Sales of Digital cameras have dropped significantly again. There is now no going back on this. There won't be any reversal of this either. For the majority of the worlds population, smartphone cameras are what they use. Since they just get better and better anyway, it's obvious that's the way the general market is going to go. As I continually predict for us professionals and enthusiasts (I consider myself both) stand alone cameras will probably return to film camera levels for those of us who want more options for our photography, that smartphones will never give us. Eventually the penny is going to drop with the camera manufacturers. However, it seems Panasonic have their heads firmly in the sand.
A totally pointless update from Panasonic. Why so? - because you can now buy a G9, a superior camera, for not much more than the new price for this. Actually in the UK, if you shop around the G9 is £50 more. And people wonder why sales are dropping. After checking the prices, I actually could not believe that Panasonic released this camera. Have they not taken any notice of the dealers who sell their cameras? Are they really sitting in their Tokyo head offices thinking this camera is a good idea? If so then the decline of stand alone cameras will get even faster than it is now.
To anyone with even a modicum of common sense, several things are apparent.
- There are too many cameras chasing a diminishing number of buyers.
- Like the G95/90 companies are releasing too many incremental updates.
- Making cameras bigger, heavier and more expensive certainly isn't the answer, this will further diminish sales rather than increase them.
- There are now more exciting developments in smartphones. They may not always be as good as they are hyped, but they still get peoples attention.
- I firmly believe that the self promoting, monetising, mostly negative nonsense from YouTube reviewers puts off more people than it attracts.
- The emphasis on gear and specifications rather than creating images doesn't promote photography as a creative activity. It's just gadget owning one upmanship. (uppersonship??)
One final personal example. I use a Leica SL. At this time of writing it is a camera that houses 4 year old tech. I still use it because it takes superb pictures. It will continue to take superb pictures (and shoot superb video) for years to come. Leica maybe about to upgrade it, but they seem to be in no hurry. And indeed they are a company that has a longer product cycle for it's cameras than most. Surely the fact that despite the prices they charge they have been one of the most profitable camera companies gives a clue as to the direction to go. We have a real world law of diminishing returns in camera tech. and the constant hype and exaggeration of 'new' gear is obviously having no effect, as less and less people buy stand alone cameras. And considering that most of them are probably baby boomers anyway, this is a naturally declining market. Still, I guess natural selection will get rid of a lot of the 'fluff' in the camera market and we may well see companies like Sony and Olympus deciding to concentrate their resources on other products. Less models, longer product cycles, better value for money must be the way to go to even hold on to a significant market share. Those who ignore these factors do so at their peril. And ultimately a stripped down, leaner performance from camera manufacturers may be a good thing. Using cameras for longer and not being impressed by BS gimmicks is certainly the way I've been going for years. Maybe I won't be in the minority in the future.
