Camera connectivity is key to breaking Canon/Nikon duopoly

Tech writers are obsessed with death. New products have to not only produce technological innovation, but to such a degree it means “disruption” or “death” to the standard bearers. Google “iphone killer” and more than 700,000 results are returned.

These days, the death knell is ringing for compact cameras. The smartphone category is the culprit this time, relegating point-and-shoots the dungheap of digital history. None other than technology visionary Jean-Louis Gassée wrote in the Guardian last year: “Compact cameras die in a flash thanks to smartphones.” (Again, Google “smartphone compact cameras,” and 4.4 million links are returned; among the top results: “Smartphone replacing compact cameras?” “Smartphone crushing point-and-shoot camera market.”)

Hyperbole helps page views, even if they don’t reflect reality. Just as compact film cameras eventually gave way to digital compacts, smartphones will replace some compacts for many mundane uses i.e. happy snaps, fish-face self portraits, etc. I predict compact will continue on, leveraging some of the features they can excel at: weather or waterproofing, low-light capability and long zoom.

This is not to say the compact camera category couldn’t use some improvements, especially in the area of software. The two leaders, Canon and Nikon, are renowned for their closed ecosystems. (Yes, Nikon has introduced the Android-powered Coolpix S800c, an underwhelming entry, to say the least). Both companies have proprietary thinking embedded in their corporate DNA, and it will be tough to shake that loose. Considering cameras today are just handheld computers with lenses, it seems almost a 70s-era idea that you can’t install applications or tweak the GUI.

This is where a Samsung Galaxy Camera is an exciting product. Samsung has committed itself to Android across it’s products, and the Samsung Galaxy Camera benefits from that cross-pollination. Where the S800c was a compromise, the Galaxy shoots for the stars (hence it’s meteoric price tag). Samsung hits the sweet spot of hardware specs, camera functionality and digital expandability. As mentioned above, expandability runs counter to the history of the Canon/Nikon duopoly. To break through, competitors must exploit this weakness.

Compact cameras, as they are, are certainly in decline, but lamenting the loss of “dumb” compact cameras is misplaced. Anticipating a future of high-quality connected cameras is exciting.