This document summarizes the rise of digital cameras and the decline of film cameras and the companies that produced them. In the 1990s and early 2000s, digital cameras rapidly improved in quality and dropped in price, while the number of digital cameras sold increased dramatically. This disrupted the film industry and destroyed longtime camera brands that relied on film sales for profits. Companies like Kodak, Polaroid, and Agfa that were built around film saw their market shares collapse. Meanwhile, electronics companies like Canon and Nikon that adapted to digital imaging came to dominate the industry. The transition required new electronic skills that many traditional camera makers lacked.
10. The explosion
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Number of film and digital cameras sold in the
United States (guess which one is digital!)
43. Just like Gilette made great money by selling
razor blades, these firms made great money
by selling film. The main source of profit is
not the razor or the camera, it was the
continuous consumption of blades and film.
44. So, the more photos you took,
the more money they made.
65. But the business utility
was great. Many film
photos were digitized
sooner or later anyway.
With a digital back, one
step in the production of
photos could be removed.
66. The first digital backs were
expensive and had a moderate
performance. The first one by Leaf
had 4 Megapixels and Kodak
launched one with 6 Mpixels.
70. ”The quality of high-end
digital studio cameras is
good enough to replace
film for most catalog and
magazine needs.”
MacWEEK 94-05-13
71. 6 million pixel resolution is
good enough for most
applications. The
perception of colour is
more important than the
perception of sharpness.
Kodak, 1996
81. Kodak A sensor with 1,3
Megapixel, an internal
harddrive of 200 megabyte
at a cost of 13 000 USD
(about 21 000 USD today!)
82. It was marketed to photo
journalists, hoping they’d
be willing to pay for being
able to view images
instantly , take a lot of
photos and removing the
long process of turning
film into a digital format.
109. The Nikon D1 from 1999 was the first
true alternative for photographers
who wanted digital cameras.
It was mortal to many of the old
camera firms…
110. With the rise of digital imaging, the
competence base shifted from
precise mechanics to electronics.
111. Many old camera companies had
little experience in electronics.
124. Digital imaging destroyed the film
market and all those companies who
tried to keep making money on film.
125. At one time there must
have been dozens of
companies making
buggy whips. And I bet
the last one around
made the best buggy
whips you ever saw.
How’d you like being a
stockholder in that
company?
// Danny Devito, Other
people’s money
126. Those who owned stocks
in Kodak or Polaroid are
painfully aware of the
relevance of this quote.
127. In addition to this, digital imaging
turned the camera industry into a
chaotic warzone of fierce
competition and rapid development.
128. Many old companies with a
competence in precise mechanics
failed to renew their skills and could
not keep up with the pace of
development.
129. During the shift, some
companies claimed that
digital imaging could
never produce as good
photos as film.