Olympus plans to get them young

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY

Thailand is one of only a few markets that is expected to see growth in the digital camera market this year, and Olympus' local distributor has set an aggressive target of gaining market share in a year where Olympus will launch five new digital SLRs, the first of which is the new prosumer class 12.3 megapixel E-30.

In an exclusive interview, Jebsen and Jessen's photographic division manager Jaratpong Janejarasskul said the new E30 would be made available in a wide variety of kits with a 14-42mm lens or a the new 14-54mm f2.8-3.5 II prosumer lens. Five different camera and lens bundles will be available. Users can mix and match the lenses at the point of purchase and pay a discounted price for the bundles.

The Olymus E30, a new 12.3 megapixel digital SLR, comes with a 14-42mm lens or the new 14-54mm F2.8-3.5 II prosumer lens.

Among the new features is an in-camera "photoshop" with a series of digital filters that can mimic grainy film, pin-hole cameras or pop art. The image can be saved as a JPG with an untouched RAW file saved alongside. It also has a 270 swivelling live-view LCD and, with certain lenses, the fastest autofocus in the industry.

Jaratpong also said that old comments about four-thirds cameras having more digital noise and smaller viewfinders are nothing but unfounded rumours.

Indeed, during a brief hands-on, the viewfinder was much larger and brighter than the first generation E1/E300 and image quality has improved considerably.

Jaratpong said that Olympus' market share now stands at 7% for digital SLRs and 10% for compacts, which he stresses Olympus only offers in the mid- to high-end sectors.

This year, the price of digital cameras will go up despite the economic situation. Or rather, it is because of the economic situation and the rise of the Japanese yen which has risen by 26.5% against the US dollar. All of Olympus' Pro lenses are made in Japan and thus have suffered a lot because of the exchange rate.

The market has also levelled out. Five or six years ago, the question was how they could keep up with demand in a market that was doubling in size every year. Last year, the digital camera market grew by just 28%.

The market in 2008 was 1.2 million units, and this year, it is still expected to grow to 1.4 million.

Jebsen is also embarking on an aggressive road show marketing campaign aimed at high schools and universities. Classes will be given tens of units to unbox and experiment with and then offered at a 50% discount. Younger potential clients will be given compact cameras to try and older students and their teachers will be given SLRs to experiment with, up to and including the E-3.

He said that this was because nobody would change their system if they have already invested in lenses and accessories and thus winning converts from the Nikon or Canon camps was all but impossible, hence this hook them while they are young approach.

Asked to sum up Olympus' values in a nutshell, Jaratpong said it was in impeccable lens quality with the Zuiko lenses having a history of optical excellence going back 90 years.

Jaratpong is not too worried about the economy this year. In 1997, one of the things he found out was that it was the factory workers (who did not buy lifestyle electronics anyway) and the vice-presidents who lost their jobs (and still had some money to spend). But this was more than off-set by the increase in sales due to people needing to relax, travel and take more pictures to feel better. However, if things do not go well, he said that the management at Jebsen will be taking a pay cut first and then followed by the general staff. Lay-offs will be the last resort.

Cameras are a recreational activity, they will always be in demand, he said.

Of the 18 countries in region, which is oddly shaped to include the Middle East to Southeast Asia, only India, Thailand and Indonesia are expected to see growth.

Eighty percent of Olympus' sales are in Bangkok, but that is also a slightly misleading statistic as two major chains, Photo Hut and Big Camera have over 300 branches nationwide between them, but are counted as Bangkok.