Growing market in DSLR cameras

Sony India is aggressively marketing its DSLR category of cameras in India. DSLR (digital single-lens reflex) cameras, earlier used largely by professionals, are in vogue now as compact cameras lose their sheen to feature-rich smartphones in a competitive marketplace.

"Though the Cyber-shot range (of compact cameras) contributed 10 per cent to total Sony India sales in FY12, we want to expand in the DSLR category as growth of the compact category is not that big," said Kenichiro Hibi, Sony India's Managing Director, on the sidelines of the launch of new models of the company's Bravia 4k TVs on Tuesday (June 18). "We are also conducting seminars on how to shoot using a DSLR camera, to drive awareness in India."

Sony India has already established its leadership in the LCD TV market in India. India is now Sony's fourth biggest global market in LCD TVs after US, China and Japan.

The official site of Sony India has video tutorials on photography using its cameras. The videos give insights into the Sony Alpha camera and how to make the best use of its features.

The website maintains Sony has redefined the DSLR with translucent mirror technology in its SLT (single-lens translucent) camera design. This has a translucent mirror fixed in position to reduce blackout time between shots, while its innovative design makes SLT cameras smaller, lighter and faster than conventional DSLR cameras.

The Indian digital camera market is currently estimated at around Rs 4,000 crore, equally divided between the DSLR and the compact category. According to a study "India Camera Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2017" -  by Research and Markets - the market will witness phenomenal rise, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27 per cent for next five years. Some of the drivers for growing market are the low penetration at present, increasing disposable income, increasing use of social media, increasing tourism, and increasing advertising. User reviews suggest owning the DSLR camera is increasingly becoming a status symbol.

At present, market leader Canon's market share is 43 per cent in the DSLR segment. However. the entry level camera segment is declining, having an impact on its sales. To retain its leadership, Canon India too has increased the speed of reconfiguring to counter the lack of interest in the compact camera segment and face competition from the increasing sale of smartphones. "We have introduced Wi-Fi cameras (helps upload directly on YouTube and Facebook etc), DSLR category, high optical zoom cameras (helps shoot objects farther than the point of shoot) and cameras customised for low-light photography," said Alok Bharadwaj, Executive Vice-President, Canon India.