Simple. Prosumer P&S's are noisy, slow and have low ISO limits. These
are what is pushing this market into DSLR's.
Digital fueled a huge boom in the pool of photographers, everybody's
shooting again. Get enough people shooting and some are going to want
more. I doubt the percentage of SLR users is much higher than it was in
the mid-80's, but the pool of photographers is much larger than it was 5
years ago.
There simply aren't enough film SLR users out there to drive the sales
numbers Nikon and Canon are seeing. Remember that the low-end Nikons and
Rebels are selling around 100,000 units a month. You think there are
enough film SLR users out there to drive 200,000 units a month in sales
(About 50% of the low end market in Nikon and Canon alone, postulating
100,000 units a month by 4 major models). I certainly don't. I'd suspect
the fraction of former film users Pentax gets is higher, but that is
mostly due to Pentax's cult status in the SLR market, it simply doesn't
have the name Canon and Nikon do in the consumer market.
4 years ago you barely saw an SLR on the street anymore. Now I see them
every day. And they're almost always digital.
-Adam
J. C. O'Connell wrote:
Look I understand that film slrs are virtually history
now and there wont be any more film SLR buyers but I don't
think we are at the point where more DSLRS are being bought
by first time SLRS users than former SLR users. With P&S
being so popular in the 80's and 90's film era, what has
changed to make the mass market want to switch BACK to DSLR
instead of P&S digicams? I don't see it. I still feel
that more DSLRS are bought by former SLR owners. Until
you can show me some sources that show otherwise I simply
wont cant see it but I am willing to see...SLRS fell out of
mainstream about 15-20 years ago and I cant see the masses
rushing back to them just because there's now digital ones
available..
JCO
-----Original Message-----
From: Adam Maas [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Monday, September 19, 2005 10:13 PM
To: pentax-discuss@pdml.net
Subject: Re: green button wars (again)
The SLR market is a fraction of the total market. And the expansion of
the DSLR market has been far too quick for it to just be film SLR owners
buying in. The cash cow for the DSLR market has been folks upgrading
from a mid-low end P&S digital. As demonstrated by the market taking off
essentially as soon as the Digital Rebel came within shouting distance
price-wise of the serious Prosumer Digitals (And that market isn't early
the cash cow it was two years ago, because of the advent of $800 DSLR's).
Photography has been undergoing a massive upsurge in popularity since
affordable, decent P&S Digitals hit the market. And its the folks who
got in with the P&S cameras and now want to upgrade who are driving DSLR
sales, just like it was the folsk coming from P&S film cameras that
always drove the core of low-end SLR sales. The SLR user has typically
driven the high-end and mid-range sales, while the low-end are mostly
coming into teh SLR market. And this has not changed with Digital,
except the gapo in sales numbers is probably worse.
Film SLR owners drove teh sales of the D100, 10d and *ist D, while
upgraders have driven the D70, Rebel, Rebel XT and *ist DS sales.
Cameras like the 20d are getting much of their sales from DSLR users
upgrading. Of course, the Pro bodies were driven by Pro's upgrading from
film, but now that's mostly driven by Pro's upgrading from older Digital
bodies for the increased image quality and speed of the new-generation
bodies like the Canon mkII's and the Nikon D2's.
-Adam
J. C. O'Connell wrote:
I don't understand your post. If your saying
the pentax list isnt the source for your claims
regarding DSLR buyers being first time SLR owners
than what is your source of this information?
I ask because I find it hard to believe that there
are more DSLR buyers buying there first SLR than
there are former SLR owners buying their first DSLR.
jco
-----Original Message-----
From: Herb Chong [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Monday, September 19, 2005 9:01 PM
To: pentax-discuss@pdml.net
Subject: Re: green button wars (again)
this list is about as far from the buyers as you can possibly get.
Herb....
----- Original Message -----
From: "J. C. O'Connell" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <pentax-discuss@pdml.net>
Sent: Monday, September 19, 2005 10:09 AM
Subject: RE: green button wars (again)
Lets see some proof/numbers to back it up dude! I didn't claim to know
for a fact but you seem to. How many people ON THIS LIST for example
bought a PENTAX DSLR for their very first SLR? ANYONE? EVEN ONE
PERSON? I would like to see a survey of DSLR owners of all
brands and see how many of them actually never owned
a single SLR before purchasing the DSLR.
