Last week we reported how 2013 mirrorless sales fell by 34% in UK. Now Amateur Photographer investigated the reason why DSLR is still more popular than mirrorless cameras. They say:
1) Smaller cameras are fiddly to use compared to DSLR
Well that’s no more truth. With cameras like the GH4 and Fuji X-T1 and E-m1 you get very DSLR alike controls. But for a long time mirrorless system cameras where very compact.
2) Confusing category names
Mirrorless cameras get called all sort of things like “mirrorless system cameras”, “compact system cameras” and sometimes they are also incorrectly referred as “DSRL’s cameras”. And also the the term “compact system camera” gets interpreted as something like a point and shoot “compact camera”, also not necessarily of high image quality.
3) Consumer are still hanging on to the glory days of Canon and Nikon.
Particularly North America and most European countries are very conservative
4) DSLR has wider range of accessories.
5) Low bugdget DSLR compete against system cameras
DSLR became very cheap the last couple of years. That made it even harder for Mirrorless cameras to gain some visibility.
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What should be done to increase the popularity of mirrorless cameras?
Panasonic manager Sykes said that instead of trying to sell a certain volume we should focus on educate the customer
There is also a good news reported by Sykes: “Compact system camera is now returning to a period of growth which is really pleasing“.
20 Responses
I would stress one factor: the price. CSCs are still expensive, more expensive, than similarly specced DSLRs. Of course, there are cheap CSC costing 300 eur, but also DSLRs can be bought for this price and every DLSR has already a viewfinder, something you have to buy extra for low-end CSC. And CSCs with EVF are quiete expensive, costing much more, than mid- or high-end DSLRs. Why would I buy an E-M1 for 1500 eur, if I can have the D7100 for under 1000 eur? The only reason is the size. So actually there is still only one advantage of mirrorless and this is not enough.
Price, price, price… you are right! This is a key point when trying to sell anything. Most CSCs and premium compacts are still too expensive. If they only would include “optional” EVFs in the pricing, for sure would sell tons of cameras.
I agree about the EVF it is ridiculous that models like the E-P3 launched at £899 with an expensive optional EVF.The GX7 is the way all smaller mFT models should come.
even more ridiculous is the D4s launching at £6,000 when it is beat for features by the Panasonic GH4 which will be launching at £1,500-1,900
I agree – I love my GX7’s –
1) “Fiddly?” Smallness and lightness is the main raison d’etre of mirrorless. If they are going to continue the EM-1 trend of heaviness and bulkiness, why settle for the drawbacks of a miniature format?
2) “Confusing names” Sorry, category names came after the cameras, not before.
3) The glory days of Nikon and Canon are still here today. They absolutely dominate.
4) DSLR wide range of accessories. Check.
5) Mirrorless cameras are way too expensive for what you get. Check.
So Panasonic concludes that they must ‘educate’ the consumer. Pretty sure the numbers show that the consumer is already pretty well educated, and in their education they choose the cheaper, larger format hence better quality, more flexible and extensible system from a name quality manufacturers.
Panasonic proposes to ‘educate’ the consumer to pay more for just as heavy, smaller format hence quality, limited system from niche manufacturers who may not be around in two years. That’s some education.
However, I would like to understand Syke’s claim that his camera systems are entering a real period of growth when the chart shows they lost 32% in sales from 2012 to 2013. OK, I guess growth can also be negative, but that doesn’t seem so pleasing.
Yes I certainly would take the guesstimates and “predictions” from the camera company spokesperson with a certain amount of doubt.Olympus are infamous for making unrealistic often wildly so, predictions about future sales when the reality is far grimmer .In Japan the best market in the world for mirrorless Panasonic market share fell from 23.3% in 2012 to 14.2% in 2013
I think that mirrorless should be smaller than dslr. If they are comparable in size, they loose the main attractivity point for many – many – potential users. Why should you buy into a ‘new’ system, when you have an established one that costs less and has about the same size?
That’s why I think that sony should release a rangefinder version of its a7 and samsung should release a nx with evf in the shape of a rangefinder.
First of all I would take anything that Chris Cheeseman has to say about Olympus and Panasonic with a large pinch of salt.
In the UK there is no feel good factor amongst the working and middle class, also Jessops, Jacobs and Comet went bust, also it was apparent in mid 2012 that Sony and Panasonic imaging had drastically pulled back their marketing budgets at the same time as announcing large losses in their overall groups mainly because of TVs and Cinema/Film. Also all main supermarkets have drastically reduced their electrical goods offerings except for tablets.
Panasonic and Olympus have now ramped up their marketing in the UK and I believe it is having a positive effect on sales.
