Shoot guns

Just shutter-happy till the other day, Indians now want to shoot sharper, and take their hobby further. That has sent digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera sales zooming by 300% in 2010-11.

While Nikon says 70,000 DSLRs are sold annually in the country, Canon pegs the figure at 90,000. Point-and-shoot camera sales have also grown by 50% to nearly 2.2 million units in 2010-11. Back in 2005, the market for DSLRs was a mere 5,000 units, mostly for professionals. For Canon India, 40% of revenues last year came from the sale of DSLR cameras and accessories.

So what’s driving these numbers? Many get a taste of photography, thanks to camera phones. Strategy Analytics, which tracks the cellphone market, forecast camera phone sales to reach 101 million units in 2010-11. Camera phones were expected to script the standalone camera’s obituary. Instead, they catalysed the market. “People use a mobile phone camera for casual shots, and get hooked. Then they want to upgrade to a DSLR for better results,” says a Nikon India spokesperson.

Alok Bharadwaj, Canon’s senior vice president, says: “Five years ago, the DSLR category was only for professionals. Retailers who never dealt with these cameras have now begun selling them.”

With prices starting at Rs 25,000, upper middle class youngsters with disposable incomes can easily upgrade to DSLRs. And then they can flaunt their shots on Flickr, Picasa, and Facebook.