‘Swati Jain changed her profile picture’ says a pop up on the mobile phone. Within the next 15 minutes, there are 156 likes and 34 comments on her Facebook page. Jain was on a trip to Ladakh last month and uploaded her picture taken in front of the lake Pangong, through her smartphone. These hand-held devices’ ability to take quality photos and share them instantaneously has literally knocked out the ‘compact camera’ from many consumers’ mind.
Kazutada Kobayashi, President and CEO of Canon India Pvt Ltd, said thanks to the ever-growing smartphone market, the overall demand for low-end, aim-and-shoot cameras shrank by 30 per cent in 2014.
Other camera-makers such as Nikon, Sony and Panasonic, too, experienced a similar trend in sales last year, say retailers. According to CIPA (Camera and Imaging Products Association of Japan) data, global shipment of digital still cameras has been falling consistently in the last four years, and in 2014, it registered a 30 per cent drop to 43.43 million units from 62.84 million in 2013. In the year 2010, the total shipment was 121.48 million units.
But camera manufacturers see a bright spot in this grey scenario. The demand for high quality cameras is picking up.
Sajjan Kumar, Vice-President (Imaging Division), Nikon India, says the industry’s efforts to introduce new advanced features in cameras has cut short the time buyers take to upgrade from a smartphone to a compact camera with advanced features and then to an SLR (single-lens reflex) camera.
The smartphone market in India has witnessed a sudden and vast penetration and has made people experience photography on everyday basis. “It actually helps in driving the camera business as after clicking through phones, customers want better image quality, which can be achieved only through a compact camera or a D-SLR. And, they are lured for superior quality of photographs,” he said.
Echoing a similar point of view, Canon’s Kobayashi, said if even 20 per cent of the smartphone users are unhappy with their clicks and want to upgrade, it would clearly mean business for Canon. According to him, signs of this trend is visible even now. SLR (cameras) sales grew 50 per cent last year, on a smaller base, though, he said.
Besides, all these players try to improve their offerings with more innovative and technologically superior cameras in the compact segment. For example, Nikon’s new range of compact cameras is packed with features for capturing pictures and sharing them on the go. Selfies are also possible.
“But, these features may not improve the situation,” said an industry observer. “The camera modules in smartphones will only get better, offering less reason for anyone to buy a compact camera.”
Quoting Chris Chute, Vice-President, Global Digital Imaging Practices, an IDC (a market intelligence firm) report has said mobile device cameras, particularly smartphones, will contribute a strong share to the overall digital image installed base.