Posted January 10, 2019 07:29:24While most of the world may be captivated by the rising popularity of smartphones and the proliferation of high-end cameras, the Canadian market is largely overlooked.
And while the industry has its fair share of innovations, it is often overlooked because of its relative scarcity, according to a new report by the Canadian Association of Photographers.
In the past few years, the industry saw a boom in popularity and demand for its portable cameras.
The Globe AndMail found that in 2018, more than three-quarters of Canadian residents owned a cellphone or tablet.
The report notes that a significant number of those people own a smartphone, a device that can be connected to a camera via a cable and that can capture video or images.
But there is an even bigger jump in the number of smartphone owners who have a camera in their pockets, according the study, which examined data from the Canadian Camera Association.
In 2018, about 6 million Canadians owned a smartphone or tablet that could record images, while about 3.5 million owners owned a camera that could capture video.
It’s not all bad news for the Canadian industry.
A majority of Canadians owned one of the nation’s top-selling smartphones in 2018.
The G7+ smartphone sold out in just under a week, with the latest model reaching a record-breaking 1.3 million units.
“A lot of the cameras that we’re seeing are really affordable,” said Brian Gulliver, the association’s vice-president of marketing.
“There’s nothing that’s prohibitively expensive.
And that’s really great news for us because we’re not seeing the demand for the high end cameras that are so prevalent right now.”
He added that while most Canadians own a camera, they’re also buying more tablets, smartphones and other devices.
“They’re buying things that are a little bit smaller, a little more portable and a little less expensive than what they’re used to,” he said.
The association also notes that the smartphone market in Canada is growing, with sales of smartphones expected to reach $1.5 billion in 2021, up nearly 15 per cent from last year.
That’s an impressive amount of revenue for a smartphone that has a price tag of $300.
“The majority of the consumers in Canada are willing to pay a premium for a phone, so they’re willing to spend that premium on their device,” said Gullver.
“We think that’s going to continue to be the case.
They’re just not buying more.”
The association estimates that the industry will have $1 billion in revenue by 2021.
Gullaver said that’s still a lot of money for the industry to spend, especially considering that consumers are still finding ways to cut costs.
He noted that the majority of people in Canada use a cellphone and that many of those devices are still under $100.
“There’s still some room to grow, and we’re working with our partners to grow that market share,” he added.
Despite the booming smartphone market, there are still a number of challenges to be had.
Golliver pointed to the lack of a universal standard of photo and video quality, which is still the case for the majority.
“It’s still hard to find a camera with a high quality camera,” he noted.
“And we’ve also seen a lot more smartphone cameras that do not have the standard of a standard of image quality.”
What we see is a lot companies are moving toward smartphones and a lot people are moving away from cameras in general.