Camera sales affected by 'Instagram effect', says Asda

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Models with creative modes perform better

Olympus PEN E-P3
Asda says cameras with added value, such as art filters, have more appeal to the modern consumer

A spokesperson for supermarket giant Asda has said popular phone apps have had a knock on effect on camera tech.

Asda, which sells a range of cameras across different categories, spoke to TechRadar about different trends it had witnessed in the industry.

It will probably come as no surprise to learn that entry level compact cameras are down in volume, following worldwide trends, but, according to Matt Collinge, camera buyer for the company, customers are saving up to purchase higher quality products with what he calls "additional benefits."

"We're also finding that products with 'creative filters' such as fish eye, vignetting and colour effects are being received warmly, which I would attribute to these features being ever present on mobile phone devices - the Instagram effect," Collinge said.

Instagram, which was originally available only for iOS, but recently also became available for Android allows users to apply a variety of retro effects to images snapped with their devices. It was bought out by Facebook in April for $1billion.

A number of modern cameras include creative or art filters which allow images to either be shot with filters or edited post-capture in-camera.

Originally the preserve of compact cameras, such filters are also now popular in compact system cameras and are also starting to appear in DSLRs.

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Amy Davies
Amy Davies

Amy has been writing about cameras, photography and associated tech since 2009. Amy was once part of the photography testing team for Future Publishing working across TechRadar, Digital Camera, PhotoPlus, N Photo and Photography Week. For her photography, she has won awards and has been exhibited. She often partakes in unusual projects - including one intense year where she used a different camera every single day. Amy is currently the Features Editor at Amateur Photographer magazine, and in her increasingly little spare time works across a number of high-profile publications including Wired, Stuff, Digital Camera World, Expert Reviews, and just a little off-tangent, PetsRadar.