For many years, camera manufacturers announced entry-level and affordable compact cameras at the CES tradeshow, and then, a month or two later, enthusiast and professional cameras at PMA.

This year, even though the two trade shows were held together, there were fewer camera announcements, overall, than in previous years.

Perhaps more new models will be announced at the upcoming CP+ show in Japan — or perhaps the major camera makers have learned that more is not always better.

We cover many of the new models in this week’s news, following on the Nikon D4 and others last issue. [A good complete list of new cameras is here at CNet.]

While there was not one overwhelming trend in this year’s new models, a few themes stand out:

1. Premium models both bring prestige to the brand, and higher profits than a line of all but indistinguishable entry-level cameras.

Fujifilm is claiming great success with its “X” signature line, and garnered a great bit of attention with the latest model in that premium family, the company’s first mirror-free interchangeable lens camera.

2. Bigger sensors and longer zooms continue to improve — and to differentiate standalone cameras from phones.

3. Connected cameras are arriving.

As noted here in previous weeks, as standard cameras compete with camera phones, they have to begin to better match the image sharing and visual communications capabilities of a smart phone.

Many companies have offered cameras with built-in Wi-Fi for quite a few years, and this year is no exception — but now that connectivity provides more than uploading images to a computer without a cable. For example, Kodak’s new camera sets up its own Wi-Fi hotspot, one that a phone can connect to — which enables the camera to send photos to the Internet through that phone using its data connection.

Most notably, Polaroid displayed a device that blurs the line between camera and phone: the new model runs the Android operating system and will work with the many imaging and other apps available for that OS. It also has Wi-Fi and perhaps a data connection. Does this make it a “smart camera” that can also make phone calls? Or is it “merely” a smart phone with a 16 megapixel sensor and a 3x optical zoom?

We and many other industry observers have long suggested that a camera company market a camera phone that is a good camera with connectivity and calling — not just a phone with a lousy camera crammed in. but in the intervening years phones have offered increasingly satisfying cameras, so perhaps this is no longer as imminent an issue. Also, mobile imaging senior analyst Tony Henning points out that while we may often want an optical zoom, having a mechanical, intricate glass system in the phone that we always bang about in our pockets might not be the most practical option…

In the case that the Polaroid camera does function as a phone — or if not, that some other similar device soon will — what do we call it? Does it suffice to say, “If it makes calls, it’s a phone”? Even if it is a great camera… What else do you call something that makes calls?
As said many years ago: We will have a device that makes calls, takes pictures, is connected, and a computer, etc. — and we will call it our “phone.” The usage/nomenclature is locked in.
We are not going to call it our “connected camera.”
No one will say “I have a camera that also makes calls.”
They’ll say, perhaps, “My phone takes better pictures than your phone.”

Is this merely a semantic argument? Or does its indicate who will drive the device? 6Sight president Joe Byrd thinks if it is a “phone,” it will be driven by the carriers. If it is a camera, it is driven by independent consumers (who still need a carrier system to connect to.) “I suspect carriers will not be as active in driving a better camera as consumers,” he says, “and their suppliers will be in driving a connected camera.”

What do you think? Join us in this discussion here, or on our Facebook page.

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