The latest financial reports are in, and almost all camera manufacturers are affected by the recession. What does this mean for consumers and professional photographers?
If there was any doubt that the recession has taken a toll on the photo industry, look at the most recent earning reports, which came out this week. Across the board, camera manufacturer earnings are down, in some cases dramatically. Canon’s net profit plunged 86% from a year ago (their DSLR sales, however, are up). Nikon stock has dropped 10 percent and they forecast a record loss. Hoya, which owns Pentax, posted a 27% decrease in income. Fujifilm saw revenue fall 12.8% compared to the previous year, and posted a net loss. Kodak posted disappointing results (although its stock prices have jumped). Olympus is one of the few bright spots, with a 9% increase in income.
No matter where you look, in almost every case, you can see disappointing results falling short of predictions for camera companies.
Not surprisingly, much of this has to do with the recession. Consumers are simply not spending as much money, and unless you’re a dedicated photographer or professional, cameras are a luxury.
Turning it around
I once read of a particular CEO who, after getting bad news about his company’s performance, gathered his company leadership and posed the following challenging question to them: Why is this good news? Nobody could leave until they could find not just a silver lining, but a way of turning the company’s bad performance into a motivating force for positive change. (Ugh, that sentence sounds like it came right off a dreaded motivational poster).
So, why is the photo industry’s current dire financial straits good news?
Price competition is getting fierce, which means cameras (especially compacts) are costing less. Good news for consumers, but bad news for camera companies. To compete, they cut prices and that eats into profits.
Fewer confusing choices. In this summer’s new camera announcements, I’ve noticed that almost every camera company’s compact digital camera fall lineup is slimmer. In previous years, it seemed like there had to be a camera at every price point at $20-50 intervals, with such subtle differences that the average consumer ends up totally confused. Now companies that usually introduce 6-8 new models are introducing half that many. This means more streamlined manufacturing, more pronounced differences between cameras, and less marketplace confusion.
More innovations. Touch screens, smarter cameras that recognize faces, 3D cameras, WiFi, cameras with built-in projectors. Manufacturers know most people already have digital cameras and it takes a lot of “Wow” features to get them to get a second camera. Others are taking pictures primarily with their camera phones (oh, the humanity!). So, to boost sales, they are innovating like crazy. Some new features are going to spread like wildfire and will be available on all models in the near future (case in point: Face Detection) while some will be determined to be gimmicks, and will fade away. (Remember those cameras that said “say cheese!” or “bonsai!” when you pressed the shutter release?) How will Touch Screens, Smile mode and that new Sony gizmo that takes pictures for you at parties do? Time will tell.
Yes, there obviously are downsides to the downturn. New cameras may not be delivered to dealer shelves fast enough so photographers may have to wait for their gear. High-end camera prices, unlike consumer prices, are likely to remain steady or rise (Nikon recently increased prices on some cameras and lenses, for instance). Supply and demand, you know.
But I’m always a memory-card-half-full kinda guy, and I believe the photo industry will weather this storm and come out of this stronger and smarter and able to recoup its losses.
I hope we all will.
How has the recession affected you as a photographer? Leave a comment below.
