Camera Sales Falls as Users Switch to Smartphones

Sales of traditional cameras in the Asia Pacific region, of which New Zealand is a part, have dropped 14% in the last year, according to figures released by Panasonic. Speaking at the regional digital imaging seminar in Bali, Ichiro Kitao, head of the Digital Still Camera business unit, said sales of entry level cameras had declined markedly in 2012, mainly due to the increased uptake of smartphones with built in optical capabilities.

Downloadable apps, such as Facebook and Instagram, gave people another reason to choose their smartphone over a standalone camera, even though the image quality from most smartphones falls below that from a basic camera with a flash and a zoom lens. While total sales of digital still cameras in the region fell from 6.7 million units to 5.8 million, Kitao saw a silver lining in the growth of more sophisticated compact system and mirrorless cameras. Citing total market figures from market research company GFK, the company showed that the mid-market segments of cameras with interchangeable lenses had grown between 12% and 69% year-on-year.

While Panasonic will continue to produce entry level compact digital cameras, the company said it will noticeably shift its strategy to concentrate more on this growth area. Compact system cameras have small bodies, similar in size to compact cameras, but they are also able to use larger, interchangeable lenses, similar to those commonly found on full size digital SLR cameras. Compact system cameras are designed to satisfy the appetite of consumers with higher quality photographic needs, such as parents, intrepid travellers and hobbyists. With this in mind Panasonic announced the launch in New Zealand of new compact system cameras with an array of smartphone compatible features.

The Lumix GF6 is a light, interchangeable lens camera which is designed to appeal to people stepping up from compact cameras or smartphones. It has a range of creative control settings which mimic the filters from popular photographic apps, allowing the user to easily create monochrome or bleach-effect pictures for example.

Connectivity is another major issue and the new GF6 and the more advanced G6 - a digital single lens mirrorless camera - have Near Field Communication or NFC and wireless built in. This means that images shot on the camera can be transferred to an NFC capable smartphone with little more than a "tap and an app". Once transferred to the phone, the user can then share the image to their social network of choice.
More advanced users can also use the app to control the camera remotely via a direct wifi connection. In this mode, the image from the camera is streamed to a smartphone or tablet and the user can simply tap that screen to take pictures from the remote device.

Also on show at the forum, and signalling Panasonic's desire to evolve smartly, were a wearable, over-the-ear camera for recording sports adventures and a digital video camera with the ability to live stream to the internet.