The low-end Digital Still Camera (DSC) market soon may come under intense competitive pressure because of a new megapixel race in cell phones, according to iSuppli Corp.
The weighted average resolution for handset cameras’ CMOS sensors in 2008 was 1.5 megapixels. By 2009, that average increased to 2.1 megapixels and iSuppli forecasts it will grow to 5.7 megapixels by 2013. In comparison, DSCs averaged 7.6 megapixels in 2008 and will rise to 13.9 megapixels in 2013.
As a result, iSuppli believes that multimedia handsets may cannibalize the low end of the DSC market as they incorporate higher megapixels and flash capabilities. This is likely to happen in Asia and Europe first as consumers in these regions seem to be more comfortable with taking pictures using camera phones.
As the number of megapixels in these phones rises and as consumers begin to use phones
instead of cameras to take photos, iSuppli believes the quality of handset cameras will rival low-end point-and-shoot cameras, taking market share away from the DSC segment.
It’s Not the Resolution that Matters
While upping the megapixels in a phone camera will deliver better-quality images with smoother, less pixelated features, the overall image quality is determined by several factors, including low apparent levels of noise and good low-light performance.
Thus, a high-resolution camera phone may produce poorer image quality than a DSC because it has less sensitivity or poorer dynamic range, resulting in a shallow contrast when compared to a point-and-shoot. This may discourage some consumers from risking a precious family photo or other memory-keeping moment on a camera phone.
These deficiencies can be remedied in a camera phone with the addition of optical zoom, auto focus, an improved flash and more sophisticated image processing. OEMs will be focusing on these areas in order to improve the overall quality of photos in handset cameras. iSuppli also believes features such as image stabilization, automatic judgment and multiple image capture will migrate from DSCs to camera phone modules during the next few years.
Fighting Back
Camera makers aren’t just sitting by and letting this happen. Manufacturers of camera modules are firing back with increasing resolutions in smaller form factors to counter the mobile handset’s encroachment on the camera’s territory.
Will this be enough to fend off the incoming attack from handsets—or is the cannibalization of the low-end of DSCs inevitable? We know that camera OEMs won’t go down without a fight while handset OEMs will aggressively try to gobble up market share. This should make for an interesting ride in the years to come.
Read More, Will Handset Cameras Rival Low-end Point-and-Shoot Cameras? >