Andrew Fildes wrote:
> If there is one thing that Fujifilm learned, it's that people will NOT buy a
> 6mp camera if it's sitting next to a 10mp camera at the same price.
Good heavens no, that's practically impossible! You can only sell the
6mp if it costs MORE.
> You can mutter 'but it takes better pictures' like a mantra but they
> just...won't.
>
Not mutter, SHOUT! Muttering is never any good in marketing.
Look at the facts:
- 6mps is more than sufficient for at least 99.9% of all uses to which
digicam images are put.
- The manufacturers are caught in this deadly race of ever increasing MPs.
- It's getting harder and harder to make them so the images aren't
obviously worse than prior models.
- Virtually nobody has been able to establish a quality image to stand
out and justify a price premium.
- Upbranding is successful in virtually every type of manufactured
product, including DSLRs.
SOMEBODY is going to at least take a good try at it. Whether using an
entirely new name, ala Toyota/Lexus, or a premium line name, like
Panasonic Technics, someone is going to attack the above problems as a
marketing opportunity to launch a camera or line.
Of course it's a risk, but how big a risk is competing endlessly on
price in a huge glob of undifferentiated models. One little slip, and
oops, you are over. And if you succeed? Unimpressive profits, like other
commodity markets.
One sort of example is the Canon A650 IS and G9 pair. Other than
firmware crippling for the cheap one, and a couple of nice things for
more advanced photographers, like flash shoe, they are photographically
the same camera. But the A650 looks like the cheap "A" line and the G9
is sexy black, with 'pro' styling - and a price premium of ~50%. I'd
love to see the sales figures. I bet the G9 is the bigger seller.
I say a "sort of" example because they seem be tentative about what they
are doing. The flip/tilt screen of the old G series ended up on the A
series body. For some folks, like me, that makes the cheaper camera
actually better. Muddled market targeting.
Moose
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