Digital Film Sales Take Off

Sales of flash memory products through July of last year exceeded $1.5 billion, 44 percent up over the previous year. Per megabyte retail costs had dropped below 10 cents per megabyte early in 2005 with card capacities topping out at 1 GB for SD and Memory Stick Pro and 2 GB for CompactFlash. The newcomer xD cards are expected to reach 1 GB capacity by year end.

New media form factors are emerging in 2005 as memory card suppliers try to gain consumers’ favor in the highly competitive market. Dual-purpose cards with attached USB connectors replace the need for a dedicated card reader, yet another device to add to consumers’ already crowded desks.

 

*Digital still cameras only. Does not include camcorders with still or any other combo devices. Source: CEA Market Research, 1/05

According to CEA’s Coming Into Focus report issued in October 2004, a significant number of consumers were unable to identify the type of memory card used in their digital camera, yet 71 percent said the memory card format was somewhat or very important to their purchase decision. CEA attributes the findings to varying options for how consumers handle their digital film. Seven out of 10 users transfer images from their cameras to the home PC via USB cable, meaning they rarely come in contact with the memory card at all. By contrast, only one in four use a card reader to transfer media, which requires removing the card from the camera. No one memory card type dominated the market in 2004, according to CEA research of digital camera owners. According to the October 2004 study, 14 percent of consumers said they used Memory Stick media, predominantly a Sony format. Following closely was SmartMedia, a legacy card type supplanted by the xD Picture Card in newer cameras from Olympus and Fuji. Multimedia Card (MMC) and CompactFlash held 9 percent share each, according to the report, followed by Secure Digital and xD Picture Card at 6 and 4 percent, respectively.

But the shift is on. Smaller cameras require memory cards that take up less real estate and SD cards are now the largest selling memory card format by far, according to market share analysis from NPD Intelect in January 2005. In February of 2004, SD cards owned a 40 percent market share followed by 24 percent for CompactFlash and 18 percent for Memory Stick. The xD format was gaining ground at 9 percent share.

By January 2005, SD market share had shot to 53 percent, followed by CompactFlash at 21 percent, and Memory Stick at 13 percent. The upstart xD closed in at 10.3 percent, according to NPD data.

Managing the Data

Higher capacity memory cards and higher megapixel cameras mean larger file sizes on PC hard drives. Camera and peripherals makers see this growing need for storage as an opportunity for new camera peripherals. These personal media storage devices connect to a PC via USB cable and serve as backup for photos, music, video and other personal data files. Advanced versions of the devices promise to simplify the process of moving digital stills and video from camcorders or cameras to long-term storage on hard disk or DVD.

Digital imaging accessories entered new territory in 2004, moving from photographer tools to consumer gadgets. The portable photo album is becoming more of a reality with Microsoft’s Portable Media Center coming on the scene in 2004, combining music, photos and TV in a portable device. Epson and Olympus sought to strengthen their foothold in the digital imaging after-market with portable photo album products geared to consumers. Olympus took a page from the wireless handset market, adding a 1.3 megapixel imager for convenience shots.