Companies using components from other companies - Vivitar

[Picotrain]

Hello,

I just recently purchased a camera (Vivitar 7500i) and I saw a few similar cameras (using nearly identical parts) advertised on other sites. While I'm fully cognizant that Vivitar is not a top-of-the-line brand name, the similar cameras were even more obscure. One such camera advertised that the lens was made by Sony. Is it possible that the camera I am getting also has a lens manufactured by Sony? How common is it for camera companies to use components made by other manufacturers?

[VTphotog]

Many smaller companies, and even some very large ones, don't manufacture all their own components. In some cases, they simply have someone else make the entire camera or flash or lens or what have you, and put their name on the case.
Many times. the brand name has no relation to the original company of that name. The name will have been purchased by a holding company after a business failure as part of a bankruptcy settlement.

brian

[gjtoth]

Mama used to say, "If it seems too good to be true, it probably is." Photography is one area where "ya get what ya pay for"... unless you're REALLY lucky to stumble into some great bargains.

[Picotrain]

Well, the camera itself wasn't cheap, @ ~$200, which is a lot for a Vivitar. What's more, it's a model that originally retailed at $350, but is now (after a couple of years) down to the price I paid for it. I wanted a camera that was also a PMP (which I'm sure will annoy many of the camera purists here). I had a Samsung i85 before this. It was great, but the CCD went two months after I bought it, then again 1 year after I had it replaced. I figure that if a reputable camera company is manufacturing such unreliable equipment, then a less reputable company can't be much worse.

[FiveO]

It's pretty common for this to occur. Canon, Ricoh and Casio all have models that utilize Sony sensors. Toshiba makes the HDDs for virtually all HDD-based camcorders. Some of them are made my Matsushita (under license from Toshiba). Matsushita is the parent company for Panasonic. Most DVD+/-R are not manufactured by the company you see on the label. Many Ricoh discs for example are made by TDK. It's pretty common among TV, DVD/Bluray players, DVD burners, etc. also to have the product made by another company and rebadged or to use major components from other companies. The Best Buy LCD TV house brand (can't recall the name now) use LG panels. It's pretty common across all industries.

Just keep in mind that some companies sell their seconds to the smaller, cheapo companies. Even if that is not the case, you also have to keep in mind that the components surrounding the lens, sensor, etc. may bot be of the same quality. The same goes for the labor and manufacturing process. I am sure I will offend someone by saying so, but made in China is something I avoid whenever I can. (getting hard now though)

[Picotrain]

From what I can gather, the information may indeed be correct. The characteristics match a lens on the Sony corporate website.

The .PDF is below:
http://www.sony.net/Products/SC-HP/c...pdf/icx629.pdf

It seems this ICX629 lens is used in Sony products, as well as some Ricoh and Fujifilm compact cameras.