Ambitious plans by Sony to take over Nikon in DSLR within 4 years

According to Samuel Andreo, the director of photographic products for Sony Spain, Sony plans to become the number 3 in the DSLR market within 18 to 24 months and has ambitious plans to take Nikons number 2 spot within 3 to 4 years.

This is an english translation of what Samuel Andreo has to say to a representative from www.QUESABESDE.COM

Many users have the general perception that Sony have arrived late in the digital reflex market.

"Yes, the present market has matured. It was back in 2005 when the digital reflex market experienced a large increase, which in Spain, was as much as 60% in units. What is happening now is we are expecting an increase of 40%, although it's true that the ideal moment was last year".

In this case, maybe the strategy would have been different if we had entered the top of the range market. But as the market is already vast and massive in terms of units, the ideal situation was to enter the mid-range sector. That's to say, tackle the section where there is rotation right now".

Sony isn't the only new brand that has just landed in the SLR market. Is so much competition viable?

"The ideal situation for all the companies and for the market is that the entrance by such companies as Sony, Panasonic or Samsung will increase the amount of digital reflex cameras, attracting people that until now wouldn't have thought about buying these products.

We are all for it. It's true that the market has similar numbers to the maximum achieved by the film reflexes. If this happens, the same cake will be shared amongst many, and there won't be a revolution. What we are aiming for is to bring the world of photography closer to more people."

And if in the end it turns out that there isn't enough for everybody, will there be more brands that fall, or form new alliances?

"Yes, I think that in the end these type of agreements will happen, such as Samsung and Pentax, Panasonic and Olympus or Konica Minolta with ourselves. We believe however, that at the moment, there is room for everybody

The digital reflex market is a sector in which there is still a long way to go and I don't believe that anyone will have to withdraw. It remains to be seen if changing the actual SLR podium can be acheived in the the next two or three years. At the moment the market is all Canon, Nikon and Olympus, we will see if another brand, be it Sony or Panasonic, can take third place, at least.".

Canon, Nikon and Olympus. Sony are going for third place, but... is Nikon's second place or even a face off with Canon one of Sony's long term objectives ?

"Catching up with Canon is a possibility, but very remote, in the distant future. At the moment we are concentrating on third place for the next 18 or 24 months, and in 3 or 4 years, which is when we will aspire to second place, we will tackle Nikon. But we see Canon as far off in the distance and we are in no way competing against them, because there is a strong fidelity".

Along those lines, it is deduced that Olympus are going to be the most affected by the arrival of Sony.

"Maybe Nikon more. With Olympus there are more features and various similar points, such as the sensor cleaner. The quota we gain at the the beginning won't be taken away by Olympus whose share is small, nor will the same happen as when Olympus entered the market and took some of Nikon's share.

Now it will be Sony that will also take the market from Nikon, and in the end we will have Olympus and Sony with similar participation, being able to begin to compete against Nikon within two years. Second place will be four years time."

While the rumours about this reflex were unravelling, Sony was talking about CMOS sensors that could shoot 60 frames per second, about high resolution shots from video sequences… Perhaps the Alpha DSLR-A100 could turn out to be disappointing to those who had high hopes.

" At the moment, at least for a year, this will be the only model. But it's clear that in the forseeable future what we do with the market in 1 year to 18 months time, we have to begin to think about the professional user who, at the moment, will remain a little distanced from this model which is aimed at the larger market and in no way at the professional, not even for features or speed.

The reason we have tackled this segment is as we have said: it's better to create a new platform of users, of an advanced level, and from there tackle the top. Meaning, the opposite to Olympus who began with the E-1 and started from the top. It was already too late for us to do it. "

Does this mean that at Photokina there won't be a second digital reflex from Sony?

"No, there will be nothing new as for reflex cameras".

Nevertheless, some of the lenses presented, including Carl Zeiss, appear to be aimed at a more professional camera.

"These lenses were made thinking of the future. Because of this there are lenses that now appear to be a little disproportionate, with prices around 3.000 euros or more in the case of the G series. It's certain that for this area it's too much, comparitively, but we are thinking about future areas".

Are we talking about the PMA fair coming next year?

"We still don't know when it will be, but for sure in 2007".

Source: Quesabesde