[jogiba]

According to a report from Wall Street journal, Samsung has decided to gradually stop producing point&shoot cameras and instead focus its attention in the production of compact system cameras.

This would certainly mean a major change for Samsung, since, as reported by IDC, Samsung was the fourth major producer of cameras with a 11% market share. This market share was equal to about 11 million units. Most of this share composed of point&shoot while only 120,000 compact system cameras were sold by the company. So Samsung’s decision to shun the further production of point&shoot cameras would certainly mean that Samsung sees a lot of potential in the market for compact system cameras. Back in 2010, Samsung had announced that the company would strive to become the best-selling manufacturer of compact system cameras by 2012 and overall best selling brand by 2015. Now in 2012, the company stands at position 5 when it comes to compact system cameras while the overall position is 4th. In the class of point&shoot cameras, Samsung happens to be at the 5th place.

There have been a lot of changes going on in the market of point&shoot cameras for a while. Kodak, which held a market share of about 7.4% in 2010 is now almost out of the market due to tough competition from other tech giants that lead it to bankruptcy. Besides,Olympus and Pentax are also considering reducing the production of point&shoot cameras. If these three manufacturers are out of the market, that would certainly leave the market with a huge gap which would be filled by other manufacturers, most probably by Canon, Sony and Nikon. However, it clearly seems that the real issue happens to be profit instead of market share.

Basically market share and profit do not go along very well in the market of point&shoot cameras. This has been particularly true for the last few years during which three of the top ten camera makers claimed losses in point&shoot camera lines while another two underwent a loss in market share. This pretty much explains why manufacturers are focusing their attention elsewhere instead of continuing investment in point&shoot cameras. But for the time being, Samsung would pay specific attention to the Korean, Chinese, Hong Kong, and Taiwanese market while strategy for the US market would follow later.

Analysts have talked about the much needed shift in the design of point&shoot cameras in past and it seems that we are finally witnessing that stage. But this certainly does not imply that the production of point&shoot cameras would be completely terminated and we won’t have any of those cameras any more.

The production will continue, however their importance would considerably decrease due to the onslaught of smart phones and DSLR cameras and compact system cameras. Besides, there is also a group who thinks that the production of compact system cameras should completely take over the production of high end point&shoot cameras.

Will Compact System Cameras Push the Point And Shoot Ones Out Of Market? | Compact System Cameras Rumors

I don't agree that my Pentax Q will make me stop using my Panasonic DMC-XS20 compact superzoom with 24-480mm eqiv lens since the Pentax Q 3x zoom lens alone cost almost as much.

[bobmaxja]

I agree that P& S will drop . But I just bought a new P&S Olympus VR-350 for $89 this weekend. I need something small you fit in the back of my pants or my wife purse.. We dont have any phone with camera

[RioRico]

I suspect 'gradually' means "drop the luzers and see how the survivors sell".

Meanwhile, about that Lumix ZS20 -- its specs look good but its output is JPG-only. Is there anythikng remotely comparable that gins RAWs too?

[kyteflyer]

I suspect 'gradually' means "drop the luzers and see how the survivors sell".

Meanwhile, about that Lumix ZS20 -- its specs look good but its output is JPG-only. Is there anythikng remotely comparable that gins RAWs too?

Fuji FxxxEXR cameras do RAW. Also the sensor is 1/2 so a bit bigger. Output isnt bad either.










These were from my F550EXR. Its only 15x but really for most purposes, thats enough. the F750 and 770 have a 20x, and I have no desire to upgrade.

[reeftool]

I think the cameras in cellphones are the main reason the P&S market is declining. When I'm out and about at car shows, motorcycle rallies, etc, I'm seeing fewer and fewer P&S cameras and lots of smartphones. Most of the cameras I see are SLRs and super zooms. The camera/phone is now the family snapshot camera of the general public.

[Jonathan Mac]

P&S cameras are going the same way as stand-alone MP3 players. Unfortunately, mobile's don't provide the same quality.

[RioRico]

P&S cameras are going the same way as stand-alone MP3 players. Unfortunately, mobile's don't provide the same quality.

And MP3s don't provide the same fidelity as... well, as just about anything else, even 78s. But MP3 is damn convenient. And cam.phones are just more convenient than hauling a cell *and* a P&S *and* a game mini-console *and* a calculator etc. Yet another case where content trumps quality.