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04-07-2015, 02:19 AM   #1
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Collapsing Japanese camera market!

Somehow the Japanese cameramarket is taking a big hit at the moment.


http://www.cipa.jp/stats/documents/e/d-201502_e.pdf

The shipment of dslr has been down to 51,8 % of the same period in 2014 while mirrorless is down to 60,1 % of last years first two months. Since the Japanese market is the biggest chunk in the Pentax salescake (over 50 %) this must have some effect.

Anyone knowing a reason? Japan kept buying more camera's over the past years then the rest of the World, so are they only now discovering the advantages of smartphones?

The downtime could also be a reflex from last december's overstocking the market when the Japanese market was flushed with maybe to many camera's into the saleschannels. Last december they shipped extra stock, maybe just to get nice yearly figures to their stores.

http://www.cipa.jp/stats/documents/e/d-201412_e.pdf


Last edited by Nass; 04-07-2015 at 02:21 PM. Reason: Corrected irritating typo in the title. It's collapsing, not collapcing =)
04-07-2015, 02:31 AM - 1 Like   #2
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QuoteOriginally posted by RonHendriks1966 Quote
Somehow the Japanese cameramarket is taking a big hit at the moment.


http://www.cipa.jp/stats/documents/e/d-201502_e.pdf

The shipment of dslr has been down to 51,8 % of the same period in 2014 while mirrorless is down to 60,1 % of last years first two months. Since the Japanese market is the biggest chunk in the Pentax salescake (over 50 %) this must have some effect.

Anyone knowing a reason? Japan kept buying more camera's over the past years then the rest of the World, so are they only now discovering the advantages of smartphones?

The downtime could also be a reflex from last december's overstocking the market when the Japanese market was flushed with maybe to many camera's into the saleschannels. Last december they shipped extra stock, maybe just to get nice yearly figures to their stores.

http://www.cipa.jp/stats/documents/e/d-201412_e.pdf
Not because smartphones: IDG Connect – Why Japan turns to old-school phones and away from smartphones
04-07-2015, 02:36 AM   #3
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Probably a combination of past oversupply and the fact that the market has matured. Even Japanese can't feel strongly that they need an updated camera when most of the new features are pretty frivolous.
04-07-2015, 02:38 AM - 11 Likes   #4
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They have all stopped buying new gear until they see the Pentax Full Frame.
Everything will be OK.

04-07-2015, 02:50 AM   #5
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QuoteOriginally posted by Sandy Hancock Quote
They have all stopped buying new gear until they see the Pentax Full Frame.
Everything will be OK.


Hahahaha.....that was funny.


What was said in a prior post, there is nothing new that is earth shattering and people are fine with what they have now.


It is amazing to see that mirrorless has been hit so hard. Wasn't it a year ago that the DSLR is dead and mirrorless is the new seller. I never thought that myself but they keep saying it...."Just wait until the EVF improves with less lag and the DSLR is dead". It reminds me of desktop computers. Each year you would hear that they are faster and a lot of people bought new because of the speed. Now they are not really saying much about it because most of us think the speed is just fine now so I don't need to upgrade every year. Same goes with my K-30. I think to upgrade but why ? I am happy with the pics I am taking with it. Maybe wifi would be great, articulated was never a big deal to me, but at the end of the day, will the picture be spectacularly better with a K-3 or K-S2 ? I don't think so. I think we are hitting a ceiling and even though the big manufacturers keep pushing more and more new cameras, sales are going down because we are fine with what we have now. Just my opinion as always.
04-07-2015, 03:26 AM - 1 Like   #6
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Frankly I can't wait to see that 'collapse' trickle down to Europe. The prices we see here are wildly different from what goes in USA and Japan.
04-07-2015, 03:38 AM   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by cxdoo Quote
Frankly I can't wait to see that 'collapse' trickle down to Europe. The prices we see here are wildly different from what goes in USA and Japan.

The cynic in me would expect them to raise prices in Europe to try and make up some of the difference.

04-07-2015, 03:49 AM - 2 Likes   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by Rondec Quote
Even Japanese can't feel strongly that they need an updated camera when most of the new features are pretty frivolous.
Having a few Japanese friends, they are content with their 4 or 5 years old APS-C DSLR that they use when they want high quality images, and the rest of the time they use their iPAD or smart phone.
Market segmentation should be considered: different types of photographer. The most common photographer (use his/her camera for vacation and family), and the folks with photography as a passion, then the professionals. I believe the largest part of revenues was made with the largest common photographer segment who don't see the point of buying one more DSLR for using it 5 times a year. Then of course , as I can see on this forum , there's another category of photographer, some of them collecting old gear and having extensive photographic knowledge and extensive knowledge about features/differences/advantages for old and new camera equipments.

