There is decline right now in the sales of standalone cameras but the companies making hardware and software for photography are not troubled. In fact they are very optimistic about the future.
Though the popularity of built in cameras on phones and other devices are taking away a huge portion of their sales, the revenues of camera companies are holding steady. There are also many new products that are currently being developed.
Just in Germany alone, companies are looking at a revenue of 20 billion euros generated from the sale of hardware. When software and services are added to that, the amount can increase quite significantly. The real value of services and software is not that easy to measure and they could significantly increase the revenues made by companies involved in imaging.
A Changing Focus
It is expected that there will be 13% less cameras to be sold for this year when compared with 2013, but the decline in revenues is not going to be as significant. This is because the loss in sales are more with the cheaper devices which are being replaced by smart-phones with built-in cameras.
High-end cameras are currently the focus now of the industry and it will probably stay that way in the years ahead. In fact the popularity of smart-phones is helping to boost the sales of high-end cameras. People become hooked on photography while using the cameras on their phones and as they become more involved in it they go on to but more high-end cameras.
The imaging and photography industry has also made connectivity as a major theme. They have started ensuring that cameras will be able to connect with other devices and also to the internet. Camera makers are also introducing other functions on their products which have not been traditionally included in cameras in the past.
