[Simen1]

A beautiful theory, but not matched by reality ... no one bought them!

But that wasn't the features fault. It was essentially a 800$ camera with a 1600$ price tag, because of Android. Thats obviously not a good price tactic.

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Last edited by Simen1; 09-06-2016 at 06:12 AM.

[rangercarp]

It isn't that people are replacing their ILC with a smart phone, but rather that they don't need to replace their ILC as often now. The market has matured to the place that there is no reason to upgrade every new iteration of a camera, or even two. If you own a D5200, why would you go out and buy a D5300 or D5500?

So many people don't seem to understand this when talking about camera sales. There was a huge peak in DSLR sales from 2006-2012 or so, and the decline since then has a lot more to do with the lengthening upgrade schedule than anything else.

[RonHendriks1966]

So many people don't seem to understand this when talking about camera sales. There was a huge peak in DSLR sales from 2006-2012 or so, and the decline since then has a lot more to do with the lengthening upgrade schedule than anything else.

But many of those will never buy a new one, even when their old camera is dead.

[Ontarian50]

It's easy for us photo enthusiasts to miss the forest for the trees in discussions/arguments like these. But ever since the invention of the transistor, there's been an ongoing destruction/decimation/restructuring of industry after industry.

While the enthusiast/professional photographer is an important and visible part of the photographic market, he/she pales in importance to the numbers of rank amateurs taking snapshots and family photos. While Kodak did dabble in high-end cameras from time to time, most of the time they focused their efforts on inexpensive cardboard or plastic cameras because that helped sell millions and millions of rolls of film, and the related processing materials and equipment to put all those snapshots in family albums.

But electronic photography was inevitable and only a few years after Kodak brought it to market, it wiped out demand for their films/paper and chemistry as electronic storage became the norm.

For another short period, the Japanese camera companies gloried in the wave of spending on these wonderful devices. No shoulder bag was complete without a cellphone and a pocket digital camera ... at least until a good camera module could be miniaturized enough to fit right in the phone and be instantly connected to the internet and social media. That shoulder bag no longer needs a separate camera.

Sure, professionals and enthusiasts are content knowing their special purpose cameras are measurably superior to pocket cameras and cellphones, but our camera manufacturers have lost that massive revenue stream that floated their boats for those early digital years.

There was a time when the word "Nikon" or "Pentax" didn't appear on anything but an SLR camera. After those brands started appearing on pocket 35mm cameras, binoculars, and riflescopes, it's not hard to see how the companies began to forget their core business: enthusiast and pro photographers. The hard part will be seeing how they are able to weather the storm now that the computer electronics juggernaut has ripped away a big part of their business (as they did to Kodak just a few years ago).

[pathdoc]

There was a time when the word "Nikon" or "Pentax" didn't appear on anything but an SLR camera. After those brands started appearing on pocket 35mm cameras, binoculars, and riflescopes, it's not hard to see how the companies began to forget their core business: enthusiast and pro photographers.

There's a fine line between what you are describing and wise diversification. It could form a topic for discussion all its own.

[ffking]

I like Tony - he has his own points of view, but he tells it as he sees it and adds something to the conversation - but it would sadden me if he were right about his basic premise, that people will only get into serious photography if you make an easy pathway for them. Those of us who learned our photography when almost nothing was automated had to learn how cameras worked and the relationships between all the variables, but we learned because we wanted to make better images than a Kodak Instamatic allowed, and the learning was part of the pleasure of upgrading. If you want to make great images, you will learn how to use the equipment that is capable of doing it - if you're not interested in doing that, get another hobby.

In terms of learning and teaching, Antoine de Saint-Exupery said it best:

'If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.'

If you want to make pictures enough, you'll learn how to use the most un-user-friendly camera if it can do the job better than others

[Fat Albert]

If we've made a thread about a video, shouldn't we have a link to said video somewhere in the thread? Or am I blind and missed it?

[boriscleto]

Another reason not to buy a K-1. "I can't play Clash of Clans on it".

[ffking]

If we've made a thread about a video, shouldn't we have a link to said video somewhere in the thread? Or am I blind and missed it?

agreed - but easy enough to find

You Tube

You Tube

[biz-engineer]

... when the consumer camera will be dead, camera forums will also die. Sad story. Do you know when this is going to happen?
Before then, Canon and Nikon will merge, the new brand will be Canikon :-)

[Rondec]

It is a little silly. I would warrant that at least 80 percent of "professional" cameras are purchased by amateurs and hobbyists.

In the end people buy what they can afford. My sister and her husband bought a D5200 and kit lens with a telephoto of some kind for 500-ish dollars. They use it a lot and are pretty happy with it. If it breaks they will get another one in the same price range, but probably wouldn't get anything new till that eventuality.

[rangercarp]

But many of those will never buy a new one, even when their old camera is dead.

Some, probably. "Many," probably not. But then, no thread would be complete without a little bit of gloom.

[planteater]

It is a little silly. I would warrant that at least 80 percent of "professional" cameras are purchased by amateurs and hobbyists.
.

This.

Market segmentation is blurred these days. 'Consumer' camera means nothing - photographers don't consume, they produce. Maybe smartphone camera apps could arguably be described as consumers of cloud services but even that's a bit of a stretch.

At the other end, 'Pro' photographers will jump through any hoops because they are getting paid to do so. They would welcome any shortcuts that would make them more productive but don't have the luxury of waiting for the next big thing, If they aren't taking great pictures they aren't getting paid.

Somewhere in the middle is the 'enthusiast', such as myself. I love SLR's simply because they are the cameras I grew up with. The OVF is a joy to me compared to any touch screen or EVF. But seriously, one button transfer to PC and simplified charging would be fantastic - probably more weatherproof too!

[Rondec]

If anything, professionals are less likely to buy most recent gear, since they have to expense everything. They will make a 5D Mk II or D700 work, where an enthusiast would be salivating over the newest cameras out there.

[surfar]

The title as written is clickbait

And how many clicked watched and how much did he get paid?


Professionals can stoop to many levels to get a payday, I like some of his "informative " reviews....and then theres his ideas to make a $!Both produce revenue, so to him its bui$$$ness as usual!