Market

Assuredly, Samsung decided to shake the market of mirror-less SLR (how can we name these cameras?) since the official launch of the Samsung NX-10.

Samsung new web site

They open a new Korean web site at http://www.samsungimaging.co.kr/ which is -for now- dedicated to the NX-10 but which will certainly be the spearhead of the 2010-2011 marketing efforts around the new NX series. It should support Samsung’s strike to become a major actor of the mid-range SLR cameras (what could not be achieved even in the partnership with Pentax).

But they also announce us relatively bad news: The NX10 will not be available on camera shop shelves before March 2010 (in the US and in Europe). We will all have to be patient waiting to the opportunity to get access to this camera which intend to shake up too-well-established categories of the SLR market.

This is really recession time: Even Canon decided to cut expenses and will not go to the PMA fair in Anaheim, CA next year (in Feb 2010). This will leave Photokina (in Koln, Germany) as the only world-level photo trade show seeing all major players in the same location.

Well, if nobody else tries to default…

Canon USA will be at PhotoPlus Expo and at CES, though.

This is Photoscala which published the sales numbers for digital SLR cameras. The most amazingly interesting is -for me- which major brands progressed (or not) between 2006 and 2008:

SLR market between 2006 and 2008

You cannot miss the obvious progress of Sony who clearly became a major actor of this market, and a significant competitor for Canon and Nikon. Furthermore, as could be expected, the leader Canon is suffering most.

But in the end, in a market terribly difficult for all manufacturers, who will come fourth? I can’t avoid believing that Panasonic is doing it right and applying all the needed efforts to topple Pentax, even if nothing is done yet.

According to the official Best Buy twitter feed, the Nikon D300 is now being delisted from the catalog of this line of photo shops, in preparation of the arrival of the Nikon D300s which should replace it.

Important update: It has been brought to my attention that Fujitsu is not the mother company of Fuji photo cameras (it would rather be Fujifilm). So, this announcement probably has no influence on the future of Fuji SLR cameras which will stay very dark.

After quite some time waiting for announcements from Fuji, we were starting to think that, maybe, Fuji was no longer serious about its involvement in SLR photo camera development. This appears not to be the case from what we learned today: Fujitsu and Nikon are partnering even further on SLR firmware development by creating a joint-venture named “Nikon Imaging Systems Inc.” which will be solely responsible for the firmware development in Nikon digital cameras.

Fairly enough, we could assume one of two things:

1. Fuji will move a few people from their internal team to a common shared structure while they no longer intend to use this resource that will be re-used by Nikon only. [the end of Fuji Nikon-based cameras]
2. Fuji wants to participate more deeply in the photo platform they buy from Nikon and their involvement is becoming more visible. [extension of the Fuji-Nikon cooperation]

Even if there is no clear evidence in the Press Release to support any of those directions, I would assume that the second option is the right one and is more credible. Fujitsu no longer has a choice in what technology they use for their SLR cameras. So, they embed themselves even more deeply. Possibly, Nikon even asked them to pay the technology partly with a technical involvement and some financial participation into the key technology that firmware is.

In the spirit of willingness to jump-start the Japanese economy through capital spending, the Tokyo-based photo company, Canon, decided to re-start its projects to build a new photo-equipment plant in Southern Japan.

The Pentax representatives and PR people keep telling us that the Pentax K20D is not replaced by the newest Pentax K-7. So, what? Do you replace the K20D or not?

The answer could come from Samsung, forever-partner of Pentax for digital SLR photo cameras. The network of informers in direct contact with Samsung keeps repeating that Samsung is ready to launch a new SLR camera, probably to be named GX-30, as soon as next 7th of July. Of course, this is soft music to the ears of Samsung lovers (I have to admit that they are more numerous in Asia than in Europe, by far), but it’s also source of wonderment in the Pentax lovers ranks. They immediately rushed to the near-obvious conclusion that the Pentax K30D is around the corner (since, usually, Samsung launches its copy of the Pentax design a few days or a few weeks after the Pentax original).

So, a Pentax K30D before the end of June? Then, a Samsung GX-30 right after that?

It’s not so sure. Pentax and Samsung could well be on the verge of splitting their strategies and going on different roads. Instead of sharing all of their SLR camera designs, the two brands could start diverging in 2009 and 2010. That would give a Samsung GX-30 which would not be a Pentax K30D…

The Japanese headquarters of Canon just presented its quarterly financial results and they show profits going down by 88% for the quarter. Obvioulsy, copiers and printers are hit hard by the economic crisss. But despite the grim look of these figures, this is relatively good news (or better than the worse of the worst, maybe).

For 2009, Canon indicated it expects to see sales plumetting by 5%, but still corrects its current 2009 outlook for operating profits for better figures.

Stock shares of Canon are recovering nearly 40% since their lowest point in March. That is evidence that analysts and investors and more and more confident now.

In these dire times, it is slightly refreshing to see Nikon announcing that they need to revise their forecasts of financial results for fiscal year ending 31st March 2009. They add first announced a big dip of turnover and profits. But they decided to smile a little more. Maybe they were a little over-pessimistic.

Anyway, the crisis is still pushing profits down (-63% compared to last year). So, we take any slightly positive news as good news.

I have to admit that I am nearly always frightened when some automated tool claims to be bringing the knowledge of the experts and help you make a difficult choice (despite half a century of computer activity, Artificial Intelligence is still not here). But I found this tool that claims to bring you “the expert’s recommendation” to choose your camera, and it is doing a decent job.

Find the best digital camera

Criterias are too simple, I guess, but the advice is not too bad, understanding that it comes not really from the experts but from customer reviews which are naturally slanting toward “my camera is better than anything else” even if it’s only because “I can’t complain and look like a dick-head”. It tends to favour top sales from the top brands, but it’s not always as simple as that.

If you like it, I would recommend that you use it to reduce the choice to 2-3 cameras and, then, check the YLovePhoto database of SLR cameras.

Wall Street: Early afternoon light (by mkrigsman)

According to Canon Rumours, there could be some concentration moves around the camera manufacturers. Up to this, it’s just in line with what I’ve been telling about some brands whose CEOs have heart burns from the intense current competition.

But they also give us names and combinations to think about.

• Panasonic could buy the photo division of Leica. Assuredly weirder than certain.
• Panasonic could buy Olympus. Here comes credibility. And it would be industrially much more tenable.
• Samsung could buy Hoya, the owner of Pentax. If Pentax is suffering financial pains, Samsung is nearly certain to come and help. But why buy Hoya? This would be bizarre.