First pictures of the submerged Sony thai factories! Four months production stop?

This is the very first picture of the flood that hit the Sony factory in Thailand (Source: Bangkokpost). And the mayor of the Bankadi municipality said that: “It will take about a month for the floodwaters to recede and then at least three months to rehabilitate the park“. Sony didn’t officially release a statement about the current situation in Thailand. What I heard from my sources is that the Sony NEX-7 production will be moved to other factories. But also that will not be a quick process.
P.S.: You can read some general details about the Sony factory at Wesleynet.
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Thanks Eric

Jean-Michel
4 months ago |Really bad situation there…
ken
4 months ago |oh my god!!
my nex7
in the river????
Ren
4 months ago |WOW! What a whole lot of devastation. You can bet that pretty much everything in that facility was a total loss.
Roy
4 months ago |Damn…
holycows
4 months ago |RIP Sony you were a great company!
(T_T)/ booo hooo hooo!
I should have preordered a A77, now that will probably get sold out and I have to wait 4 months to get the next batch!
sora3
4 months ago |So you’re more concerned about your camera which can be replaced rather than the people that build your camera and work there? Idiots like you do not apply here.
And my prayers to the people there. Hope they’re all okay.
Jon
4 months ago |this is a freakin camera site. go guilt tripping somewhere else.
Arthur
4 months ago |The way you treat people is a good indicator of your character. I bet you treat your camera like shit too.
astro8
4 months ago |+1
Karl
4 months ago |+2
Doug
4 months ago |Just because someone expresses concern on a photography blog about receiving a camera they ordered, it doesn’t follow that they must not care about people. It doesn’t even mean that they care less about people than they care about cameras. It just means that they want their camera. It doesn’t make them a heartless jerk. So spare us your self righteous sanctimony.
SonyA77
4 months ago |No it isn’t. You just made that up.
Jeff
4 months ago |Totally inappropriate for a site such as this. Grow up and stop being so self-righteous.
Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming…
sora3
4 months ago |Agree and to Jon and Doug, I literally laughed at your comments. People dying is nothing compared to not getting your camera and that’s guilty tripping/self righteous programming? So what will make you wake up and smell the ashes? You dying?
Looks like your BS meter needs resetting.
fongios
4 months ago |dumbass no one died in sony factory the flood is not a tsunami lol. they just closed the factory. now go guilt tripping somewhere else because if we start from there u shouldnt even buy a camera manufactured in a country like thailand where big fat europeans come to have sex with kids.
SonyA77
4 months ago |@sora3, if it concerns you so much then go out there and help. But no, instead you’ll sit in front of your keyboard being a sanctimonious idiot.
Pablo
4 months ago |Hello.
Do you guys think, that the 5N is manufactured elsewhere? I was thinking about getting a 5N second body for myself, as I need two bodies, when I shoot weddings with primes, but now I’m not sure, if the prices of the 5N will not get too high… ?
Any ideas?
Zstan
4 months ago |The 5N is in stock everywhere. Don’t think the prices will increase..
RU
4 months ago |Who cares about the cameras. I hope the people are ok. BTW, it’s “Thai” not “Thailandese”.
Ken
4 months ago |agree…
I’m just curious tho, when was that picture taken?
SonyA77
4 months ago |and was it with the A77?
startowa13
4 months ago |Imagine all the NEX7′s destroyed by the water there, all neatly packaged for shipping… maybe if I had scuba diving equipment… I could dive in and find one that is still not water damage?
Yeah, I was dreaming…
Eric
4 months ago |This picture has been taken Friday or later. The banks broke on Thursday evening. Please note Sony had three factories. I dont think its confirmed this was (is?) one of the camera facilities.
Ahmed J.R.
4 months ago |poor sony
but thanks god the sony A77 is weather seald
David
4 months ago |Wow that sucks, but think that the same thing has happened to peoples HOUSES.
Camera can delayed for a while if it needs to be. I hope the Thai people recover and their economy doesn’t suffer badly.
Btw admin, its just Thai. Thai factory. Thai people. Etc etc
Mikey B
4 months ago |So are all sony camera lines at a stand still? I’ve been debating whether or not to pick up an a580 or an a77 to compliment a future full frame (I’ve normally shot 35mm film, so I’m more interested in full frame, but would like a crop sensor camera to compliment it) I’m just about to hit the order button on an a580 body since I might not be able to get an a77 for quite awhile with the shortages coming along, and the soon announcement of new full frames. Any one else in the same situation?
666
4 months ago |Get a Canon
sonyboy68
4 months ago |Idiot man !
666
4 months ago |did i insult you?
Almazar80
4 months ago |You insult yourself, by your generally banal lack of sense and idiotic attempts at humor. This is not the first time that you turn the misery of many thousands of people, the death of hundreds into a misguided clarion call for fanboyism.
