Trends Go With Mirrorless, Mega-Zoom, Waterproof

By TWICE Staff -- TWICE, 8/22/2011

TWICE:What have been your most important products so far this year?

David Lee, Nikon: For us, obviously d-SLRs continue to drive the marketplace, and Nikon and another brand [Canon], continue to dominate the market, with a little over 92 percent of the marketplace. So, for us, that is a great place to be with the category growing like it is, and we continue to innovate with new products and plan on continuing that and continuing our promotions within that category.

And, again, the other place that we really see a big win going forward is in long-zoom models.

I think the NPD numbers will show that the over- $400 price point category in point-and-shoots is still growing. And while the overall market is down, there are segments that continued to perform well, and within that, I think, companies will have to compete against each other for market share, which actually ends up being a big win for the consumer.

Our No. 1-selling d-SLR is the D3100 right now. We have a No. 3 spot with D5100, and D7000 is in the top 10 also. So we are in a very lucky position right now.

Stefan Guelpen, Panasonic: It’s kind of surprising, but in the advanced point-and-shoot camera segment, it is manual control and high-end optics. That is a great business for us. It’s growing and still has high ASPs. Our relationship with Leica, through which we build lenses to their standards, helps us tremendously. Long-zoom point-and-shoots, such as the ZS8 and ZS10, are our top-selling models. And last but not least, our mirrorless [Micro Four Thirds] cameras have been very successful in the first quarter, particularly the smaller form factor GF 2.

Peter Ewen, Olympus: Speaking to the photo specialty dealers, to have $400 to $500 point-and-shoot product from most of the manufacturers this year has been a welcome surprise. There is something that’s really unique about each one of them. Our XZ 1, with 4x zoom f/1.8 lens, has been very appealing to the photo industry.

Another sector that has always done well for us is waterproof, weather-proof, shock-proof, freeze-prooftype models from $200 to $400. The key to success here is in how you get the word out to consumers.

We were happy to see that 10 percent of the interchangeable- lens camera market has swung over to compact-system cameras. As far as the high-end $400, $500 point-and-shoot cameras, we find ourselves in an aided selling environment, where the counter person now can actually explain the benefits of a high-performance point-and-shoot compared to an interchangeable-lens camera.

One of the key benefits of a compact-system camera is the better image sensor. And, again, if you can speak to why bigger is better for quality, in an aided environment, even at the Best Buy level, then you’ve got a win/win situation with the consumer.

Guelpen: I agree. We clearly see that there is a pull from highend point-and-shoot into the mirrorless category. Again, manual control, better optics and interchangeable lenses are the key advantages. What the high-end enthusiast is looking for is a small form factor, so we see this being purchased in addition to a d-SLR, so it’s a point-and-shoot, kind of, for the higher-end consumer.

John Carlson, sales and marketing senior manager, Pentax: Our most important cameras have to be our d-SLRs and our waterproof cameras. In d-SLRs, we still have a lot of entrants into d-SLRs because of the color options that we’re offering. People are proud of their different color d-SLRs. These cameras have a higher ASP but our K-5 has also done well based a lot on the reviews it has gotten, and, you know, the ratings of the sensor, which is one of the top-rated sensors with some reviewers.

For the waterproof camera category, our engineers have done a great job evolving that feature over 12 generations. It’s continued to become more ruggedized and look more like an adventure-proof camera from the design and color standpoint. We have worked with outdoor brands to find which colors were going to resonate with the outdoor market.

Mark Sherengo, Pentax: And I would just like to add the 645D has been tremendous for us and the brand in bringing technology to the market. It fills in the gap that’s not really being filled by anybody else.

Liz Cutting, NPD: D-SLRs with 1080p video recording capability are just hitting it full on. People are certainly taking a lot more photos than they are video, but it seems that it’s the ability to use it if they need it that’s important. In the meantime, we see camcorders lagging month over month. Even pocket camcorders are fading a bit.

As for mirrorless hybrids, we have seen consumers, absolutely, saying, “For now, I am a d-SLR owner, and this is going to be my second camera.” The potential is there that it would take sales away from more advanced point-and-shoot sales. And, if you look at the numbers, we are not seeing any reduction in d-SLR sales, so it seems for now that some d-SLR consumers are starting to consider mirrorless hybrids as second cameras as opposed to an advanced point-and-shoot. But both are healthier sectors than lower-end cameras

Some higher-end echelon consumers are saying they are reluctant to buy a mirrorless point-and-shoot camera today because, “It is not my brand.” This tells us there’s certainly more potential for growth going forward if others choose to enter the market, and that’s a tide that will lift all boats.

The other side of that market is women and moms because we’re seeing that moms are saying, “This is great. I love it. It’s small. I can take pictures it’s faster. I could put in my purse,” and then they get to the price part and they are like, “Oh, sorry.” So there’s going to be some magical price point where you will start to see the next generation of consumer moving up. Certainly,