Trend

The digital photo revolution

Affordability and flexibility are paving the way for digital cameras to enter the mass market, says Vinutha V

Today’s consumers have high spending power at their disposal. Increasingly, they prefer digital cameras to analog ones—it’s all about making a lifestyle statement. Moreover, digital cameras are popular across demographic segments of the market, young or old. First-time buyers are opting for digital cameras. Urbanites looking for devices with high-memory capacities, as well as professional photographers are going digital.

According to IDC, 1,46,000 digital cameras shipped during 2004. This was in the organised market, and business valued at Rs 206.14 crore was transacted. New entrants in this segment included HP, BenQ, Techcom, Umax and Premier. Kodak continued to lead the Indian digicam market.

Affordability and awareness

The potential of conventional studios getting converted into digital ones is considerable Shyam Sundar Senior Manager, Marketing Canon India	We plan to reach our customers through the IT and photography channels Ashwini Aggarwal Country Marketing Manager Hewlett Packard India

Digicams have become affordable with decent models retailing at sub-10K prices. Awareness has grown in tandem with falling prices and better picture quality even on entry-level models. Says Ravi Karamcheti, Country Business Manager, Digital & Film Imaging Systems, Kodak India, “Consumer insight tells us that awareness of digital cameras among consumers is growing. Typically, the buyers are young professionals, urban families, amateur photographers and those who are looking for a superior option to enhance their photography experience.” This is coupled with the fact that operating a digital camera is cost-effective compared to a film camera. Digital photography does away with the need to use and develop film. Better yet, it is possible to view captured images immediately and share the pictures worldwide over the Internet.

PC-based manipulation and enhancement lets customers take prints of only those snaps that they like. This is quite unlike the case of an analog camera where it’s necessary to take prints of all 36 pictures. Increasing PC penetration in Indian households is also helping the sales of digital still cameras. Notes Charanjit Singh, an Analyst with IDC’s Peripherals Research Group, “The camera market saw a continuous drop in prices across models by different vendors leading to an explosive increase of 114 percent in unit shipments. In addition, vendors have brought in more models with technology-centric features such as video and sound capture at competitive prices.” With rapid developments in information technology and the digitalisation of business environments, digital photography offers greater flexibility.

Through the channel

Digital still cameras have become consumer products, and the most important aspect is distribution. During 2004, the market witnessed the emergence of the IT channel for the sale of these cameras. Ashwini Aggarwal, Country Marketing Manager, Consumer Segment, Imaging & Printing Group, Hewlett Packard India says, “Currently, our target customers are IT-savvy, upper-class people. Hence we plan to reach them mainly through the IT and photography channels.” According to IDC, as camera vendors fight to increase their marketshare, they will use new channels in future such as mobile channels and retail outlets.

Digital studios

The reach of the organised channel has led to a digital revolution in Indian studios. Affordability and flexibility have resulted in digital studios mushrooming. A digital studio can be started with an investment of Rs 70,000, including a PC, digital camera and photo printer. This is in comparison to the Rs 20 lakh to Rs 30 lakh needed to set up a conventional photo studio with developing machines. Comments Shyam Sundar, senior manager, Marketing, Image Communication Products, Canon India, “The potential of studios getting converted into digital ones is huge. We are witnessing increased customer interest in digital cameras with compact home photo printers, and bundling schemes have been extremely successful.”

Of the approximately one lakh photo studios in India, over 3,000 have converted into digital mode; these photo studios have a digital section for instant photography.

By all accounts, consumers look for value-added features and international service. Whether it is for passport or candid shots, digital printing is the preferred method. Multiple options such as special theme photo albums for occasions are possible only through digital software, according to Karamcheti. Studios in A- and B-class cities have gone high-tech; those in C- and D-class cities are yet to join the digital revolution. HP will leverage its retail network of digital photo studios and aim to increase its presence through 200 photo studios that are exclusively digital. Singh of IDC says, “The number of digital studios continues to increase, but they tend to remain unorganised. Vendors have to make an effort to make these studios more professional and employ more photo-finishing infrastructure.”

Higher megapixels in the offing

Consumers are increasingly becoming tech-savvy, and the demand for additional features will only rise. According to vendors, customers prefer digital cameras with features like video and mobile printers with Bluetooth. Capacities of memory cards and resolutions of digicams are constantly improving. Products with optical zoom are hot. “Instead of a gradual shift, there will be a leap from 3- to 5-megapixel cameras as larger prints can be made from snaps taken with the latter,” predicts Aggarwal. 3-megapixel products will continue to account for a significant portion of sales as they are well-suited for printing postcard-size pictures.

vinutha@expresscomputeronline.com