Smartphones that come with high pixel size cameras cannot be a threat to traditional cameras, said Kazuto Yamaki, CEO, SIGMA — a $450 million Japanese manufacturer of cameras, lenses, flashes and other photographic accessories.

There is a history of 200 years of traditional cameras. The demand for traditional cameras will never disappear, he told businessline during his first visit to India.

SIGMA was established in 1961 by Michihiro Yamaki with the development of the first-ever rear-attached lens converter. In 2012, his son Kazuto Yamaki took over SIGMA. Its camera lens fits with various brands, including Nikon and Sony. For instance, a customer having a Nikon camera can buy a lens from Nikon itself or from SIGMA, he said.

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The quality of pictures from smartphones is improving mainly from software and artificial intelligence. However, professionals and those who pursue photography as a hobby cannot be satisfied with a smartphone. The hardware is key in traditional cameras that give an edge over smartphones, he said.

Younger generations are now interested in shooting videos and short films as there is an increase in vloggers, TikTokers, and YouTubers. When they start, they use smartphones but as they get mature, they migrate to the traditional cameras, Kazuto said.

The US is the biggest market followed by China, Germany, Japan, the UK, France and then India. However, globally, India is the fastest-growing photography market and is catching up with these countries to be in the top five. The Indian photography market is growing at a rapid pace and a number of wedding photographers use SIGMA lenses, he said.

SIGMA’s revenue in India is around ₹100 crore selling mostly lenses. “We expect 10-15 per cent growth in the coming years. We are also aggressively pushing our cine lenses,” he said.

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