Now, the advantage of Pentax is that they failed to capture a lot of market share in the low-end base of the market, so I believe that Pentax are loosing in terms of sales but not much in terms of market share. In my opinion, Canon are being hit much harder than Nikon, Sony and Pentax. Nikon are offering cheap full frame to recover some sales from base customers who can't spend $3000 on a FF camera. Sony are also selling FF to the mass thanks to cost reduction offered by mirror-less, and Canon have abyssal sales drop as their FF frame are overpriced. Pentax currently has the advantage that they are not loosing customers that they never had, with recent acquisition by Ricoh which means allowing Pentax to loose money while investing in new developments against the market trend.
If Ricoh had not purchased Pentax as a strategic move, you could be worried about the K mount. But at least now that Ricoh is funding Pentax development, k mount is likely be safe at least for the next 2 to 3 years. What will define how Ricoh is able to make the most of its market segment will depend on how Ricoh are able to stage their product lines to match the buying power of the k mount user base. For example , some members of Pentax forum were strongly defending a highly priced FF DSLR, while others were pushing for a low cost version. So, if there would be only one expensive Pentax FF model, a lot of potential sales won't materialize. Regarding FF cameras, Nikon are doing it right, as they are offering a low priced FF (D610), mid priced FF (D750) and high priced FF (D810), some if you are with Nikon, you always have a product alternative that suit your budget.

---------- Post added 07-04-15 at 12:55 ----------

A lot of people who were disappointed with their photos compared to other users , purchased a DSLR thinking that the camera was the reason for them taking crap photographs... It was the case of a guy I know who purchased a 7D after seeing others taking amazing shots with a 7D. Once he had the 7D he realized that his photos still sucks; so now he uses only his phone, his 7D stays in its carton 365 days/year. He won't buy any other DSLR.

---------- Post added 07-04-15 at 13:28 ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by cxdoo Quote
Frankly I can't wait to see that 'collapse' trickle down to Europe. The prices we see here are wildly different from what goes in USA and Japan.
Pentax Europe prices are adjusted according to local competition.

QuoteOriginally posted by RonHendriks1966 Quote
Somehow the Japanese cameramarket is taking a big hit at the moment.
Yes, but don't forget that Pentax is weather resistant, they can survive in worst market weather conditions.

Last edited by biz-engineer; 04-07-2015 at 03:59 AM.
04-07-2015, 04:46 AM   #9
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We are merely seeing a shift of the high-volume, low-margin pricing model for interchangeable lens cameras. Revenue is declining sharply because low-price-point bodies have saturated their segment. That does not necessarily mean all camera makers are equally affected, nor does it necessarily mean no camera maker is profitable.
04-07-2015, 05:15 AM   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by biz-engineer Quote
Pentax Europe prices are adjusted according to local competition.

We're being shafted across the board, not just by RP.
04-07-2015, 05:26 AM   #11
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Everything is becoming 'good enough'.
04-07-2015, 05:30 AM   #12
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They have the 645Z, don't know if it goes under "DSLR" or "studio camera"...
However margins should be good enough for them in order to absorb the eventual hit.
Lower number, more gain per item.
04-07-2015, 05:44 AM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by ruggiex Quote
Everything is becoming 'good enough'.
The question if something is 'good enough' is directly linked to its price. When/if the prices drop sales it may suddenly become worth it again to upgrade for a lot of people.
04-07-2015, 05:59 AM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by biz-engineer Quote
Having a few Japanese friends, they are content with their 4 or 5 years old APS-C DSLR that they use when they want high quality images, and the rest of the time they use their iPAD or smart phone.
This was roughly what I was going to say. Someone else put it differently..."the market has matured." We've reached a point where you're no longer left behind if your camera is a few years old. DSLRs with 10-15 megapixels will do 99% of what most consumers need so buyers are getting longer life out of their existing equipment. It's the same thing that happened with computers.
04-07-2015, 06:04 AM - 1 Like   #15
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The fact that consumption is recovering in Japan after an increase in VAT, coupled with a decline in manufacturing output, probably means spending on luxury consumer goods like new DSLRs is on hold for the moment. Nervous consumers don't tend to buy these sorts of items if they're feeling uncertain about the future.
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