The increasing pixel size of smartphone cameras, along with higher penetration of smartphones among the middle and lower middle class consumers has led to free fall of fixed lens low end digital still camera market. However, the demand for high end interchangeable lens digital still camera is not much affected by the escalating growth of smartphones. With the improvement in internet infrastructure and wireless communication market, the consumers are now more connected, as they found smartphones much better for uploading and sharing videos and photos in real time. Moreover, the consumers in developing countries who could not previously afford a camera are not expected to own cameras in the coming five to six years, owing to the availability of cost-effective alternative, such as smart phones and feature phones.
Unlike other digital still camera, the demand for digital single-lens reflex cameras (DSLRs) is expected to increase in the coming years, owing to their high resolution in addition to, its higher penetration among professional photographers. However, the premium pricing of DSLRs is expected to hinder its growth during the forecast period.
The higher resolution of smartphone cameras and their user friendly operation has led to widespread adoption of smart phones in the consumer electronics market. The sales of compact and point-and-shoot cameras had been falling, opposite to the astronomical rise of smartphone cameras. Even though smartphone cameras do not typically match the quality of the digital still camera; while the technology is constantly improving, as the quality of camera image output becomes too high for consumers to reliably differentiate. Further, the sales of single reflex cameras (SLRs) also began to decline, as the product needs innovation, modernization and transition to high end mirror less technology.
The consumers in emerging market are less interested in buying digital still cameras, due to high prices; rather they focus on buying a medium range smart phone which provides various other user friendly features, such as instant uploading, sharing and photo shop. Further, camera manufacturers need to focus on investing in digital services, social connectivity, ease of operation and new features in digital camera devices, so that with innovative hardware capabilities and modifications, the consumer’s interest is retained.
North America accounted for the largest market of digital camera in 2014. Asia-Pacific witnessed the slowest market declination over the years, and expected to surpass the North American digital camera market during the forecast period to become the largest regional market by the end of 2020. The European digital still camera market has fallen at the fastest rate. Despite of the falling market, China, Japan, India, the U.K., the U.S., Canada, and Brazil remains the important market for the digital still camera.
The digital still camera market is consolidated. The top three vendors of the market accounted for more than 50% share of the global market in 2014. With the falling market of digital still camera, the treat of new entrants is possible. Moreover, the price pressure in the global digital still camera market has also increased over the years. Some of the competitors in the digital camera market are, Canon Corporation, Eastman Kodak, FujiFilm, Olympus Corporation, Samsung, Sony Corporation, and Casio Corporation.
Global Digital Still Camera Market Segmentation
By Type
- Compact Digital Cameras
- Mirror-less Interchangeable-lens Cameras
- Digital Rangefinders
- Bridge Cameras
- Digital Single Lens Reflex (SLR) Cameras
- Line-scan Camera Systems
By Geography
- North America
- Latin America
- Eastern Europe
- Western Europe
- Asia-Pacific
- Middle-East and Africa
