After two years of absence, the Salon de la Photo is being held in Paris from October 6 to 9, 2022 at the Grande Halle de la Villette.
While the photo market remains globally in decline, the public's passion for the image is undeniable.
While they are gradually abandoning Reflex cameras, manufacturers are refocusing on hybrids whose photo promises go far beyond those of smartphones.
After two years of absence due to Covid-19, the Salon de la Photo is back to normal and taking up residence this weekend in Paris*.
Change of location (the Grande Halle de la Villette succeeds the Porte de Versailles), but also a change of era.
At a time when we draw our smartphones at the slightest opportunity to photograph and film our daily lives, what is left for photography, the real one, in a context where Canon has announced that it is abandoning the Reflex camera and where Nikon could follow suit?
“20 Minutes” zooms in on the new outlines of the photo.
The End of the Reflex Camera
The EOS-1D Mark III launched in 2020 is expected to be Canon's latest SLR camera.
Last January, the news had the effect of a bomb in the world of photography.
But was not surprising.
Nikon should follow.
“We discontinued the D3500 which was our entry level.
We have no reason to accelerate this pace, but we must remain only in an industrial and economic logic, ”explains to
20 Minutes
Nicolas Gillet, marketing and communication director of Nikon France.
Hear that the manufacturer will keep its Reflex production lines as long as it sells enough of them, but will not launch new models.
Caught in a vice where compact digital cameras have been replaced by smartphones and where DSLRs, competing with hybrid cameras that are on the rise, are damning their pawn, the world of photography needs to reinvent itself.
Encouraging figures
However, "we take more and more photos, we film more and more, it's impressive", notes Fabrice Abuaf, photo product manager at Sony France.
According to a Sociovision study for the Salon de la photo**, 69% of young people say they are passionate about photography;
22% say that taking photos allows them to express their personality and 15% to interact and discuss, but in images.
At the same time, video is developing strongly: 33% of 15-29 year olds use it in everyday life.
Moreover, there is a development of photography in the professional sphere to better communicate on social networks.
If 59% of young people say so, the Sociovision survey reveals that 67% of shopkeepers and craftsmen, 56% of executives and 55% of Ile-de-France residents “need to take beautiful photos to promote their professional activity”!
"We take more and more photos with smartphones and less with cameras, it's no secret", continues Fabrice Abuaf.
But according to him, "the photo market is moving towards users who are looking for photos that they cannot take with a smartphone".
Creativity and aesthetics
Faced with camera sales volumes collapsing by around 20% in one year, manufacturers must convince the public eager for beautiful images that there is life after smartphone photography.
“We are therefore going to refocus on people who do creative photography, possibly pro, with a search for aesthetics and image quality that goes beyond that,” we note at Sony France.
"Where we concentrate is where we will have real added value, with informed amateurs, pros, even videographers who are becoming a real market", confirms Nicolas Gillet at Nikon.
And it's the mirrorless camera that could well be the sector's lifeline.
The hybrid, the new photography champion
Less bulky, offered with two sensor formats (APSC for entry-level and mid-range, and full-frame for high-end), the hybrid camera can also go where the Reflex is technically prohibited from stay.
Devoid of a mirror and an optical sight system in the body, it is much faster and more cunning.
“In a hybrid, the sensor will focus in permanent
live view
, it will also see what our eye cannot see at night, it is extremely advantageous”, explains Fabrice Abuaf.
“In an SLR, the sensor is hidden behind the shutter, not on the hybrid which sees the road.
This allows him to recognize faces, to focus on the eyes, to be more precise and faster,” adds Nicolas Gillet.
Wildlife photographers and sports photographers know this.
Reassure to convince
For the same reasons, the hybrid will perform better in video.
“The only thing we can regret about the Reflex is its optical viewfinder, but the digital viewfinder of the hybrid still has a completely crazy advantage, it is to allow you to think of your photo in black and white “, boasts Fabrice Abuaf, photo product manager at Sony France.
Indeed, the image appears there as it was defined and shaped in the settings.
Settings that are not necessarily complicated.
“Buyers, especially young people, need to be reassured about the complexity of this equipment, which also has automatic modes that help photographers to do everything on their own,” says Nicolas Gillet.
“Otherwise, it will always be the same parameters: sensitivity, aperture, diaphragm, angles.
But a hybrid and a fortiori a full format hybrid, will bring a model to the photo.
We will find very pure sensations in the image,” adds Fabrice Abuaf.
Budget: from 700 to 800 euros for an APSC hybrid camera and from 1,000 to 1,500 euros for a full-frame hybrid.
Failing that, you can also equip yourself second-hand, or even reconditioned.
According to the Sociovision survey, 74% of young people are hungry for vintage cameras.
*Until Sunday October 9, 2022, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Grande Halle de la Villette, 211 Av. Jean Jaurès, 75019 Paris.
Full price: 12 euros; reduced price: 6 euros; Free: under 12 and accompanying persons with disabilities.
** Taken from June 30 to July 20, 2022 with a sample of 1,507 people aged 15 to 65 who practice photography.
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