Small fraction, getting larger quickly as they are the only actually profitable segment of the camera market (Well, disposables are profitable too, but that's more the film market). Margins are so low on P&S cameras that there is essentially no actual profit in them today.
But Nikon alone is selling more than a million cameras a year of each of their low-end models. Canon's probably over 1.5 million Rebel XT's in the last year. Pentax sells around 150,000 DSLR's a year, although that's headed upwards with the K100D/K110D and K10D introductions. Note the late 70's was the only time that SLR's were ever close to a majority of sales, as the gap between fixed-lens rangefinders and AF P&S cameras occured then. Previously fixed focus instamatic/box cameras dominated the market, with TLR's then fixed-lens Rangefinders taking up the rest of the consumer market. -Adam J. C. O'Connell wrote: > No way, I bet they are still a small fraction of total camera > Sales. The mainstream is still very heavily digital p&s. > jco > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of > Adam Maas > Sent: Friday, October 13, 2006 9:48 PM > To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List > Subject: Re: The JCO survey > > You do realize that we are currently in the biggest boom of SLR sales > since the late 70's, right? > > SLR's are back. > > -Adam > > > J. C. O'Connell wrote: >> You cannot prove this and I cannot prove otherwise >> But I would bet the demographics of SLR users is >> Much older than P&S shooters because P&S has been >> Mainstream for the past 20 Years while SLRS faded >> Out at that time. >> jco >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf > Of >> Adam Maas >> Sent: Friday, October 13, 2006 8:58 PM >> To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List >> Subject: Re: The JCO survey >> >> ROFLMFAO. >> >> The college photography market is buying cheap DSLR's like candy. The >> old fogey's are buying Hassy's because they can now afford one. >> >> I shoot regularly with the local flickr members. They're > overwhelmingly >> young Canon shooters, with a helping of Nikon and Pentax shooters (And > >> one lone Minolta guy) and damn near all digital. Most of the few film >> shooters started with digital and tried film after seeing one of the >> older types still shooting it. There is a smattering of older shooters > >> in the group, but at 29 I'm older than 75% of that crowd. >> >> -Adam >> >> >> J. C. O'Connell wrote: >>> The kiddie (college) market is Digital P&S because they >>> Grew up on P&S. It's the old fogies who shoot >>> SLR because only they even know a SLR is in the >>> First place. >>> jco >>> >>> -----Original Message----- >>> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf >> Of >>> mike wilson >>> Sent: Friday, October 13, 2006 5:51 PM >>> To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List >>> Subject: Re: The JCO survey >>> >>> Mark Roberts wrote: >>> >>>> William Robb wrote: >>>> >>>>> Where is the economic advantage to them to put a feature on a > camera >>> of >>>>> little benefit to a very small % of the user base? >>>>> One user being willing to buy a feature doesn't make a very > rational >>>>> argument for inclding something, does it? >>>>> There is a much larger % of users who wouldn't use it, don't want > to >>>> pay >>>> >>>>> for it, and may look elsewhere for a camera (read different brand) >>>> And in fact these are the people who represent the most desirable >>>> demographic for Pentax: The college-age crowd just getting into >>>> photography - who may become life-long Pentax users if that's the >>>> system they can be persuaded to buy into today. Despite the elitism >> we >>>> older, more experienced photographers feel, we aren't a very >>> profitable >>>> long-term investment to pursue. >>> With the greatest respect 8-) that's cobblers. Middle-aged and older > >>> people are where the money is at. No kids (if they've got any >>> sense....), house paid for, at the peak of their earning potential. >>> They are the ones with money to throw at expensive hobbies and >> pastimes. >>>> The people who Pentax most needs to attract weren't even *born* in >>> 1982 >>>> when the "A" series lenses were introduced! (Isn't that a scary >>> thought >>>> for a lot of us!) >>>> >>>> >> > > -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
