Faced with smartphones that are now ultra-gifted in photography, the compact digital camera is (almost) no longer needed.
Many brands (Canon, Nikon, Sony, Panasonic, etc.) have stopped the development of new products, without abandoning the sector.
The smartphone too strong for the compact camera
For a few years now, smartphones have been offering an ever more sophisticated, ever more polished photo section, sometimes in collaboration with photography experts such as Leica or Hasselblad. Also, over the years, our modern phones have gradually put away our good old compact digital cameras.
According to the Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA), in 2008, approximately 110 million compact digital cameras were sold worldwide. Last year, according to this same association, the fall was almost 97%, with only 3 million sales…
Panasonic and Nikon stop charges
This situation forces certain manufacturers to take radical decisions, to say the least. This is the case for Panasonic and Nikon, which have both decided to stop the development of entry-level compact digital cameras.
At Panasonic, this concerns the Lumix range. At Nikon, the Coolpix range is concerned. Note that if the development is stopped, the two brands do not stop the production and marketing of the various existing models.
This critical situation is experienced by other photography giants, such as Fujifilm (which has stopped its FinePix range), Canon or Sony, whose innovations date back a few years already. Brands now prefer to focus on so-called “hybrid” models, which are more likely to appeal to photography lovers.
Also according to the CIPA, despite a dizzying drop in sales, the entry-level compact camera still represented 36% of the market last year.
Source : Nikkei
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