Given that cameras are built into just about everything but electric can openers these days, it isn’t difficult to believe people are taking more pictures than ever.
But an average of 1,000 photos per digital camera this year? That estimation by technology market research firm IDC translates into almost three snapshots every day.
As a new mother gearing up for baby’s first Christmas, I can explain my shutterbug mania. But what in the world is everyone else taking pictures of?
A lot of geeky stuff sitting on store shelves is Boulder resident Paul Santagata’s answer. To help his very tech un-savvy parents gift him with the gadgets and gizmos he really wants, Santagata takes pictures of the items on his wish list and e-mails them to his folks.
“Believe me, this is easier than asking them to visit websites or taking the time to explain what something is and what it does,” he says.
“The big deal about going digital is that you can be indiscriminate about how much you capture,” says Matt Swanston, director of business analysis for the Consumer Electronics Association.
“You don’t have to be frugal with the photos you take or the video you shoot because you’re not dealing with actual film or tape you have to pay for or feel obligated to keep. You erase what you don’t want in an instant.”
Spoken like a guy who has been known to prop his digital video camera in a corner for hours at a time to record family outings and his friends’ bachelor parties. Swanston keeps only the most memorable scenes and chucks the rest, sparing his audiences the torture of sitting through several minutes of a VHS tape before getting to the good parts.
Then there’s Stapleton resident Karen Rosenthal, who sometimes whips out her digi-cam to take pictures of lavishly furnished model homes in the burgeoning Denver neighborhood. She’s looking for home-decorating ideas.
And, oh, all right. Yours truly snaps away at plaques posted in museums and parks. I can always read those explanations of American quilting and bird mating later. It’s also not unusual for me to schlep my camera, loaded with images of the sweaters and shoes in my closet, to the mall. Wouldn’t want to buy something that doesn’t match what I already own.
The digital camera market is maturing fast. For the first time, more than 50 percent of North American households will have a digital camera this year, according to market research firm Info-
Trends/CAP Ventures. Sales are expected to hit 26 million this year and peak at 28 million next year. By the end of this decade, 9 of 10 digital-camera sales will be to repeat buyers.
All of that means the pressure is on for camera makers to come up with new whizbangery to drive purchases.
And indeed they are – especially in time for the holidays. Market analysts predict digital cameras will be the most popular electronic gifts for the second consecutive year, largely because decent point-and-shoot models offering all the resolution an amateur photographer needs can be had for about $200.
Kodak and Nikon are the frontrunners in an emerging trend that will usher in the next generation of digital cameras. Both companies are generating plenty of ooohs and ahhhs this season with the market’s first wireless models. The cameras allow picture takers to send their photos to the computer or printer of their choice with the touch of a button. Use the camera to tap into the nearest wireless network, and it’s possible to e-mail photos of that amazing Colorado sunset before the sun actually sets. The cameras range in price from approximately $250 to $600.
Even with an increasingly crowded field of products to choose from, Joyce Goh of Denver is not planning to buy a new camera any time soon. She’s happy with her tiny Canon SD 300, which allows her to take still photographs, as well as three minute video segments. Goh recently paid $50 for a 1-gigabyte memory card to boost the amount of content she will cane collect while visiting her 80-year-old grandmother for Christmas.
“I want to capture the very essence of her,” Goh says. “And that card will let me store about 1,000 photos.”
