Clear DSLR Breakthroughs for Canon in 2010
The last 10 years have seen DSLR’s take over the market from sophisticated SLR cameras. I remember spending fortunes on film and developing and looking forward to the 10MP announcement.
I inititally decided to wait for the 10MP level to switch over to DLSRs.It did not take long for them to be proved wrong Digital Cameras of all shapes and sizes soon ate away market share like a virus. DSLR’s proved to be a winner at the consumer level even at 2-4MP and the pro’s were into DSLR’s even at 6MP.
In the beginning high MP’s were at a premium and cost a bundle, but these days you find mega-MP’s in Cell phones and pocket cameras.
DSLR manufacturers are being challenged to excell in other areas to claim elite status. MP’s are no longer a distinguishing factor. Great photography at the DSLR level is about more than MP’s. The bragging rights now lie in:
Very fast and powerful micro processors and extensive software to boot. The complimentary Optics technology we find in lenses. Lens attachment technology and compatibility issues. APS-C vs 4/3 technology. A whole sub-technology in micro optics in Digital Sensor sizes. Architecture – Lenses, sensors, processor, storage. In-camera artificial intelligence, like light recognition, scene detection, face detect, blink detect, light and colour analysis.
Few other industries have embraced electronics, micro mechanics, software developments and other leading edge technologies to the extent that Digital cameras have. And DSLR’s have done so at a mega scale.
In this scenario, among the DSLR players Canon and Nikon stand out with around 40% market share each, Nikon leading by a slender margin. In a vast market, Sony, Minolta, Pentax and others make their fortunes off the remaining 20%.
Just how does each player compete in such a competitive high tech market?
There is no doubt that once you have the technology, marketing is the next big gun. Brand recognition will carry a product over some rough patches, but if everybody excells you need to be innovative, imaginative and hit the market’s soft spots or get into their hearts, whatever the case may be.
In the race between Canon and Nikon, Canon has led with higher MP’s. Nikon has an edge with a slightly larger sensor and lower end pentaprism usage. Both can claim excellent ergonomics and Nikon fans always refer to some form of ‘right feel’ to their favourite models.
The race is tough and there are many excellent DSLR’s on the market. 2010 saw a large number of amazing Digital Camera releases and it is hard to pick winners in such a crowd. But Canon stood out with two of the greatest consumer DSLR’s, the Canon T2i and Canon 60d. See the reviews here: rebel t2i review and the Canon EOS 60d review.
Canon clearly understood the need and took a lead in focusing beyond the MP factors. A very noticable trend in DSLR’s since 2008 has been the DSLR’s serious entry into Movie/Video technology. DSLRs bcame infested with video features, at first modest, but rising rapidly in sophistication. One DSLR after another came out with new innovative features:
Video and sound, HD video, Frames per second, True HD, live view, autofocus, live focus, in camera editing, better and better LCD technology and external sound. Not least was the spate of increases in pixel options from 640 to 1080, etc.
In this frantic race cluttered with constantly improving features, with each manufacturer trying to find just the right mix at the right price to capture more consumer spend, Canon’s EOS Rebel T2i and EOS 60D found two sweet spots, at the higher end of the Rebel range and in the middle of the very narrow Prosumer range.
Both Cameras were announced with an array of leading edge features that seemed to be right on the consumer Dollar target. The main features that made people take note and spend their well earned dollars were:
- An impressive 18MP Sensor
- External sound Jack
- HD Autofocus
- Great ergonomics (again)
- True live view
With these two cameras, Canon hit the sweet spot in the DSLR market in 2010. Can they follow this up in 2011? They seemed to have a good start in 2011 with the announcment of the T3i, but the market has responded sluggishly. The T2i and D60 at either end of the T3i seems to leave it in the shade.
Perhaps Nikon or Sony will give Canon a race this year. They are sure to respond in earnest. Nikon certainly roared back into life with the release of the D5100. Nikon and Sony are not resting on their lorals. The D5100 came out punching.
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