Indians zoom in on full-frame mirrorless cameras: Canon

By Nishant Arora

Gurugram, Aug 14 (IANS) The dream to acquire a full-frame mirrorless camera is gaining momentum among both entry-level and professional photographers in India and Japanese camera and digital imaging company Canon is optimistic to see sales being picked up well with the wedding and festival season around the corner.

According to Kazutada Kobayashi, President and CEO, Canon India, since the company brought its first full-frame mirrorless camera EOS R to India last year and its lightest and smallest full-frame mirrorless camera EOS RP in February this year, the inquiries about both the cameras have grown multi-fold at its shops across the country.

"We could see that several professional photographers who used DSLRs with mirror have started to convert their thinking to acquire full-frame mirrorless devices.

"There is a rush of active inquiries at our shops on full-frame mirrorless cameras. I expect a good business to start from September onwards with the herald of wedding and festival season," Kobayashi told IANS here in a free-wheeling interview.

The 30.3MP EOS R camera costs Rs 189,950 and with the EOS R kit (RF24-105mm f/4L IS USM Lens), the price is Rs 278,945. The EOS RP camera starts at Rs 110,495 and with the EOS RP kit, the camera costs Rs 199,490.

"We are shifting focus from low to mid and high camera segment. Our camera business in India stays as it is at this point of time and I expect it to grow further in coming months," said the Canon executive.

Excluding the impact of GST, Canon registered net growth of double digit (over 10 per cent) in the country last year. At present, the Japanese major is leading the DSLR segment in India.

According to Kobayashi, he is happy with the progress in the first half of the year across verticals - in both B2B and B2C - in the Indian market.

"Though a bit short of my original aim of double-digit growth this year, the company is still making a good progress on both B2B and B2C fronts," he noted.

Canon India in June expanded its PIXMA G Series line-up with the new category launch of Monochrome Ink Tank Printer and two variants in the colour Ink Tank printers.

The new line-up features the popular integrated Ink Tank design, automatic two-sided printing, large paper feeding capacity, and full network compatibility, making them ideal for customers with high-print volume demands.

"Our foray into the ink tank category was a critical milestone to our printer business, which has led to a steady growth in our market share in the inkjet category. This has also led to the Consumer System Products division become one of the highest contributing businesses for us in India," informed Kobayashi.

With an ultra-low printing cost of approximately eight paisa per print, the latest G series printers are equipped to reduce the cost of printing by almost 90 per cent, as compared to mono laser printers which costs approximately Rs two per print with original toners.

"I am optimistic that the launch will further enhance our presence in India, and increase our market share by 25 per cent in the ink tank category," said Kobayashi, who has completed nearly eight years at Canon India.

He is bullish on the Indian market amid political stability in the country.

"Good news is that the Indian economy is greatly maintained owing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his initiatives like Digital India. It gives us all the reason to push the envelope in the country across verticals and develop user-friendly and cost-effective cameras and printers in years to come," stressed Kobayashi.

(Nishant Arora can be contacted at nishant.a@ians.in)