos and breaks it down into infographics and statistical analyses.

The app is developed by Bristol Bay Code Factory and is designed to offer a more visual representation of how you shoot. This information can be used to not only improve your photography and better know what settings you might need to gravitate towards (or avoid), but to also guide you in purchasing future gear. If you find out you tend to shoot around 135mm with your long-range kit lens, it might be worth picking up a 135mm prime; if you tend to shoot at high ISO ratings, maybe you should prioritize low-light capabilities with your next camera or pick up an F1.8 or F1.4 lens.

PhotoStatistica supports JPEGs, TIFFs, DNGs and most proprietary Raw formats. It can sort through nested directories and seek out images or directly look through Capture One Pro libraries or Apple’s Photos app libraries. Once PhotoStatistica sorts through the EXIF data of the images you’ve selected, you can use the options at the top of the app to visualize the results using bar, pie and pivot charts. You can even export all of the data in CSV format for save the current EXIF set for analyzing at a later date.

PhotoStatistica is currently available to purchase in the macOS App Store for $ 2.99 / £2.99 / €3.49.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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April data shows mirrorless camera sales in Japan were down 75% compared to 2019

19 May
An illustration from BCN Retail showing the unit sales%age, by manufacturer, of Canon (Blue), Olympus (Green) and Sony (Red) from February 3 (far-left) to April 20 (far-right).

BCN Retail, an analyst firm that collects daily sales data of mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras from online and in-person points of sales in Japan, has released its figures for April 2020 that show just how much the COVID-19 pandemic has continued to decimate the camera market.

Last month we shared BCN Retail’s March report, which showed a 50% drop year-over-year Unfortunately, it seems that was just the beginning. April 2020 numbers from BCN Retail show MILC sales are just 26.1% what they were April 2019 and down nearly half (49.5%) from the already abysmal March sales numbers.

While the decrease in sales is alarming, it’s not unexpected. Canon reported in its recent financial statements that it expected things to get worse before they get better and Nikon is expecting a dramatic decrease in sales as well due to the ongoing pandemic.

Unlike last month’s report, which covered March, BCN Retail doesn’t note whether or not Fujifilm is still on the rise (it was the sole company to increase its market share year-over-year), but BCN Retail’s April stats do show Canon, Olympus and Sony are still battling it out for market share in the Japanese market with only eight or so percentage points separating the three as of April 20, 2020.

A chart showing the top-selling camera models in April, based on BCN Retail’s data.

The market share of individual camera models also remains largely unchanged with more affordable crop-sensor cameras taking the top ten spots. As has more or less been the case for the past few months, the Canon EOS M50 takes the top spot, with the Sony a6400, Olympus Pen E-PL9, Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III and Canon EOS M100 rounding out the top five. One newcomer is the Fujifilm X-T100, which managed to sneak in at the ten spot.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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BCN data shows mirrorless camera sales have dropped 50% YoY in Japan for March amidst COVID-19 pandemic

13 Apr
An illustration from BCN Retail showing the unit sales percentage, by manufacturer, of Canon (Blue), Olympus (Green) and Sony (Red).

It was only a matter of time before we started to see the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on camera sales, and today we’re getting our first glimpse at just how brutal the global pandemic has been on the camera industry.

BCN Retail, an analyst firm that collects daily sales data of mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras directly from online and in-person points of sale in the Japanese camera market, has shared the numbers from its March data, and it’s not pretty. While January and February saw a year-over-year (YoY) decline of 9.9 percent and 23.5 percent, respectively, March saw a decrease of 50.5 percent (compared to March 2019).

This decrease is well above the relatively consistent 15–20 percent YoY decrease we’ve seen over the past few years and goes to show just how hard the coronavirus pandemic is affecting sales, even if BCN’s data is only a relatively small sample size.

As far as sales volume goes, BCN says Canon, Olympus and Sony have all dropped YoY, while Fujifilm stands alone as the only manufacturer to increase its share of the market.

A chart showing the most popular cameras in the Japanese market, based on BCN Retail’s data.

BCN also shares what cameras have performed best, based on sales volume, with the Canon EOS M50 barely edging out the Olympus Pen E-PL9. Sony’s a6400 rounds out the top three, with the a6000 still coming in fifth, despite being six years old.

