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The Year That Went By

1/24/2013 4:21:12 PM

At the end of every calendar year we try to highlight some of the biggest things that have made news in the previous year. So what exactly did the year 2012 have in store for us? Was it an eventful year to photography? If approximations are to be believed, for about 10% of all the photographs made in the entire history of photography were made last year. The world is communicating with photographs and is engaged with photography like never before, thanks in part to the smartphone industry. In this article we underline some of the impactful trends and events that shaped the last year.

The great fall of KODAK

While the writing was on the wall for some time, the news of Kodak filing for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 on 19th January 2012 was one of the biggest shocks for the consumers and the photographic industry. News is in, however that Eastman Kodak Co. has agreed to sell its digital imaging patents for about $525 million; a key step to bringing the photography pioneer out of bankruptcy in the first half of 20 I 3. The deal for the 1, 100 patents allows Kodak to fulfill a condition for securing $830 million in financing.

The Slowdown

The year 20 12 was a taste of reality for the Indian photographic industry. While the markets internationally have been dealing with the slowdown for a while, India has been enjoying a honeymoon period across most segments. Photography has been no exception until recently, when the reality finally caught up with the markets and 2012 turned out to be the least enjoyable year for most. We feel that this will continue until the end of the financial year and things will start to look up post April 2013.

MILCs

While the interchangeable lens category has been a buzzing market for a few years, the absence of some of the major manufacturers at the start kept the experts skeptic. But with the entry of all major manufacturers in this segment in 2012, the mirrorless category has cemented its place in the industry and promises to be the most exciting space in the years to come.

Emergence of the Smartphone

While camera phones have been around for a few years now, they have never had a bigger impact on photography until last year. 2012 witnessed 8 megapixels nearly becoming the standard in the camera phone industry as mobile phones upgraded to smart devices. Combine this with the versatility and the convenience that smartphones have to offer; they pretty much had the biggest impact on photography in 2012.

Description: Emergence of the Smartphone

Video Recording

Digital compact cameras and DSLRs have explored and improved upon their video recording capabilities since the time they were first introduced in the digital camera segment. While most DSLRs had just a mono mic to support video recording, over the years most digital cameras have adopted stereo audio recording, allowing the use of external microphones to go with the High Definition video capabilities they offer.

Megapixels are back

In the initial days of digital photography everything seemed to be about the megapixels. Much like saying “more the merrier”, megapixels in the early days seemed to be the key feature of focus for the industry. However this slowed down with the introduction of newer features over the years and the focus shifted to what the digital camera had to offer on the whole. But in 2012, suddenly megapixels came back into fashion. Nikon for instance started introducing a host of DSLRs in the entry and professional level packed with high megapixels, prompting many of the other manufacturers to follow suit.

Description: Megapixels are back

Smartphone user interface and WiFi features in cameras

The rise in popularity of smartphones is crushing the demand for point-and-shoot cameras, threatening the once steady and vibrant sector as camera manufacturers rush to hit back with web-friendly features and enhanced quality. Despite this, digital compact cameras have registered a sharp drop in sales, making them another casualty of smartphones, just like videogame consoles and portable music players which are also struggling against the all-in-one features offered by the likes of Apple iPhone and the Samsung Galaxy phones. Just as digital cameras almost destroyed the market for photographic film, the compact camera sector, dominated by Japanese firms including Canon, Olympus, Sony and Nikon, is being torn into, thanks to the rapid shift to picture-taking smartphones.

Description: Smartphone user interface and WiFi features in cameras

Firms are struggling to keep improving picture quality, offering features such as waterproofing and even expanding their internet features, like allowing users to share pictures through social media networks thanks to Wi-Fi features that are being introduced in some of the newer cameras. The Nikon Coolpix S800c and the Samsung Galaxy Camera, two new cameras that have been launched in the wake of this war, if it can be called that, are packed with such features. They are internet friendly and have interfaces comparable to smartphones, integrating the Android operating system with compact cameras, making the whole experience of clicking pictures and sharing them intuitive and simple. Even DSLRs are integrating some of the features that can be seen in today's smartphones, like the touchscreen. The Canon EOS 650D is an example of this.

Accessories

A lot has changed over the last decade with respect to post-production software, storage devices, camera stabilization equipment, studio equipment etc, primarily due to the constantly growing demand for better equipment and technology. It's not just the storage space that is changing. Newer formats now support read and write speeds from 500 MB/sec to I GB/sec, and storage capabilities beyond 2TB are now on offer. The XQD memory card, a format announced in November 2010 by SanDisk, Sony and Nikon has now made an appearance in products, with the Nikon D4 being the first card to support it.

Professionals are now better equipped, and more at ease than ever before; with advancements in flash technology, low light photography etc. Even amateurs couldn't ask for more, as improvements in technology over the years has made it very easy for them to dabble in the art of photography. Just as professionals and amateurs, we too look forward to the inventions and advancements in photography technology in 2013.

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