666
4 months ago |WOW you really are a stupid idiot and that IS an insult but for you I guess is a compliment. I will not even argue your response
SonyA77
4 months ago |Why would I want a photocopier?
mmamamia
4 months ago |Sony;
I would like to have all the water damaged stuff you got in there. Preferably “ALL” Alpha products not excluding Zeiss products.
thank you.
G
4 months ago |Camera’s can wait. Our thoughts should be with the people affected by the flooding.
Amateur Photographer has also reported that Nikon’s factory suffered in a similar way:
http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/news/Nikon_DSLR_plant_floodwater_still_two_metres_high_news_310135.html
Jiri
4 months ago |XX
Phil
4 months ago |In case no one noticed, this particular photo isn’t the factory in Ayutthaya that is shipping the NEX-7 and A65. It’s a semiconductor factory.
Eric
4 months ago |This is one of their Ayutthaya-area factories. Sony has two factories in Ayutthaya, are there any news/pictures of the one that is supposed to make the NEX-7? BTW I think all Sonys plants are in Northern Bangkok (where Ayutthaya is located). I read that their huge semi-conductor plant is a TOTAL LOSS!!!
david
4 months ago |O_______O……..
I really did not expect it to be THAT bad…
I was just expecting it to be like hip height bad…
Dan
4 months ago |wow
E
4 months ago |My thoughts are with the workers and the people affected by this terrible situation. Cameras are secondary. I want a nex7 but I can wait, no problem.
Carl
4 months ago |Thailandese?
Alpha
4 months ago |You want news or a dictionary?
Tom H
4 months ago |This is NOT the Sony camera factory — it is a semiconductor factory in a different area.
Read this if you want to learn where the camera factory is, and what kind of flooding it has suffered:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1042&message=39658344
Jiri
4 months ago |Cameras from this plant will have to wait. What we can see on those pictures is 2-3 meters of water. The water level has to drop before any reconstruction can start. As an architect I estimate the whole recovery to a full production level in order of a year at least.
Jon
4 months ago |i’m really pissed of on the ones talking about the people in Thailand. Sure they were messed up by the flood, and my prayers are with them. BUT THIS IS A SONY CAMERA RUMOR SITE! GO GUILT TRIP SOMEWHERE ELSE! JEEZ! RATHER THAN FLAMING THE “INSENSITIVE” PEOPLE HERE, DONATE SOMETHING TO THAILAND. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE. FAGGOTS!
Arthur
4 months ago |I am sure your prayers are abundant and frequent. The rest of us are just going to settle for a donation.
narutogrey
4 months ago |Your message is is more inflammatory and guilt tripping than all the other posters combined. You are right. This is a camera rumors site, so leave the name calling and inflammatory statements out of it.
Alpha Mark
4 months ago |Such bad luck year for Sony, everywhere they move to, there is disaster.
666
4 months ago |now guess who is going to pay for the repairs….get ready for a increase in price for you new toys
Almazar80
4 months ago |Your inspid interjections add nothing of value. A reflection, perhaps, of a void in your ability to form a coherent thought, aside from a snide remark or two?
666
4 months ago |Look who is talking LOL
Almazar80
4 months ago |I am looking at you.
Baba Ganoush
4 months ago |Out of curiosity, what are the chances that some of the water damaged cameras and other consumer products will eventually make their way onto the global markets? For a reputable company, I would hope the chances are virtually nil. But how could one tell whether a camera came from a water-damaged factory and had possibly been reconditioned or, instead, had been assembled from new components that had been manufactured in a different factory, either inside Thailand or in a different country, and were therefore not affected by the flooding? Will the serial numbers on cameras and lenses be enough to ensure consumers they are getting brand new products rather than flood-damaged goods that have been reconditioned but sold as “new”?
JonasM
4 months ago |I am concerned with this as well. Sony is a reputable company, but Thailand ranks as one of the worlds most corrupt countries, and living there (Bangkok), I wouldn’t be surprised if flood damaged cameras find their way into smaller retailers and to unauthorized resellers. I sure would be careful buying any of these models from the Internet a few months from now.
Simon_P
4 months ago |Let’s hope Nex 7 will be MIJ instead of MIT.
Matthias
4 months ago |The chances to buy water-damaged goods from one of the affected factories are zero. First of all, you cannot simply “recondition” water-damaged components. I’m sure that even if some products would survive the floodings in perfect condition (which seems unlikely given the severity of the floodings), they would be bulk-destroyed for insurance reasons and because the well-defined manufacuring process was out of control for a while and it’s cheaper to restart from scratch than trying to use parts of unknown or varying conditions. It’s a pity but this is how large vendors work. They will not even sell at reduced price or donate the stuff. Finally, even if all the above said would be false (which it isn’t), a reputable vendor would not deliberately declare any B class goods are A class, because this would be downright illegal.
