Edited quote from: No Guts, No Glory
“It’s no secret that the camera industry is in poor health…
What to do then? I would realize that the smartphone has won, and that salvation for my company and product line lies with specialization and differentiation, and with offering those photographers who are seeking a superior picture-taking experience truly differentiated and therefore desirable products.”Michael gets it… Other pundits seem to error by suggesting the disruptive effect of smartphones and or their usability can be reversed by adding usability gimmicks to traditional cameras…
Edited quote from: No Guts, No Glory
“Which brings us to the two companies that look like they know what they’re doing – Sony and Fuji.”I would argue that Canon and Nikon are still getting it right for their core DSLR users…
Smartphones freed non enthusiasts from the burden of carrying a real camera…
Mirrorless has freed some enthusiasts and pro’s from the burden of a DSLR where their photography does not need that system…
High resolution full frame has freed some Medium format users from their burden of heavy gear where full frame does what they need…
The market is just adjusting as technology and product availability allows it… In every user group there will be users waiting for better alternatives…
Edited quote from: No Guts, No Glory
“I want to focus on Sony, because the rumour mill has been rife all spring with the expectation of a new camera to augment the A7 series. Will this be a 50+ megapixel model? Will it have in-body stabilization like the A7 MKII? Will it have 4K video like the A7s, but with in-camera recording this time.
Thinking what I would do if I were Sony – seeing that Nikon and Canon are on the metaphorical ropes, and that my (Sony’s) sales and market share is increasing steadily, is that I would blow the entire wad on a new super-high-end model. Hit the marketplace with the whole enchilada – 36-50MP, in-body sensor stabilization, and 4K video with in-body recording. Kick the competition hard while they’re down with an updated 7 series body. Mirrorless is now 50% of the interchangeable lens camera market in Asia, and growing steadily elsewhere. Sony is in a position of strength in this segment. Capitalize on it, now!”The high end is already safe regardless of volumes going up or down so SONY may still keep the three lines of 7 series separate, “Sensitivity” (A7S), “Resolution” (A7R) and “All round” (A7). Hard to say if the IBSS gets added to all of these… People who need 4K may also need a real video camera, so SONY will not waste effort if they need to wait a few generations making it a standard feature with in body recording…
Edited quote from: No Guts, No Glory
“With some recent new G series and Zeiss branded FE glass from Sony, along with Zeiss’ own exciting new Batis lens line, Sony is primed. Introduce a no-holds-bared high-end FE mount model and the community of serious (non-smartphone) photographers will reach into their wallets.”This is another area that will keep some Canon users with Canon and some Nikon users with Nikon, “glass”… Add to that style and street cred. No matter what SONY does their camera products lack design, they really did buy the old Minolta body division…
In a humorous video, a 1DX sports user advised upcoming 7D2 users to keep the booster on with their longest lens when walking into the sports photographers area, and to stay away for their own safety if they had a puny A7 SONY… You will not find these photographers discussing Dynamic range either…
Edited quote from: No Guts, No Glory
“Take half measures and dole out the features slowly over time, and Sony will give Nikon and Canon time to breath (if they still are doing so). In other words – wearing my marketing hat, I’d say – hit them hard with all barrels – now.”It may be counterproductive to try to compete directly in areas where Canon and Nikon are strong. Better they continue to create the alternatives that some Canon and Nikon users will prefer and gain their own market as they have done…
The Smartphone has disrupted the mass market. The burden of supplying zillions cameras to non photographers has been lifted, this means all Camera makers can focus on enthusiast and pro’s… Good news for real photographers if those manufacturers can all manage to stay in business…
As affordable Large sensors become more readily available it should put some meat back into medium format market. I suspect we will see some range finder style cameras in these larger formats soon… It is starting to get like the film days all over again, and those past “gear” market models will be the future albeit with some users changing formats up or down for different reasons…
With regard to the Kodak school of business, Film was disrupted by digital eventually across all its market segments, it is very different to the disruption of smartphones which are limited to the mass market segment of camera users, albeit it a painful loss to bear. Kodak were supplying physical/chemical media in their home market which was one thing that allowed them to survive with good basic and aging business skills against competition until the digital era. The digital camera makers still have other market segments that are unaffected by smartphones. They will never grow them enough to replace the mass market, so they need to diversify and strengthen what they do have or adjust in size…
Canon had expanded overseas production for low end products in the boom days and have now already closed those factories and moved efforts home. They must have made hay while the sun was shinning as they are now buying up other companies (security Cameras) to diversify…
SONY is a major sensor maker for everything, not just handheld cameras. I would be more worried if I was a SONY user that they get bored of the camera market are start focusing on the pure sensors and other electronics… They have a bigger company to feed and a history of pulling out of markets they entered…
Fuji is playing it safe going for the retro rangefinder style APS C segment and a rumored medium format version in the future…