Rob Thubron:
Over the last few years, we’ve seen the quality of smartphone cameras continue to rise. Not surprisingly, the worldwide popularity of handsets has affected the digital camera market, and according to the CEO of Canon, the situation is going to get a lot worse over the next couple of years.
Fujio Mitarai, boss of the Japanese giant, warned that the digital camera industry would keep declining. He said that by around 2021, it will have reached its lowest point, having shrunk by almost 50 percent.
The writing has been on the wall for a long time as smartphones first decimated the point and shoot market and now, according to Canon, may very well drive the company out of the consumer DSLR market as well.
DSLR makers need to double down on professional customers and on use cases that cannot be achieved by a phone sized lens. They’re going to lose the rest of their customers, full stop.
I have a Canon 6D with the 100mm f2.8 Macro L lens. Can’t remember when I last hauled it out of its bag.
I just LOVE my Apple iPhone 7+ and its camera! It’s always with me, too!
Camera makers are doomed to be niche players. And, maybe, only one will survive.
“Good enough” is the death of many things. For example, look what [crappy] MP3 music did. And, when was the last time you bought a calculator?
If I were in charge of Canon, I would:
1. only make full-size sensor cameras (making all models full-size would get the price points down)
2. think about shrinking the overall camera size (Leica delivers excellent photos in a smaller size)
3. Simplify the product line (better and best)
I know a few good, serious photographers (amateur, I mean). The thing is… they’re serious. They look for opportunities to take good shots and practice their craft. VERY few people do that.
The other issue is that I rented a DSLR for my cousin’s wedding (the wedding photog flaked) and while the camera and lenses were great and fun to play with… I’d be about $1000 into gear just to get a nice camera and a couple of lenses. I can’t justify that unless (see above) I”m seriously into it. And I’m not.
In terms of entry level point and shoot cameras etc… my XS does fine for the things I want to shoot. I can’t justify $2-500 for that kind of camera for the few “Oh nice pic!” kind of shots I do.
4. invest in manufacture of camera assemblies for phones.
It will not put the consumer camera sector out of business. You can’t get a decent telephoto image from an attachment to a phone. You can’t shoot a soccer game, rugby, basketball, football, baseball espeically, with a phone camera. You can do posed images of people jumping up and down and flipping out. But you are not going to get an interception at the 50 yard line from the end zone with a phone. Photograph birds in flight? Not many of the potential photos out there.
It is pure bunk that cellphones can do everything and that computational photography will cover all the bases. Only people looking for investors and suckers as customers make such silly claims. Most people didn’t use cameras well or properly. They will be happy with phones. I’m surprised they think half of the current camera market will continue using what the future brings (which is not DLSRs but mirrorless).
There’s a reason serious photographers describe using only a cellphone camera as an exercise in limiting their choices intentionally.
It’s all about OUTPUT….the most popular reason to take photos now is for digital and social media….in most cases as long as a wide angle lens can do the job, the device will do the job…times change…I’m a professional photographer and I take more pics on my phone these days than the DSLRs…I remember in the early 80’s, working for a local newspaper and chatting with another photographer about this new idea of ‘digital’ photos and thinking how pointless to have photos stuck on a computer…lol….gotta love change! 😉 ps…We’ll all never get rid of our beautiful big cameras for those few other jobs that pop up…lol…