Canon India VP for Imaging talks about competition, new product categories, India plans and more

Canon, the Japanese digital imaging company, has completed 20 years in India. Marking this landmark, the company has set a ‘Vision 2020’ which aims to take the growth target to Rs 3,500 cr over the next three years. India happens to be the fifth largest market for Canon in terms of its DSLR sales and it has around 48 to 50 percent of the DSLR market share in India. Camera sales accounts for the largest chunk of Canon’s India market share, with consumer system product and business imaging solutions categories clocking in 23 percent and 22 percent respectively. To carry forth with the growth momentum, Canon has plans to double their Canon Image Square number to 214 stores by the end of 2020. We spoke to Eddie Udagawa, vice president, consumer imaging and information centre for Canon India, about the changing landscape of the camera industry, specially with the smartphone challenging the entry level DSLR and entry level compact camera segments. Here are the excerpts from the interview. Which segment of camera buyers has been showing a promising growth over the years? We are witnessing a steady growth in every segment of DSLRs. The entry level DSLR camera has seen a tremendous growth recently with the launch of EOS 1300D this year. Similarly EOS 700D double zoom kit continues to grow since its launch the last year. The entry segment of DSLR cameras remain the most popular with a lot of first time buyers entering the market. At the same time, we have seen consistency in more professional cameras. Pro buyers really know what they want, and are going for slightly higher level of cameras like EOS 80D or EOS 5D Mark IV launched this year. Smartphones these days provide increasing convenience and features. Is Canon ever going to build a smartphone? Or an app driven product? New camera technology is making it an exciting time for amateurs as well as professional photographers. We have been constantly innovating and bringing new products and features, it would be the headquarters, Japan who would be deciding on this. Could Canon’s sensor and related technologies ever make it to smartphones? Cameras have much large sensors than the smartphones thus giving a much better image quality. A bigger sensor will capture more detail with wider dynamic range, offer superior low-light performance, and focus more sharply on moving objects. Smart phone cannot utilize big sensors as that of camera sensors. Is this the end of the road for entry level digital cameras? Smartphone cameras are getting better every year. What are the incentives to move to an entry level or a non-advanced compact digital camera? I wouldn’t go so far as to say the category is irrelevant because people are still buying those cameras. As long as demand is still there, we will continue to offer these cameras. Of course, smartphones are also positioning themselves as having good cameras, so we are aware of that. There is a lot of clicking happening from smartphone cameras but we are happy as long as people are clicking. It is a great opportunity for us to keep innovating and add new technologies in the products which we offer. Canon has been focusing on the current compact camera portfolio especially in the Zoom range category and high end premium compact cameras. A better zoom and image quality; focus on HD video recording and low light photography, Wi-Fi/NFC are some highlights. [caption id=“attachment_286575” align=“aligncenter” width=“607”]  Canon EOS M3 mirrorless ILC[/caption] When we talk about mirrorless cameras, Sony and Olympus are the only players that come to mind. Why isn’t Canon the first recall brand there, as it is in DSLRs, considering the mirrorless category has been around for so many years? We do provide our users with an option to choose Canon mirrorless camera with the EOS M3, EOS M10 and the recently launched EOS M5 model in the mirrorless range. We see the growth of mirrorless camera in the long run but currently we would continue to focus on the DSLR segment considering the growing interest and demand for DSLR’s in the Indian market. We want this segment to be much stronger in the market by continuously providing quality products to our consumers and by introducing and promoting ground-breaking technologies in DSLR camera range. What are the needs “specific to the Indian consumer” and what are these products that you are working on? We have three sets of target groups (TG): One set of TG where people are graduating from mobile to entry level DSLR directly. Second set of TG who are interested in high zoom cameras like SX series which are digital compact cameras. Third set of TG are the professionals who already have DSLR’s but they are looking for one compact camera (Pocket size) which can be used as a second camera. There is another league in professional/semi-professional category who opt for high end professional range like EOS 5D series and EOS-1D X Mark II. The idea is to provide variety to the consumers and give them whole lot of choices. We constantly connect with our existing customers and