As for DSLR owners, many are not upgrading their 3-6 year old models because of the lack of the feel good factor in the UK economy and the lack of innovation of canikon new releases.
It was nice to see the Nikon 1 being sold at a 90% firesale discount 🙂
Make up all the excuses you want mirrorless sales are in decline worldwide even more so than DSLR . Mirrorless exports to Europe down 26% in 2013 compared to 2012, In the Americas the drop was a staggering 46%. Mirrorless sales make up only 19% of exports from Japan with DSLR taking up 81% , worse still the 81% is hugely dominated by just two players Canon & Nikon, Pentax and Sony are bit players in the DSLR world.
http://www.cipa.jp/stats/documents/e/d-2013_e.pdf
Mirrorless 19% is shared amongst Sony,Olympus, Panasonic, Fuji, Canon, Nikon , Pentax. By the way the Nikon V1+10-30 launched at £640 where exactly do you see even this discontinued kit selling for £64 ?. Nikon and Canon are just playing with mirrorless at the moment which is just as well or the other companies would be dead in the water. The future will indeed be mirrorless but it will only become mainstream when Canon and Nikon decide to release serious APS/FF models . Though you mock the Nikon 1 system when it came out it easily matched the performance of the 12mp mFT sensor that made up nearly all of mFT at the time. IT had far better AF than any mFT , the price was over the top but so were many mFT the E-P3 with the 12mp sensor and no EVF launched at £800 for the Kit.
The mFT upside far smaller cameras lenses , downside you pay for this in losing image quality the best mFT is well behind the best APS and miles behind FF. To put the prices in to perspective you can buy a D610 with a Tamron VC 24-70f2.8 for only £150 more than the E-M1 +12-40 and you will get far better image quality in every single area along with better AF and access to a huge native AF and off brand AF lenses
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/53038459 Nikon 1 for £40 brand new, purchased by me from Tesco’s (using for testing slow motion techniques)
Like I’ve stated many times the 2012 mirrorless figures have been skewed by the Nikon1 and Canon EOS M fails.
Everything Barney Sykes of Panasonic UK seems pretty spot on and correct.
now you are having a laugh didn’t you try and convince the gullible that Panasonic sold 250,000 mFT cameras just in the UK LOL
That’s not what I said. What I said was that in Aug/Sept 2012 Panasonic said they were on course to sell 250k cameras for the year.
Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung (GfK) haven’t said if they’re figures are bricks and mortar only, whether they include online camera sales and whether they include online sales from companies such as DigitalRev, Amazon and ebay etc that maybe registered overseas
Most people who doesn´t know about photography, just choose “the big one” when comparing two cameras selling at the same price. Note also that sales of DSLR lenses have fallen dramatically as most people who buy cheap DSLRs with a kit lens are not really interested in buying more lenses. I don´t think the two big are going to make much money in this situation. High end compacts are also tough competition for CSCs and DSLRs alike.
That’s probably why the FujiFilm X-S1 bridge camera is so huge.
Besides, people want to be taken seriously, so they buy a “professional” camera for under US$1000.
FROM THE ACTUAL REPORT
“Photo
The first nine months of 2013 were tough for the photo sector. This was then exacerbated by an even more negative Q4, where there was a 29% decline in value compared to Q4 2012.
Superzoom cameras (fixed lens cameras) with more that 10x optical zoom) and bridge cameras declined by 45% and 38% respectively in value year on year.
As for changeable lens, CSC (compact system cameras) fell by an unprecedented 35% in value, whereas SLR (Single Lens Reflex cameras) managed to outperform standard point and shoot cameras, declining by only 28% in value compared to Q4 2013.”
So many new users getting into photography are just not aware of the Mirrorless System Cameras – and so they just go to the local Best Buy and point to a DSLR and say they want one like that but not at a high price –
So Canon gets most of the sales with their around $500 plus Rebels – then Nikon with their 5 series – for those a bit more advanced it is the same – they have not heard much about the System Cameras and go with the Canon 70D or Nikon D7100 or Canon 7D for example –
I have talked to so many that own these Rebels say they would have bought a Mirrorless System Camera if they just had been aware of them and someone had showed them how capable they are – they just thought that size mattered most – and of course the price of the Canon Rebels was in their budget –
I think Panasonic, Olympus, Fuji and Sony should do better in advertising the system cameras and point out their benefits –
All my DSLRs are just collecting dust – I hope M43 especially will do well as I think that is a very nice form factor / ratio to ability and IQ and low light performance and weight and size
I think the solution is very easy. Take three or four key, ‘celebrity’ photogs and pay them to use the system. It’s fundamentally sound, though I do wonder if a bit thing about big cameras is the relative size of ego…you know, like little men with big cars…