Original prices of the Nikon RF's

Sonnar2 said:
In which kind of "old" (mechanical) technique China is superb? The last products I bought with a "Made in China"-tag were DVD-players, trailer tires, cooking pots, wodden toys and children's books (German written). No hightech.
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How about:

Chinese mechanical inventions that contributed to world societies

A common stereotype is that the Chinese have traditionally lacked scientific and technological ability, despite the four great revolutionary inventions of paper making, printing, gunpowder, and compass that have essentially changed the world. However, Chinese people have made a lot of other significant mechanical inventions besides the famous four, providing the source of many of the prerequisite technologies of modernity. From the 6th to the 15th century, China was the world's most technologically advanced society.

Here are some of the most celebrated mechanical inventions from China that have exerted profound influences towards the development of other societies, especially when they were passed to the West.


Cast iron
The double-acting piston bellows
The crank handle (used for starting an engine)
The gimbals (as in the ancient Chinese Incense Burner)
Manufacture of steel from cast iron
The belt drive (or driving-belt)
Water power
The chain pump
Essentials of the steam engine
The chain drive (in which an endless wheel transmits power from an engine)
The wheelbarrow
Sliding calipers (a kind of compass used for measuring diameters)
The fishing reel
The umbrella
The mechanical clock
"Permanent" lamps
The spinning wheel
Rudder
 
Sonnar2 said:
First, the workers in China aren't free people (compared to German, Japanese, or US workers after WWII).

Second, Chinese industry don't respect intellectual property of foreign companies, thus buying their products will probably jeorpardize worker's jobs in my neighborhodd.

Third, Chinese industry polutes the environment in a extreme matter, thus jeopardizing the survival of future generations even in the part of the world where I live...
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Regarding 1st point, yes I guess that's true enough, but only after WWII. The Germans or the Japanese cannot claim the moral higher ground before then.

Regarding 2nd point, again true enough, but its not like the Chinese are the only ones not respecting the intellectual property of foreign companies. And at any rate, some of those foreign companies are making a LOT of money out of China, and contributing to those non-free conditions you mentioned.

Regarding 3rd point, yes Chinese factories cause a lot of pollution, but the first world cannot claim the moral higher ground here, because first world countries had already caused lots of environmental pollution before China industrialised, and still continue to do so at a per-capita-rate far greater than China's.

Since we're way off topic, perhaps we should end this discussion in this thread. I'm happy to continue by email or PM if you'd like to continue the discussion further.

Regards, Jon
 
If Nikon RF prices today are the same as they were in 1990, then they're actually cheaper today because of inflation.

Something that cost $1,000 in 1990 would cost $1,550 today.

Something that cost $640 in 1990 would cost $1,000 today.
http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl

So if we were paying $1,000 for a camera then, and are paying $1,000 for the same camera now, the relative purchase value of the dollar has changed, and the camera is cheaper.

This is a good argument for using instead of collecting.
 
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