It is one of the less-celebrated rites of spring but each year makers of digital cameras release upgrades for the summer holiday season.
Q&A: The digital camera business is quickly evolving. Takeshi Higuchi, a senior executive vice president at Fujifilm, discusses where it is going:
Last Updated: May 10, 2011
How competitive is the digital camera business these days? Looking globally at the digital camera market, the total demand has reached a saturated point. However, in the emerging markets like Middle East and Africa, the demand is increasing.
When will the demand for new cameras in emerging markets outpace developed parts of the world? By 2012.
What have sales been like in this region for your company? Last year, total sales of Fujifilm cameras were 300,000 in the Middle East. This year we expect to reach 470,000.
Cameras can now be found on many mobile phones and even tablet computers. Yet you argue the quality of these devices shouldn't be compared with traditional ones. Why not? The lens technology used in the camera is brighter, sharper and more powerful than that used in the mobile and tablet computers. The lens of the mobile phones is comparatively darker and has limited zooming options. Given the camera options on a multi-purpose device, it also eats away a lot of battery.
Last week, Canon Middle East released the IXUS 310 HS, a new touch-screen camera the company designed to work especially well in low light.
This model, priced at Dh1,399 (US$380), is aimed at those amateur photographers who whip out their cameras at times of difficult lighting, such as a holiday sunset or during a night on the town.
To ensure more ambient light can be captured, Canon tweaked the design of its lens to allow for faster shutter speeds.
A handheld night mode also snaps several shots of the same scene before merging them into one image to cut back on blurring.
Fujifilm is also focusing on its cameras' abilities to shoot in low light. Last month, at an event held in conjunction with Grand Stores in Dubai, the company unveiled EXR CMOS, a technology that results in higher light sensitivity but reduces some of the graininess.
Top 5: Digital camera makers by global market share
1 Canon: 19%.
2 Sony: 17.9%.
3 Nikon: 12.6%.
4 Samsung: 11.1%.
5 Panasonic: 7.6%.
Source: 2010 figures from International Data, a market research company.
In case subtler innovations like these don't connect with consumers, some companies have also been rolling out fancier features.
Certain handheld cameras now snap photos that can be displayed in 3D on some televisions and digital photo frames, although the special glasses needed usually have to be bought separately.
Sony's DSC-TX10 was released this year and sells for Dh1,399 at Jumbo Electronics. While it shoots photos for 3D viewing, it can also be dunked in up to 5 metres of water and taken into temperatures as cold as minus 10°C.
Fujifilm's new FinePix Real 3D W3 is less prepared for the outdoors but has been upgraded to record video in high-definition 3D, which might just be enough to finally get loved ones interested in all those family videos.
The Quote: "A very subtle difference can make the picture or not." Annie Leibovitz, the US photographer.
