Get Set For A Photo Finish

Move over David Bailey, the digital camera is bringing expert photography to the masses ? well, almost. Marc Ambasna Jones reports

While some professional photographers might balk at the idea of mincing about at photo shoots with a digital camera, there is a new breed of photographer that is taking the digital camera to heart.

This new breed, according to David Honey, Fujifilm?s business development manager, is driven by the fact that people are discovering applications for imaging that previously would not have been worth the hassle. PC users are increasingly using pictures in applications such as Powerpoint and Access, and for this reason alone digital camera makers are looking to dealers to help find these ?new camera users? and grow a market that didn?t exist until now.

There are 35 digital camera makers at the moment. For firms such as Fujifilm, Kodak, Agfa, Konica, Minolta, Olympus, Nikon and Polaroid, the general PC industry is unusual territory. All have digital cameras and all are traditional photography product manufacturers.

Although Fuji, Kodak and Agfa in particular have some knowledge, gained on the back of their digital imaging and scanning business, it?s very limited, and their traditional business is dictated by a customer base comprising professional and casual photographers. These are currently markets where digital cameras are not really having much joy. While on the one hand this preserves their traditional business, at least for the time being, it also throws up the problem of successfully targeting PC users who are not necessarily accustomed to digital imaging.

Companies like Apple, Epson, Ricoh, Hewlett Packard, Logitech and Canon already have a track record in selling products through PC dealers, and the addition of a digital camera to the range is less of a culture shock. But this does not necessarily weigh in their favour. Casio is the market leader in digital cameras (accounting for about 60 per cent), having entered the market first. Its share has not yet been seriously attacked by its rivals, although considering the breadth of brands now available, it is inevitable.

Kodak was also an early entrant and has recognised that the PC companies do bring additional PC knowledge to the market. ?Most companies bring different things to the game,? says Peter Davies, Kodak marketing manager. ?The digital camera is a PC peripheral, therefore the PC players have a little advantage in having a greater knowledge of the PC customer and in understanding the PC channels.?

Kodak and Fuji?s way around this problem is to adopt a two-tier approach to the market. They know they need PC dealers, but they need distributors just as much to help them to reach those dealers.

Kodak currently sells through Ingram Micro and Midwich Thame. ?Ingram has cost-effective logistics and enables us to reach a broad range of dealers and key retailers,? says Davies. ?Midwich Thame offers a more specialist outlet, providing software expertise and access to Mac markets, as well as being an alternative to Ingram.?

Kodak is also looking to set up a dozen key retail relationships in Europe, in particular with Vobis in Germany, but is adamant that this will not include the UK.

Fuji is also going through Ingram, but has Computers Unlimited and Northamber to provide the alternatives. ?We deal with some retail accounts direct,? admits Honey, ?but this is from agreements made through our traditional photography business.?

This is fair enough, isn?t it? PC users looking to get into digital cameras are not likely to visit their local photography retailer. They will probably go to their local PC dealers or retailers, but the idea of going to a photography shop to buy a digital camera is not out of the question. If one photography shop starts selling digital cameras at low prices with bundled software, that automatically becomes a competitive outlet to PC dealers.

Honey sees it as two very different markets and believes that the two cultures of traditional PC user and traditional photographer do not cross. If that proves to be the case, then there is no fear that traditional photography retailers ? which of course includes Dixons ? are getting preferential treatment.

So where are the markets for digital cameras? It?s natural to think of publishing when confronted with something like a digital camera. The fact that five cameras were launched at last November?s Apple Expo, a traditional stomping ground for the Apple-intensive publishing industry, supports this.

But the majority of professional photographers are not exactly ready to support this claim for a number of very good reasons. First, digital cameras cannot compete with traditional 35mm cameras on aperture ranges and shutter speeds and second, there is the cultural barrier.

Hard-nosed snappers are used to dealing with film and film processing techniques, not downloading image files on to a PC. There is also the problem that not all digital cameras have removable media and rechargeable batteries.

?If professional photographers were to buy digital cameras, they would not replace existing kit, they would become part of their range of cameras,? says Honey. ?Photographers are not ready to put their faith in the digital hardware. They may take a few additional shots after they?ve done their work, but it?s not yet a front-line tool.?

This contrasts with Kodak?s view. About six years ago, the company launched a 35mm camera with bolt-ons, says Davies. ?This product was aimed at professional photographers. It was not a replacement for traditional cameras, but it was cased in a Nikon or Canon body and therefore protected the users? investment in lenses.?

He cites photojournalism in areas such as Bosnia, when it is easier and quicker to send digital images via a phone than to use traditional film.

But Davies also agrees with Honey that the biggest emerging market at the moment is in the middle ground where the business PC user sits. ?An analysis of our registration shows that we are overwhelmed with business PC users,? he says.

?It?s not yet a consumer item, but it is being used in small businesses to produce brochures, sales information, multimedia displays, presentations and for the integration of images into documents of all kinds.?

This is a good point. There really is no need to try to narrow it down. Digital cameras would be useful for any business wishing to use photographic images for advertising and marketing work, or even just for an internal newsletter or personnel use. Obviously the main criteria are to have an outlet for the images and a desire to avoid the longer term expense of photographers and film processing.

But there are certain vertical markets where the digital camera looks comfortable. Many vendors tout the estate agency businesses, Web page development (although Davies says this is just 11 per cent of the total market), education and SoHo as the main markets at the moment. This does not include the happy snapper consumer. Davies has already dismissed this section of the market, a view supported by Honey. This is probably because there are a lot of cheap point-and-click cameras available, and most happy snappers either do not have the means at home or cannot be bothered to process their own snaps. They want them on glossy or matt paper to show to their friends and stick in albums, without all the fuss of going through their PC to do it. It?s simple and understandable and will take some time to change.

In the US, insurance companies are equipping their claims assessors with cameras to take pictures of car and building damage, and downloading the images on to notebook PCs to be inserted into claims files. This is then sent direct to head office where the claim is processed. This has not yet reached the UK, but Davies believes it?s a good example of how vertical sectors can be sold a digital imaging solution.

It?s certainly a market worth watching. Several products are due out during the course of this year, and many of these are focusing on a number of varied features such as in-built LCD screens to enable easier image viewing. Apple, for example, has just launched Quicktake 200, a digital camera which allows images to be viewed either through a television or through a computer or output to video. It?s aimed at education, SoHo and corporate markets, but won?t be available here until April.

The camera?s most intriguing function is video conferencing. Apple says it can be used to video conference over the internet by connecting to a Mac running Quicktime Conferencing software.

The digital camera is the fastest growing PC peripheral. Building in functions such as video conferencing is a little quirky, and highlights the differences in approach to the market by PC and peripheral vendors and traditional camera and film manufacturers.

As this market develops there are bound to be casualties out of the 35 vendors, and markets should become more defined. In the meantime, there are interesting comparisons to make. Kodak and Fuji are big names in photography and therefore have a high credibility. They know about taking pictures and producing images. On the other hand, PC and peripheral vendors know the digital market better.

It?s a difficult one to call and much will depend on the dealers and how they sell the solutions. Only then will we know in which direction this market will consolidate.