JonasM
4 months ago |Drowned cameras are one thing. Cameras held at the factory storage without A/C in moist and high humidity is another. These may look fine and perform fine, only to have intermittent and unfixable electrical problems later. Any dishonest line worker, manager or flood restoration worker might take these of the shelves and sell them to the guy on the parking lot.
Clyde
4 months ago |Beware of great deals on NEX-7′s sold in soggy boxes.
clivengu
4 months ago |I was in Krabi Thailand (not affected by flood), for the last few days. And their local tv is showing the flood situation in other parts of thailand.. It is really bad.. and one of the news capture the Sony factory… Just like the picture shown here. Bad Luck for Sony this year… first the Japan Tsunami, now the Thailand Flood..
lifeispixels
4 months ago |Nikon factory here isn’t better too
This is bad for camera industries as a whole. And Canon’s printer factory also submerged… So bad for everyone…
Almazar80
4 months ago |A flood of a lifetime that is causing misery to thousands of people. I hope that the waters subside soon and that the lives of the displaced can somehow be returned to normalcy. I will take many years, but cleaning up the industrial parks and restarting industry is one way to help the people by providing much needed jobs.
Other tech sectors have been hit hard as well:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/thailand-floods-to-lead-to-hard-drive-shortages-for-months/61597
While we would all like to get our cameras and other equipment sooner, let us all hope, first and foremost, that the people affected by this disaster receive the help they need in piecing their lives together again.
Doug
4 months ago |Sony USA still shows an availability date of November 9th for the NEX-7. I guess they must have already made a bunch of them for the American market.
ton
4 months ago |That’s bad!
I’m happy my A65 made it into my hands!
Solo
4 months ago |My thoughts are with the people with Thailand…
And frankly, also with the availability of our cameras. I hope this does not offend some of the more sensitive members of this site…
David
4 months ago |A lot of people just trolling on SAR now.. seemed to peak after the a77 launch but it’s getting tiresome now.
Hopefully andrea can just start IP banning some morons.
acolyte
4 months ago |Miss the old SAR posters.. but times change =) It’s been a good year I spent here~ Time for me to move on^^ And come back after all these trolls got bored XD
Sigh I think I was one of the first to complain about people not caring about the flood – the ones just here to troll.
Now, these trolls lash back by accusing ‘guilt trips’.. I guess it’s not that easy to change people..
To those who still expresses their sympathy – Thank you – that keeps up the quality of the site, that is currently being overrun by trolls. I liked the community as much as the rumors – but guess it’s here~
Solo
4 months ago |the trolls don’t bother me, takes more than reading text on the internet to get under my skin haha.
I am more bothered by how there are a great deal of posts on this site that are fairly irrelevant, or often inaccurate/unreliable reviews and such. Good rumors are becoming rare.
acolyte
4 months ago |There should be better rumors closer to the FF launch date
Dunno which month though =P Might not be early 2012 anymore :s
Right now even Sony is keeping both public appearances and operation strategy to remedy their production lines. Sieving lens/camera rumors through those is not easy.
Other than delayed launch dates, I don’t see many possible good rumors coming up before FF – but it’s almost 2012
pancanikonpus
4 months ago |Dear Sony employees,
Please take care your safety and healthy at the current moment at critical situation. I wish you all will pass the crisis as soon as possible. Tomorrow will be there…forever with us!
Your sincerely,
Pancanikonpus
Adi
4 months ago |http://www.cnbc.com/id/45009767
”
Foreign investors in Thailand are increasingly angered by the Thai government’s response to the floods that have ravaged many of its key industrial zones, saying when they can resume production will depend on how quickly the authorities can release accurate information.
“They kept telling us, it’s going to be fine,” said Hiroshi Minami, president of Rohm Integrated Systems Thailand, one of the largest Japanese semiconductor manufacturers. Its factory in Navanakorn, the nation’s oldest and largest industrial zone, has halted production for nearly a week and the first floor is almost entirely submerged.
“We could have taken critical equipment to the third floor and saved them. Now they are at risk of rusting away,” Minami said.
”
His frustrations are shared by many of the 450 Japanese companies affected by Thailand’s worst flooding in half a century. A factory that makes Sony’s high-end cameras, Honda’s main auto assembly plant, Toshiba’s chip factory are just a few of the companies directly affected.
“We’ll see if we can get a helicopter to airlift the inventory if some of it is useable,” Rohm’s Minami said.
also:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-23/thailand-s-navy-downplays-flooding-concern-while-waters-threaten-bangkok.html
”
Two nights ago, “a few men with weapons” from areas north of the city where floodwaters are as high as three meters (10 feet) confronted Bangkok officials building a sandbag levee at a low-lying junction, spokesman Jate Sopitpongstorn said by phone today. The men destroyed the barrier, he said, allowing the water to flow from Pathum Thani province into Bangkok. “
Tom
4 months ago |Oh my god! I have planned to buy NEX7 before I go to Japan in November.
วรพจดก
4 months ago |สมน้ำหน้าไอ้สัด