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| Category: | Industry |
What companies were focused on at Focus - New products, the recession and if people would turn up were the hot topics at this years event.
Posted: 2nd March 2009
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No matter where you go or what you read it seems you can't get away from the word recession and this year's Focus was no exception. Even though this was the 20th anniversery of a show that has always drawn in the crowds most of the leading camera companies were a little worried about how the climate would affect the numbers. But as Mark Thackara from Olympus said: “It's not like people haven't turned up, people have come in, looked at items and bought them which is encouraging.”“Focus so far has been very busy for us and I do think the numbers will be up. You can't come to a show like this thinking it's not going to work you have to be positive that it will work ,” said Jeremy Gilbert from Nikon. “It's a competitive environment and at the moment the consumer is winning, there's plenty of dealers, plenty of stock and what amazes me is the number of people walking around with D700s.”
Even though signs were encouraging the recession does have everyone thinking twice before spending and with electronics not been a vital part of the human existence there is an element of doubt about what's going to happen in the industry.
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| Mark Thackara on the Olympus stand at Focus 2009. |
“The currency situation is making the pricing very volatile and it's taking a while for people to get used to that,” explained Mark. “Customers aren't used to prices going up but they are going up and they will continue to go up in price until the pound recovers. There will be a settle down period in a few months and we will have to see what happens when the sunshine comes out. I think a lot of people hope that a photography hobby in the grand scheme of things isn't that expensive and it's something to take your mind off the fact that everything is a bit grim.”
With the end of the recession nowhere in sight will the industry have to switch it's focus from high-end DSLR's and start producing more compacts?
“It's tricky and it makes planning difficult,” said Mark. “In theory because the currency is devaluing so much the average product prices should go up but against that you have people pressure to trade down to lower spec models so I think the jury is out on that one. It's our job to persuade people that it's worth paying money for something that is a little better.”
Nikon also believe that people are more likely to spend money on things they love: “When you have less money to spend, you sometimes spend a bit more to give you something that future proofs you in a way. People have to think about what they are buying and instead of purchasing the cheaper model and up-grading the following year they actually want to buy something that will last them three years.”
Many of the cameras prices have gone up, something which Paul Reynolds at Sigma sees as counter-intuitive and something he figured would put people off buying and attending Focus but it didn't: “It's always a good show for us and people this year are asking good questions, still buying products and we are still doing very well. We had a huge month in January because we told retailers the prices would be going up so of course they bought in bulk. Time will tell to see if it changes but I think it's the same for everyone in the industry at the moment.”Parvin Ahluwalia from HP seconds the general consensus that the recession had brought doubts into the industry: “Compared to the last couple of years I thought it would be a bit quieter but we have had a steady stream of people through so we are very happy. Before I got here I was very worried about it especially with their ability to buy equipment, I know it's not as expensive as buying a professional body but it's not the core hardware equipment that these guy want. However financing can be a problem but there is budget there, and dealers are selling well.”
The HP stand was much more hands on this year with education being a main emphasis, something which Parvin feels helped: “We have had less products and have tried to be more informative about the whole work flow. The days of just showing products have gone, printing peoples files for the sake of printing them has gone, you need to be more educational and that has really helped us.”
Even the educational based business had doubts about how successful Focus would be this year but were pleasantly surprised to find they were as, if not more successful than last year.
“We've had a very busy time,” said Catherine Connor, Annabel William's Managing Director. “We've had a great cross-section of photographers coming to us for guidance. People are here now and they realise that if you're in the game you have to be really out here searching for ideas and advice. When it comes to the company the current climate has made us watch what's going out into the wider business world and it has made us think more carefully and more creatively. It's made me pro-active and I'm now marketing in different ways and it has made me try and expand the business in different directions, we are diversifying in many ways and this was a perfect excuse to do this.”
“We have had quite a few people come to us who want a career change or a new job”, explained Dee Bean from the Open College of Arts. “People are looking at a bigger investment, they don't just want to do one course and we've had a variety of people come to talk to us from students to professionals who have been made redundant.”
A general consensus about the so called pixel race was also present at Focus. Sigma said the resolution of compacts and DSLRs is good enough for everybody and that getting stuck in a pixel war would just cause problems. “ We are not trying to cram more pixels in, the quality is there, we have no problem with that at all.”
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| A model on the Olympus' stand at Focus. |
Olympus' focus has also changed with emphasis shifting to other functions such as sensitivity or other features such as their art filters. “I think the absolute resolution for someone who knows what they're talking about it probably OK and they're not so obsessed with getting to the next one they're more bothered about the cameras functionality,” explained Mark.
Visitors to Focus certainly had plenty of choice something which Olympus understand and as a result are adopting their range to reach out to a wider market. One of the new features is the micro four thirds system which Mark is very excited about. He's also pleased with the response the art filters which were first put on the E-30 have received.
“A few were cynical but it has allowed people to stop being a slave to the computer and actually get out there and do something creative with the camera again. So there are things happening.”
For HP the Z3200 was proving to be a real hit at the show and Nikon were happy to be showing how the X system, particularly the D3X and it's family were growing. "Over the last three years Nikon has worked hard to make sure it is seen as a brand leader in the photographic industry and I think we have raised the bar to be honest," explained Jeremy.
For many who visited to the Canon stand it was their first chance to touch and try the EOS 5D Mark II many of who were impressed by the image quality and full HD video capture.
For HP the Z3200 was proving to be a real hit at the show and Nikon were happy to be showing how the X system, particularly the D3X and it's family were growing. "Over the last three years Nikon has worked hard to make sure it is seen as a brand leader in the photographic industry and I think we have raised the bar to be honest," explained Jeremy.
For many who visited to the Canon stand it was their first chance to touch and try the EOS 5D Mark II many of who were impressed by the image quality and full HD video capture.
So it seems the manufacturers are all optimistic about the current financial climate and are happy to see that photographers are still enjoying their hobbies despite the difficult situation. Will this positive outlook still be present at the 21st Focus on Imaging? We'll have to wait to find out.
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