CNBC: “How Canon, Nikon and other Japanese camera companies are fighting for survival in the Smartphone era”

CNBC sees a grim future for the Digital Camera market:

Some analysts believe the digital camera market will shrink faster than previously expected, prompting further changes. The latest facet of this trend is consumers increasingly turning to multi-lens smartphones instead of pricey digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) cameras.

And:

We feel that increasingly higher quality imaging, including copies, scans, photos and other images will likely be available on multifunction devices like smartphones. Standalone cameras will exist for artists and the artistic wealthy

A positive exception is Sony:

The winning technology used to be the lens but has become the imaging sensors, and Sony has been the big winner on this front

And they see a dark future for Nikon:

for Nikon, Thong said the evaporating camera market is a bigger threat, it part because it failed to embrace video early on. That was a misstep in a rapidly evolving industry that’s seeing fewer and fewer standalone cameras.

I tend to agree that Digital Camera Market will only have a future within a small niche of super enthusiasts. The mass market is in steady hand of the smartphone makers.