18th Feb 2009
Is this it for PMA?
Yesterday was a busy day, certainly busier than I’d planned for, with several manufacturers doing major releases.
In total 24 P&S Cameras were announced (Canon: 10, Sony: 5, Fuji: 5, Samsung: 4), along with a couple of TS-E lenses from Canon and a few other minor items (printers, software etc).
Throw in the 8 Coolpix’s and a lens from Nikon earlier in the month, and we are up 32 P&S cameras, three lenses, and zero DSLR’s.
So is this it for PMA?
From Canon, possibly. The much rumored 500D is no-where to be seen, and Canon is holding events around the world today focusing on the ‘Canon Spring Collection 2009′. If an entry level DSLR was coming any time soon, it would almost certainly headline that event, but it didn’t. There is a remote possibility of a pro DSLR (1D Mark III N is the favored rumor), but at this point I wouldn’t put money on it.
Sony has already publicly stated that there will be no DSLR until later in the year. There are some lens rumors for PMA circulating, so they may have more announcements yet.
Nikon is the current unknown. They did their Coolpix announcements a couple of weeks ahead of anyone else, and surprised us with a lens no-one was expecting a week later. The Nikon D40 is certainly due for replacement (announced in 2006, and is the only sub 10 Mp DSLR from the big 3), and Nikon D400 rumors are rife. It’s possible they still have more coming for PMA (Canon have 10 P&S cameras and two major $2,000+ lenses, verses Nikons 8 P&S cameras and single $200 lens so far).
This could also be a sign of the times. Given current economic conditions, selling a P&S camera may be a lot easier than selling a new high-dollar DSLR, so slowing down release schedules does make financial sense. Unless your competitor does a bunch of new releases and starts taking away your market share that is…
We will continue to keep track of rumors (see our Rumor Center) and news (see our News Center) as PMA approaches.