Digital camera sales are declining as more people make do with camera phones, highlighting how convenience has become more important than quality in the social networking age, writes IAN CAMPBELL
YOU DON’T NEED market research to tell you that smartphones are eating into the sales of standalone digital cameras – you only need to look around. Everywhere you go this summer, you will see people choosing to snap pictures with their camera phones rather than lug around a separate device.
According to research firm Mintel, digital cameras sales in the UK have fallen by 29 per cent since 2006, statistics that can easily be extrapolated to Ireland which shares similar market forces. The same survey reveals that some 21 per of all camera and camcorder owners agree that smartphones are a better long-term investment than a dedicated device despite 71 per cent believing that a standalone camera will deliver a better picture.
Not for the first time, convenience is valued more than quality. “We have seen it with portable media players and sat nav systems,” says Sam Gee, technology analyst at Mintel. “Choosing lower quality over convenience might not be a conscious decision, but nine times out of 10 consumers will reach for a smartphone to take a picture.”
Part of the convenience is the ecosystem of web services that have grown up around camera phones, making it easy to share pictures online as well as add glossy effects. In the last year, photo and video apps have taken over from gaming as the most popular downloads, according to Gee. “You can buy an application with 25 filters and 35 frames. In under 2½ minutes, you can take, edit and send a picture,” he says.
Unsurprisingly, camera manufacturers are fighting back with different products pitched at different users. There are “bridge” models starting at about €200 that offer the look and feel of more traditional cameras. Prices have been falling and they seem to be selling steadily despite the impact of camera phones.
Suffering most are compact cameras, their pocket-sized appeal eclipsed by multifunction phones that typically include an eight or 12 megapixel camera. “There is no doubt that smartphones are having an effect,” says Barney Sykes, Panasonic product manager, “but once a consumer tries to print a photo from a smartphone taken in any kind of low-light environment it might lead them into the compact market.”
As well as selling the superior performance of a standalone device, manufacturers have cut prices and extended the features and functionality of compacts, particularly with “superzooms” that are beyond the reach of smartphone ergonomics.
Gee is not convinced by this strategy. “You can manufacture a camera with a 10x, 20x or 30x optical zoom, but there comes a point, as it did with megapixels, where the top-end technology is more than the average consumer will ever want or need. Ultimately, they are better served by middle-of-the-road equipment or competitive technology such as smartphones.”
Gee believes that integrated digital services, including social connectivity and image-editing features, would be more effective in selling cameras than superzooms, pointing out that the social networking phenomenon has got more people taking photographs than ever before.
He welcomes signs that some manufacturers are taking the synergy seriously. “Samsung is talking about paring down the Android operating system and putting it on a digital camera. It seems like a natural next step,” he says.
The ability to innovate and second-guess changing consumer expectations will be crucial, according to Gee. It may be the key to survival for manufacturers anxious to avoid Kodak’s fate, a firm whose demise can be traced back to its slow adoption of digital technology.
Exactly the opposite is true of Panasonic. The Japanese consumer electronics company only entered the camera market with the onset of digital a decade ago and subsequently launched the Compact System Cameras (CSC) format in 2008. With the notable exception of Canon, most manufacturers have now embraced CSC, which abandons the mirror reflex action technology that is central to the way DSLR cameras capture shots, yet still accommodates interchangeable lenses.
“It’s a system where the sensor and lens have been designed for digital rather than bolting add-ons to a legacy system. We’re bringing out smaller cameras without compromising picture quality that is on a par or better than DSLR,” says Panasonic’s Barney Sykes.
Nikon, Canon and Sony dominate the high-end DSLR segment where the trend has been about making professional-style features and the highest-performance technologies available at increasingly affordable prices.
“We’re still seeing double-digit annual growth in DSLRs,” says Philip Brady, head of Canon Ireland, “and there has been an 80 per cent increase in the number of people buying extra lenses in the last six months.”
He says there is no sign that CSC has had an impact. “The quality isn’t as good as you’d get from a Canon, Nikon or Sony DSLR. I don’t believe it’s been perfected in the models available in the market at the moment and it hasn’t impacted on our DSLR sales.”
Brady puts the growing popularity of DSLRs down to casual snappers graduating into more serious photographers. Gee is not convinced. “It’s wishful thinking. DSLR sales are growing, but is that because they are becoming more popular or because the market is shrinking proportionately? I think it’s the latter,” he says. In the Mintel survey, he points out that only 14 per cent of people bought a digital camera to develop their interest in digital photography.
Gee does, however, offer a note of optimism for manufacturers. He believes they have the expertise to survive and thrive as long as they continue to innovate. “If they invest in making decent software for their hardware they could be in prime position, but if they keep pedalling the same technology again and again, just with slight improved iterations, then they will probably go under as well,” he says.
IN THE FRAME: SNAPSHOT OF DIGITAL CAMERAS
Three different types of digital camera at different price points
Samsung ST200F, €210
As the number-one smartphone manufacturer, Samsung knows better than most that it has to offer real value if it wants people to buy its standalone compacts.
The pocket-sized ST200F crams the features in, from a 10x zoom to built-in wifi. Boasting 16 megapixels and an ISO sensitivity that copes well with low light, it’s impressive at the price and the overall picture quality is sharp and vivid.
Panasonic Lumix DMC- G5, €849 (with 14-42mm lens)
The new flagship CSC from Panasonic is pitched as a DSLR alternative, a proposition bolstered by a dazzling range of creative controls packed into a neat chassis that takes a growing number of interchangeable lenses.
The company claims its Light Speed autofocus system, which you can activate from the touchscreen vari-angle LCD, is the fastest on the market. Other features include a 16-megapixel sensor, full HD video, six frame-per-second rapid-burst shooting and 12,800 ISO for taking pictures in extreme low light.
Canon EOS 60D, €1,150 (with 18-55mm lens)
As well as interchangeable lenses, an 18-megapixel CMOS sensor and strong, low-light performance, the Canon 60D offers the complete control over aperture and shutter speeds that creative enthusiasts crave.
It also offers a comprehensive range of preset shooting modes and a good deal of automation – including a nine-point autofocus system. The vari-angle three-inch LCD makes easy work of taking pictures in the most awkward situations.
The 60D is also the most affordable in a line of Canon cameras that shoot full HD 1080p video, giving it a whole other life as the camera of choice for low-budget film-makers.
