Despite predictions that cameras will be made obsolete by smartphones, Japanese manufacturers report that they shipped nearly three times as many cameras in January as they did during the same period in 2003.
“For several years, it has been predicted that smartphone adoption would cut into digital camera sales,” said Prashant Malaviya, associate professor of marketing at Georgetown University. “In fact, the exact opposite has happened.”
“Surveys by NPD In-Stat last November show that while more than a quarter of all American photos were taken by a smartphone, more people were buying cameras with detachable lenses or cameras with optical zooms of 10x or more,” notes Reuters.
The quality of images and the development of mirrorless cameras are among the strengths of the camera industry. However, point-and-shoot cameras are vulnerable to recent improvements in smartphone cameras.
NPD In-Stat senior digital imaging analyst Liz Cutting also notes that people generally don’t trust phones or point-and-shoots for important personal images and family photographs.
“It’s part of who you are, showing the kind of brand of camera you have,” she says. “But it’s also trusting the quality of that memory because that’s how you remember your life.”
“Camera photography is certainly not dead,” Cutting adds. “We’re just seeing a skewing towards what the smartphone can’t deliver. People are recognizing that and are going for a higher end camera.”
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