The professional optics industry exemplifies a case of
incremental innovation in providing solutions and the enhancement
of product functionality to meet market demand during
the process of technological change. Optical device companies
provide the photographic industry with optical and control
devices including lenses, reflection mechanisms, and light and
focus controls. In its prior paradigm, this industrywas dominated
by Canon and Kodak and provided themarketwith sophisticated
and versatile lenses. It was widely believed that the precision
required to produce these devices placed the optical device
industry at the core of the photographic industry. Even with the
development of digital photography, professional and serious
amateur photographers still valued these conventional technological
solutions, but the mass market shifted toward simpler,
smaller, and cheaper optical devices. Since nearly all camera
manufacturers target both of these market segments, the
transition did not significantly alter opportunity conditions of
the photographic industry. While the knowledge base for optical
devices is accumulative, its appropriability varied with firm
strategy. The incumbents in the professional optics industry are
threatened by the potential of other optics technologies, such as
miniature optics of various materials, to match or surpass the
performance of glass optics.