prospective audiences to understand their requirements. We would continue to provide updated technology and products to our customers based on their varied needs and requirements. With sales of DSLRs cameras on the decline, how do you plan to achieve 50 percent DSLR camera market? With the launch of our new cameras in the market in 2016, we see huge potential from our entry level camera EOS 1300D and our mid- level camera EOS 80D. We have recently launched our flagship model EOS-1D X Mark II and EOS 5D Mark IV which are high end professional cameras and we see a huge demand for these cameras. Canon is adopting various innovative sales and marketing tools that suits our customers’ needs and requirements and help us in gaining more market share in India. We have been aggressively focusing on the wedding segment and have been conducting various wedding workshops in Tier 2, Tier 3 and Tier 4 cities. 75-80% workshops are targeted to Tier 3 and Tier 4 cities. [caption id=“attachment_300063” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”]  Canon EOS 80D[/caption] We have an exclusive department called EOS Academy with dedicated team of professional photographers and photography experts. They help customers in enhancing their photography skills in a fun and engaging environment. To further promote the spirit of photography, Canon promotes various photo tours and conducts workshops in schools to encourage photography. In India, approximately 1200 workshops are conducted annually across different categories in photography. Canon has introduced a unique proposition called EOS Nation, where we conduct photography seminar in different genres for high end professional products. We invite various professional photographers to attend the seminar and get hands on product experience. In the age of social media and action cameras, Canon doesn’t seem to have anything in its portfolio. When one talks of action cameras, then GoPro, Sony, and Nikon and other brands have products to show. Is this another wait and watch game Canon is playing as it did with the mirrorless cameras? With the current line-up of products, Canon India has achieved unprecedented growth figures in the imaging industry. In a cluttered and highly competitive industry we, at Canon, are confident of the current range of products for the Indian audience. Our R&D team is researching to bring out the best technology and constantly collects feedback from the market. The feasibility of any new products or product lines is also carefully analyzed. As and when we are ready with such products we would inform. Your enthusiast DSLR such as Canon 80D does not have 4K video recording. Any particular reason behind it considering every flagship smartphone offers the feature? The phrase ‘4K video recording’ has become a buzzword and it has been thrown around a lot many manufacturers to create marketing hype. The relevance of 4K video is more in the professional segment and all our professional DSLR cameras feature 4K recording. Our Cinema EOS range also has multiple 4K models. The EOS 80D is an advanced mid-range camera. Besides enthusiasts, it is also being purchased by many first timers who want to explore the advanced feature set. We have equally focused on still and video capabilities with this camera. [caption id=“attachment_360214” align=“aligncenter” width=“650”]  YongNou ripping off Canon’s nifty fifty (50mm f/1.8 lens) design language[/caption] What do you have to say about upstarts such as YongNou coming out with lenses that resemble Canon EF lenses, but are offered at much more economical rates? Canon has been in the digital imaging and camera business for more than 70 odd years. We have crossed the milestone of producing 120 million EF lenses since 1987. Developing lenses requires a lot of analytics, research as well as cutting edge manufacturing processors. This is why our “L” series of lenses are renowned for their image quality, performance and reliability. In India, we have enjoyed an increase in market share for both mid-range as well as high-end lenses. There will always be cheaper alternatives, but we are confident that consumers who are conscious of true value represented by performance and longevity of a product will continue to patronize our products. In the smartphone world, photography is as much about post-processing (think Prisma, Instagram, or the more recent background blurring with dual cameras, etc) as it is about capturing great photos. Is Canon interested in this aspect of photography or is it satisfied with what it’s offering consumers today? At Canon we believe in making the best cameras for the widest possible usage scenarios. Post processing is not something that is limited to smartphones and companies like Adobe have been making post processing software like Photoshop & Lightroom for ages now. Even we have our own post processing software called DPP or Digital Photo Professional, which allows basic image correction, color balancing and editing options. Even Canon DPP (which is a very basic software and is meant as a precursor for more advanced image editing software), is an advanced application.