In
2004 Nokia introduced the 7610 and the world of camera manufacturers started to
change forever. It was the first megapixel camera and introduced the world to
the concept of reasonable quality cameras in phones. It was only a short period
of time before Nokia became the number one manufacturer of camera lenses in the
world. That isn’t a typo – Nokia were known for their mobile phones but they
were the number one manufacturer of camera lenses in the world. Forget the
traditional camera manufacturers such as Canon; Nikon; Fujifilm or Olympus.
Some of these names go back almost a century in producing cameras. It was a
great trivia question as most people would naturally put forward a traditional
camera manufacturer rather than a mobile phone manufacturer but given that
Nokia, at their peak (in 2008) sold 472 million phones in a year, it is easy to
see that the number of camera lenses produced would have surpassed traditional
camera manufacturers.

With
sales of 320.2 million mobile phone units last year, Samsung would currently be
ranked as the top camera lens manufacturer. When you consider that many of
these phones actually have two cameras, the number of actual lenses produced is
incredible. Apple would be ranked number two with 225.8 million units last year.
Their latest offering actually has 3 cameras so, by virtue of actual lenses,
they may soon rival Samsung.

When
you consider the likes of Canon and Nikon sell in the vicinity of eight to
twelve million units each year, the number of lenses they produce pales into
insignificance against the phone manufacturers. I accept the argument that I am
sure is forming in your head right now that the cameras on smartphones are not
as good as traditional cameras and you can achieve a lot more with a
traditional camera but the point is that most people don’t care.

Sony
is one manufacturer who has done an excellent job of bringing their camera
technology to their smartphone range. Sony have always had a reputation for
excellence in their products and their cameras were well regarded. At 23
megapixels, the Sony smartphones have the highest megapixel count of any of the
smartphone manufactures. By comparison, Samsung has one model at 16 megapixels
and Apple has 12 megapixels in their latest offering. If you ask any camera expert,
they will tell you that there is so much more to the quality of a photo than
the megapixels – and I agree – the point is that consumers don’t care. If they
can have the convenience of one device in their pocket that will take good
pictures and perform the variety of other functions possible with a smartphone
– even though other devices may do it slightly better – convenience wins out.

The
real challenge for camera manufacturers – both existing and wannabes – is to
produce a new product so outstanding that it drives consumers back to the
individual market. Maybe GoPro has already achieved that in the active camera
market. Most people don’t want to risk their expensive smartphone while trying
to take photos skiing or riding mountain bikes – so instead they risk their
expensive GoPro while doing the same activities. The difference is that the
GoPro is built for that treatment. New visionaries are keen to join the fray as
well. A new manufacturer, Light, has introduced a new camera to rival the
traditional cameras in quality. Their first product is still only at prototype
stage but orders have already closed for this year.

Despite
the fact that smartphones seem to be able to do everything, if the product is
good enough, there is still a segment there for it.

My
hope is that these various manufacturers continue to innovate and try and
create new segments. What that means for all of us is competition which will
deliver better products at better prices. It’s hard to argue with that!

Mathew Dickerson

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