[JohnMc]

I think all this needs to be taken with a grain of salt. These are the manufacturers talking, and they are stating that they are looking at "creators"---meaning Tik-Tok and Youtube folks. And i would wager from their perspective there is a little room for growth in video, so of course that's what's driving the market from their perspective. Over at DPR I posted a poll asking people how much they used video---there were degrees of usage and expertise within the questions. Not a scientific poll, since it was self-selecting from an already self selected readership, but in about 100 respondents/voters fully 70% indicated that video was not important to them, and just over 21% indicated that it was.

They should have changed their name to DVR a year or so ago, or at least started a celebrity cable channel. ;

[Rondec]

I think we need to be clear that video means more to reviewers, but not necessarily to every day photographers. Reviews of camera gear make much of small differences in number of auto focus points, video modes available, and frame rates. The reality is that any camera currently on the market is better than 99 percent of the cameras available ten years ago with regard to those specifications.

If you can't get good photos these days, it probably isn't the camera.

Video is a way for reviewers to rank cameras higher or lower. That still doesn't mean that it has much importance to most folks who purchase an ILC.

[GaryM]

Meh, I don't shoot video, and I'm not a social media "creator" or a Millennial. But I have *some* disposable income for my photography hobby, so I hope someone continues to make something for me to spend it on.

[btnapa]

just over 21% indicated that it was.

Excellent point. And I agree as I am not a video guy either. Video is a different animal. You need to know more than just the image part. You have to know about good sound and be good at editing to get decent results. Here is a different perspective. I showed up for a freelance gig needing photos which I was prepared for. Last minute, the client asked me if I could shoot some video too. Not being familiar enough with the video side of the Sony camera I was using, I asked if it was ok to do the videos with my iPhone. The guy agreed and I used my iPhone. I shot a lot with the wide lens in 4K 60P. Coming back to my office I looked at the raw videos on my desktop monitor and they looked pretty good. More than acceptable for online presentation which is what the guy wanted.

[ramseybuckeye]

I think the camera manufacturer who is the most on track may be Ricoh and the boutique approach. In the entertainment electronics industries things have changed immensely over the past several years. In my lifetime I’ve seen music delivered on vinyl, over the air, on 8 track tapes, cassette tapes, compacts discs, downloaded files, over the internet, over cable tv, over satellite, and I’m sure I’m missing some. Some of these were relatively short lived. Music itself has more genres than ever. There are so many different television networks compared to the days of the “big three”, a television show does not need the mass appeal to be successful that they did just 30 years ago, they can thrive with a smaller audience. I am rambling on here and making little sense, but a lot of us geezers don’t care about video, but a lot of young potential customers do, the customers the companies want to add. They may not need to satisfy every customer with a product, if you can customize your manufacturing for the customer. The market is crazy and unpredictable more so than ever, it’s easy to miss on a product. Pentax may be lowering that risk, and just maybe being smaller may also mean you can be more agile. I don’t know, it’s a tough market, but there is always potential to improve your lot.

[btnapa]

I am rambling on here and making little sense, but a lot of us geezers don’t care about video,

I too am an old geezer and agree with all but one point you made. Pentax can go small and play small but one thing they are not is agile. That may have been the cause of them falling behind. To be fair to Pentax, they were not in total control and had owners that had other priorities.

[house]

As others have pointed out "Video driving the market" is wishful thinking by the camera brands. Cameras have relied on constant and significant feature upgrades for a long time but have now reached a plateau for stills. The previous business model doesn't work anymore but rather than switch up (like Pentax is doing) they were hoping that shifting to milc would enable another long run of upgrades.

There are lots and lots of products made that don't rely on feature improvements but still sell. This is where cameras need to go.

[ramseybuckeye]

I too am an old geezer and agree with all but one point you made. Pentax can go small and play small but one thing they are not is agile. That may have been the cause of them falling behind. To be fair to Pentax, they were not in total control and had owners that had other priorities.

I agree, but I think they are trying to become agile.

[btnapa]

I agree, but I think they are trying to become agile.

I hope so. The old fable, the hare vs. tortoise race, might just come true! We shall see.

[Dartmoor Dave]

Pentax can go small and play small but one thing they are not is agile.

That's an important point. Hopefully Ricoh will have enough sense to slip the reins and let Pentax have its own way, but big corporations tend not to be inclined to do that.

[Wheatfield]

I agree, but I think they are trying to become agile.

Agility implies sufficient resources to adapt quickly to new situations when it becomes apparent that those situations require adaptation. In Pentax's case, this would, In my opinion, require more R&D dollars being thrown into product development than is presently apparent.

[btnapa]

Agility implies sufficient resources to adapt quickly to new situations when it becomes apparent that those situations require adaptation. In Pentax's case, this would, In my opinion, require more R&D dollars being thrown into product development than is presently apparent.

Agree, well said. While they are at it, perhaps some marketing too so people know it is there.

[TaoMaas]

I do think video is one of the big things driving the market these days. I feel like digital still photography cameras have reached a point where improvements are incremental and maybe not worth upgrading as often as we may have in the past. There seems to be more room for improvement on the video side of things and that can translate into new camera sales. Personally, I've got one foot in the still photography world and the other planted in the video world so I kind of see both sides of things. I see a lot of people shooting video on cellphones, but when they want something better, they migrate towards MILCs. I think this may be what the manufacturers are seeing, too.

[luftfluss]

Video may or may not be "driving the market", but it is driving product development.

[Lord Lucan]

I remember my parents and their circle getting into the then craze for Super 8 home movie filming, must have been around the early 1980s. Once the novelty wore off, and they found how boring it was to watch other people's poorly made films of people doing boring things, their interests moved onto something else. My father went back to stills photography. I still have their Super 8 movie stuff in my attic.

Even earlier than the Super 8 craze I can just remember a tape recorder craze. My father had one that was half the size of a washing machine. Electronics manufacturers and their marketing teams will never tire of promoting new crazes which require the purchase of expensive equipment.