# The rise and fall of camera sales



## 4D (Oct 18, 2019)

For all the bleating Canon trolls to think about.









How smartphones devastated the camera industry


According to CIPA, a Japan-based industry group, worldwide camera shipments dropped by 84% between 2010 and 2018.




www.weforum.org





Headline: *How smartphones devastated the camera industry


*


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## AlanF (Oct 18, 2019)

Are you buying the 90D for your bird photography?


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## SecureGSM (Oct 18, 2019)

however, looking at the details, this is the cameras with built-in, non-interchangeable lenses sales figures that took all the beatings here
fair enough.


Https://infographic.statista.com/normal/chartoftheday_5782_digital_camera_shipments_n.gif


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## Maximilian (Oct 18, 2019)

Found this more detailed image from CIPA /GfK a few days ago on Northlight Images.

Most interesting to me is the fact that compared to the 1990ies and 80ies there are still a lot more ILC cameras and lenses sold in 2018
- even after the "fall of sales"

But - of course - the compact camera market is almost dead. That's true.


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## 4D (Oct 18, 2019)

AlanF said:


> Are you buying the 90D for your bird photography?


Probably, but I am semi-interested in the M6 II because I want a small travel camera, and also thinking about FF mirrorless. In other words, I'm torn in three ways but more pull towards 90D for sure.

Fortunately, I don't really need really "need" a new camera until about March when I had back to Southern Africa, so lots of time to procrastinate and see if any options appear


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## 4D (Oct 18, 2019)

SecureGSM said:


> however, looking at the details, this is the cameras with built-in, non-interchangeable lenses sales figures that took all the beatings here
> fair enough.


Ah right, that is not quite as bad.


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## AlanF (Oct 18, 2019)

SecureGSM - that animated GIF is driving me crazy - please change it for a still!


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## Maximilian (Oct 18, 2019)

AlanF said:


> SecureGSM - that animated GIF is driving me crazy - please change it for a still!


Same here


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## Kit. (Oct 18, 2019)

Maximilian said:


> Most interesting to me is the fact that compared to the 1990ies and 80ies there are still a lot more ILC cameras and lenses sold in 2018
> - even after the "fall of sales"


It means that they are likely still far from the bottom of the current fall.


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## cayenne (Oct 18, 2019)

AlanF said:


> SecureGSM - that animated GIF is driving me crazy - please change it for a still!


Doesn't bother me....


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## Maximilian (Oct 18, 2019)

Kit. said:


> It means that they are likely still far from the bottom of the current fall.


That means that in the 1990ies and 80ies several camera companies could make a living out of a much smaller market than today.
And from the Graphics I've posted it looks like the ILC market has almost reached it's bottom at about 10 mio cams and 30 mio lenses per annum.
And that is still at least 2 to 3 times more than in the 1990ies and 80ies, if not even more, depending on the year you look at.


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## SecureGSM (Oct 18, 2019)

AlanF said:


> SecureGSM - that animated GIF is driving me crazy - please change it for a still!


Fixerated


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## unfocused (Oct 18, 2019)

Maximilian said:


> That means that in the 1990ies and 80ies several camera companies could make a living out of a much smaller market than today.
> And from the Graphics I've posted it looks like the ILC market has almost reached it's bottom at about 10 mio cams and 30 mio lenses per annum.
> And that is still at least 2 to 3 times more than in the 1990ies and 80ies, if not even more, depending on the year you look at.


One reason why I stick with Canon. Canon and Nikon have a long history and have weathered past boom and bust cycles. They didn't just enter the market to take advantage of the temporary surge during the rise of digital.


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## Graphic.Artifacts (Oct 20, 2019)

unfocused said:


> One reason why I stick with Canon. Canon and Nikon have a long history and have weathered past boom and bust cycles. They didn't just enter the market to take advantage of the temporary surge during the rise of digital.


FujiFilm managed it's way through the collapse of the film industry while remaining a profitable, independent and technologically competitive company. An extinction level event in their primary business that more or less wiped out all of their competitors. Hard to overstate how difficult that must have been. I think they'll survive the downturn in camera sales just fine. 

I'm taking a wait and see on Canon and Nikon. Canon has done a pretty good job of diversifying but Nikon looks like it's got a rocky road ahead. Big companies need big earnings to survive. Sometimes it's better to be small and nimble like our mammalian ancestors.


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## Aussie shooter (Oct 20, 2019)

Kit. said:


> It means that they are likely still far from the bottom of the current fall.


Not necessarily as back then we were talking about film cameras. Therefore serious photography was still out of reach of many as the ongoing costs were far higher. The ease of taking and editing digital images is likely to mean more people are willing to make that initial outlay as ongoing costs are far more affordable.


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## LDS (Oct 21, 2019)

The compact camera market had two surge events, one smaller, one bigger. The first was the introduction of fully automated models (exposure and AF) - and we can also see how it impacted the sales of SLRs, which were more fashionable between 1975-1985 (one of the best sellers of the time was the Canon AE-1).

The second was the introduction of digital. As in phones, sales were increased also by new models bringing big improvements, especially resolution, quickly. Now even phones can't improve much - and it looks they already reached a peak too.

It would be interesting to know if the peak of ILCs that followed the compact one is also due to people upgrading from compacts, as photography became somewhat "simpler" and more popular. It also looks those users are more willingly to use other lenses beyond the kit one.

Anyway it's interesting it happened in 2012, when cameras like the Canon 5D3 and Nikon D800 were introduced.


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## Maximilian (Oct 22, 2019)

LDS said:


> ... Now even phones can't improve much - and it looks they already reached a peak too. ...


When you take a look at the chart I've posted, please note (which you surely did) the different scaling on the right side for smartphones (x10 compared to cams):
1.400 to 1.500 mio seems to me simply a market saturation because one does not buy a phone every one or two years - at least most of the people


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## LDS (Oct 22, 2019)

Maximilian said:


> one does not buy a phone every one or two years



Many did until recently - and many weren't new users, they were people replacing their device - market was already "saturated" (at least in wealthier countries) but there was the opportunity to replace previous year devices.

It happened with digital cameras too - people replaced devices quickly when they perceived (rightly or wrongly) big improvements over previous models. Now the attempt is to replace SLR with mirrorless cameras, but may not be enough to sustain a fast replacement cycle.

Meanwhile even phone makers aren't capable to deliver newer features to keep replacement cycles short. Multiplying cameras/lenses appeals only to a subset of users (and makes designs uglier) - after all if you were fine with a compact camera you don't ask for much more, Computational imaging can take the place of Instagram filters, but not much more. They hope in 5G probably....


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## stevelee (Oct 22, 2019)

I gather that many folks get new phones to get better cameras. For me it makes more sense to spend the money on a new camera and keep the iPhone 6S a few more years.

I am traveling with a friend who left his Nikon DSLR at home and is shooting Europe with his iPhone 10.


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## AlanF (Oct 22, 2019)

stevelee said:


> I gather that many folks get new phones to get better cameras. For me it makes more sense to spend the money on a new camera and keep the iPhone 6S a few more years.
> 
> I am traveling with a friend who left his Nikon DSLR at home and is shooting Europe with his iPhone 10.


He should have got a Canon DSLR, which he would not leave at home.


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## stevelee (Oct 22, 2019)

AlanF said:


> He should have got a Canon DSLR, which he would not leave at home.


He would have, but Canon is *******.


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