CES zooms in on photography

The International Consumer Electronics Show may be the world's premiere technology event, but it's no slouch on the photographic front, either. While tech vendors pull out every stop to ensure their latest and greatest announcements aren't ignored in the sea of hype, photography is quietly reinventing itself on and off the Vegas showroom floor.

As technology has gradually transformed cameras into modern digital wonders, CES has increasingly become a showcase for an industry now moving firmly beyond hawking cameras that just take pictures. This year's show is especially critical to the photo space as it wrestles with fallout from a year most would rather forget. The following trends in the photo space aren't only taking shape in Las Vegas. They're defining the year to come in photography, as well:

The point-and-shoot is dead
Cameras on mobile devices like smartphones and tablets have evolved from crude, low-resolution appendages to fully capable shooters. Apple's iPhone 4S is only the latest smartphone to sport enough capability to rival — and ultimately replace — the typical low- and mid-range pocket camera.

While higher-quality standalone cameras retain features still largely absent from the typical smartphone -- such as image stabilization, larger sensors and greater lens range and choice -- the always-connected smartphone is more than good enough for a growing audience interested in taking basic snapshots. Easy sharing to social media services, in-device editing and the constant stream of new photo-aware apps makes smartphones the new devices of choice for casual photographers. The writing is clearly on the wall for traditional low-end cameras, as they're virtually absent from CES this year.

2012 will be a recovery year
The massive earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan's Sendai region last March has had a tremendous impact on the global photographic market. The region is home to a number of key factories, including Nikon and Canon facilities, and the disaster forced both top vendors to shut down production for months and delay a number of new model introductions. Many of this year's major photo announcements at CES were originally scheduled for 2011 release. Although manufacturers have largely restarted the bulk of the affected facilities or shifted production elsewhere, they'll still be playing catchup for much of the coming year as supply chains continue their slow recovery.

Compact form factors are emerging
The gap between higher-end consumer cameras and full-on digital SLRs is largely a thing of the past thanks to a new breed of mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras. These cameras are smaller than traditional DSLRs, but offer more flexibility for more advanced photographers who still want to travel light. While a few early examples have been on the market for a couple of years, virtually every major vendor, including Panasonic, Olympus, Nikon, Leica and Sony, is using this year's CES to formally jump into this burgeoning category. Despite some confusion over compatibility, photo quality and value compared to often-identically priced DSLRs, expect product roadmaps to continue their expansion through the year.

Industry must adapt
These trends point to an industry in transition. Data from the NPD Group's Imaging Confluence Study shows the march of smartphone-based cameras continued in 2011.

Through the year, 27 percent of pictures were taken with smartphones, up from 17 percent in 2010. The percentage of photos taken by traditional cameras, on the other hand, slipped from 52 percent to 44 percent over the same period. Retailers sold 17 percent fewer cameras in from January to November 2011 versus the year-ago period. Smartphones also ate into flash camcorder sales (down 8 percent) and pocket camcorders (down 13 percent). Detachable camera sales were up 12 percent.

These figures, combined with announcements coming from the CES show floor, illustrate how quickly camera vendors have adapted to their rapidly evolving market.

They're no longer merely photography companies: They are tech vendors in their own right, mixing and matching capabilities once available exclusively within specific product categories to create converged devices they hope will gain traction. As they seek to recover from the earthquake-hit year of 2011, traditional photo players like Canon, Nikon and Sony are duking it out with smartphone-cum-photo vendors like Apple, Samsung and Motorola for the photo loyalties of consumers who no longer view photography — or cameras — as they once did.

Carmi Levy is a London, Ont.-based independent technology analyst and journalist. The opinions expressed are his own. carmilevy@yahoo.ca