It’s safe to assume these numbers are just the tip of the iceberg as near-global stay-at-home mandates and quarantines continue in an effort to #flattenthecurve of the COVID-19 pandemic. CIPA’s data won’t be here for a while, but it will likely tell a similar story at a much larger scale.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Instagram removes ad partner accused of harvesting huge trove of data on users

13 Aug

More than a year after Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook-owned Instagram has banned one of its vetted advertising partners, HYP3R, after it was allegedly caught scraping a huge amount of data on users. The claim comes from Business Insider, which published a report last week alleging that HYP3R was saving Instagram Stories and harvesting posts from public location pages to track users.

HYP3R is a location-based marketing platform, according to the firm’s website. Business Insider claims it spoke to ‘multiple former’ HYP3R employees on the company’s practices in addition to reviewing public documents and marketing materials. Though the amount of data the company allegedly scraped from Instagram remains unclear, sources told BI that ‘more than 90%’ of the company’s data on ’hundreds of millions of the highest value consumers in the world’ came from the social media platform.

Among other things, the marketing company was accused of building a tool that enabled it to download and save Instagram Stories related to locations of interest.

An Instagram security issue that allowed users to view public location page posts without logging in made HYP3R’s alleged data harvesting possible, the report claims. Among other things, the marketing company was accused of building a tool that enabled it to download and save Instagram Stories related to locations of interest.

As a consequence of this alleged action, BI claims that HYP3R was able to ‘build up detailed profiles of huge numbers of people’s movements, their habits, and the businesses they frequent over time.’

Instagram reportedly sent HYP3R a cease-and-desist letter after learning about the marketing firm’s alleged actions, telling BI in a statement that the ‘actions were not sanctioned and violate our policies.’ In addition to removing the advertiser from its platform, Instagram said, ‘We’ve also made a product change that should help prevent other companies from scraping public location pages in this way.’

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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DJI denies sending flight data to China, looks to manufacture in the U.S.

26 Jun
DJI’s Mavic Enterprise Dual is used by government agencies to aid in numerous efforts.

A little over a month ago, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (USDHS) sent out an alert stating that drones manufactured in China presented a security risk. This past week, representatives from Da Jiang Innovations Science and Technology, better known as DJI, told a Senate subcommittee that the company does not automatically collect data, including flight logs and photos, from its users to share with the Chinese government.

In a letter addressing the Senate subcommittee, DJI’s Vice President and Regional Manager, Mario Rebello, outlined the numerous benefits drones provide both the private and public sectors. He also clearly stated that ‘DJI drones do not share flight logs, photos or videos unless the drone pilot deliberately chooses to do so […] this data stays solely on the drone and the pilot’s mobile device. DJI cannot share customer data it never receives.’

Rebello also warned of potential economic fallout should the Chinese company fall victim to speculation coupled with unverified information presented to the Senate subcommittee at a hearing called Drone Security: Enhancing Innovation and Mitigating Supply Chain Risks. ‘We believe industry and government have a shared responsibility to build on this momentum and keep our skies open for safe and secure commerce and innovation. Unfortunately, some witnesses who appeared before the Subcommittee want to limit competition, innovation, and the availability of drone technology based solely on its country of origin,’ the letter adds.

‘We believe industry and government have a shared responsibility to build on this momentum and keep our skies open for safe and secure commerce and innovation.’

DJI supplies roughly 70 percent of the drones in the U.S. market, according to recent estimates. It offers up a diverse range of models including the Mavic Air and now a Government Drone. The latter is currently being developed and will not be able to transfer any data collected during flight wirelessly or online.

Lightweight, compact, and versatile, the Mavic Air is popular among consumers.

Unlike most of Huawei’s business, DJI has not been put on the Trump administration’s blacklist. Nevertheless, by establishing a manufacturing base in California, they hope it enables them to continue selling products in the U.S.

In response to the Trump administration’s recent crackdown on technology manufactured in China and escalating trade war, the Shenzhen-based company, which is privately held, plans to repurpose a warehouse in Cerritos, California, to assemble a variety of drones in its product line. While production in the Cerritos facility, which was formerly used to store inventory, will only represent a small fraction of DJI’s overall production, the company hopes that manufacturing on U.S. shores will help it fulfill some necessary federal requirements.

DJI plans to assemble 60 percent of its new Government Drone in Cerritos once approval by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection is secured. Once verified, they can file for certification as the devices produced in the warehouse will satisfy the requirements set forth by the Trade Agreement Act. Under the Act, government agencies are required, by law, to purchase products made in the U.S.

‘This new investment will expand DJI’s footprint in the U.S. so we can better serve our customers, create U.S. jobs, and strengthen the U.S. drone economy,’ the company said in a statement. Building on this momentum, the company yesterday released its Government Edition hardware and software solutions aimed at local, state, and federal agencies.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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