Canon Cuts Full-Year Forecast as Camera Users Switch to Phones

[Chuck Alaimo]

Two quick comments:
1. While 90% of the time I believe you are correct and that those using camera phones will never buy a dSLR, I have to think to some degree increasing the number of people snapping pictures, posting pictures and ultimately participating in photography will eventually increase the number of dSLR owners. The slice of the pie may shrink, but the size of the pie may be growing.

2. For people that can't afford a Luxury lens (L is for Luxury), have you noticed the new 55-250 STM, or the newer 18-55 lens. Honestly, they are getting pretty darn good optically. Canon also cut prices on the 17-55 and the 15-85, which are optically very good. So Canon does have an improving "value" product. Not surprisingly at all, their top of the line, Luxury, products, aren't aimed at their "value" customers. They are aimed at people that will pay a lot more for something that is a little better. Your complaint is analogous to someone that can afford a Honda but angry that a Mercedes isn't more affordable. Honda is a good car (I drive one). But it isn't Luxury.

+1.

I eventually migrated to a dSLR from a point and shoot and camera phone.

Tried a couple of different point and shoots, and they never gave me what I was looking for.

Current camera phones are equal or better than my P&S cameras, with similar limitations. However, the phone camera can do things like email and messaging, which are valuable functions not available on my P&S or dSLR cameras.

Actually, it may not at all change the # of people that move to dslr's ---just the path to dslr's --instead of cell phone to P&S to slr---people will skip the P&S step and go right to slr

 

[celliottuk]

I'm a bit late to this thread, so this is a reaction to the original post.
A long established UK high street chain-Jessops Photographic went bust a year ago. They blamed the rise of the smart/cameraphone that was killing off their business in the sub £150 compact camera market, which was their daily cash cow.
I can remember when I had to take a phone, a camera, an MP3 player plus loads more when I was going out. Now I take my phone. The death of compact cameras as they are at the moment is inevitable. The case for £200 plus cameras is less obvious. If I want simply to shove up a picture on Facebook, my phone does the job, for anything else I have decided that I need a tool that has more capabilities(Sometimes a micro 4/3rds camera, sometimes a heavy and expensive SLR)
As the capabilities of phones increase, the mid-market will be eroded, and with it the profits that pay for the R+D needed on high end cameras. That, surely, is the risk that Canon need to consider, and if I were them I would start to invest in technologies that would create a new low-end market. Things like cheap 3d cameras, or cameras with huge zoom capability that would be difficult to implement in a phone form factor come to mind.

 

[Chuck Alaimo]

Last thing to say on this topic for a bit ---part of this whole debate involves trends. Right now everyone loves the instant gratification of snap upload, watch as the comments and likes pour in. Who says this trend is the new tomorrow? Right now, everyone wants to share everything and everyone loves everything that everyone is sharing. But will that be the case in 2015, 2016, 2017...etc etc. this is whats happening now, but, what's happening now is a trend - maybe this trend will change. what happens when the likes stop for your duck face in the mirror photo? What happens when no one cares that you posted a pic of your dinner plate. What happens when instant upload is considered, "that's so 2013, gawd, no one does that anymore."