# The State of the Camera Industry in 2014



## Canon Rumors Guy (Feb 28, 2015)

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LensVid.com has posted their yearly infographic showing the state of the photographic industry last year. They use the data from the CIPA statistics that were recently released.</p>
<div id="attachment_18956" style="width: 585px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="http://www.canonrumors.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Infographics-2014-01-2.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-18956" src="http://www.canonrumors.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Infographics-2014-01-2-575x359.jpg" alt="Click for Larger" width="575" height="359" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Click for Larger</p></div>
<p><strong>Here are a few key points (from LensVid):</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Camera manufacturing/sales (all types) went down in 2014 by 31% (in 2013 we looked at close to a 40% drop).</li>
<li>Lenses manufacturing/sales (for DSLR/mirrorless cameras) went down in 2014  by 12% (in 2013 it went down by %20).</li>
<li>Japan is still a huge photography market (13% of all cameras and 14% of all lenses sell in Japan which has less than 2% of the world’s population), however the rest of Asia is the only place which seems to gain any momentum in 2014.</li>
<li>Mirrorless cameras (despite all the hype) are still just 7% of the entire camera market (up from a mere 5% in 2013).</li>
<li>Compact cameras are a dying breed – going down from a 108 million units in 2010 to only 29 million in 2014 (and this number is likely to go down even further in 2015).</li>
<li>Predicting the future of the camera market proved challenging in the past – IDC (the American market research, analysis and advisory firm) failed to predict what will happen to the mirrorless camera market. In 2012 they concluded that in 2014 we will see no less than 13 million mirrorless cameras sold worldwide. Only 3 million mirrorless cameras were actually sold…</li>
</ul>
<p><strong><a href="http://lensvid.com/gear/lensvid-exclusive-happened-photography-industry-2014/" target="_blank">Read more at LensVid.com</a></strong></p>
<p><strong><span style="color: #ff0000;">c</span>r</strong></p>
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## Orangutan (Feb 28, 2015)

Interesting. If I'm reading this correctly there seem to be several lessons: (1) Canon did a pretty good job predicting the actual mirrorless market -- strong demand isn't there yet; (2) Future models may be developed with Asia in mind rather than North America or Europe because that's where the potential growth exists;(3)There's potential for a lot of lens demand in Asia if the economic recovery continues;(4) We can expect stronger efforts to separate dedicated cameras (both compact and DSLR/MILC) from phone cameras;(5)We can expect stronger efforts to improve the camera modules in phones.

Competition is good.


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## old-pr-pix (Feb 28, 2015)

Not highlighted by CR admin, but right there in the middle of the chart, is the fact that mirrorless (or non-reflex in CIPA terms) shipments were stable while DSLR shipments dropped 24% in 2014. One out of four interchangeable lens cameras shipped is now mirrorless. (MILC - 3.3 million vs. DSLR - 10.5 million)

The CIPA forecast is for a further decline in shipments of all ILC in 2015 down to ~13 million units.

Another interesting statistic from CIPA is that the percentage of female buyers of build-in lens cameras has fallen significantly while the percentage of female buyers of interchangeable lens cameras has risen by 4-1/2 times since 2005. Female buyers still only account for 18% of ILC sales (up from only 4%). I wonder if that is enough to lead to a pink 5DIV?


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## Orangutan (Feb 28, 2015)

old-pr-pix said:


> I wonder if that is enough to lead to a pink 5DIV?



_ It doesn't matter whether the cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice.
_


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## Mr1Dx (Feb 28, 2015)

13 Vs 3, the gap is huge


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## agierke (Feb 28, 2015)

i found the camera market overview 2012-2014 section to be interesting.

as compact camera systems decline, DSLRs are actually picking up a greater percentage of that transitioning market than MILCs. 

MILCs are +3% from 2012 while DSLRs are +8%. though i wonder if that bump in percentages is simply a function of a loss of compact camera consumers...this seems more likely.

coupled with the 2012 MILC predictions, i think these statistics show that mirrorless isn't experiencing the ground swelling impact on the future of camera manufacturing that some like to believe it will.


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## jeffa4444 (Feb 28, 2015)

Canon Rumors is a US blog site and the views mainly represent the US. Lens Rentals charts show the Americas as the smallest market of the three (Japan is part of Asia adding the Asia & Japan numbers gives us 39%). 
Im less concerned about DSLR / CSC numbers the chart shows just in 2009 the numbers were 12.9M and 2014 was 13M. The long term average is 8.8M for inter-changeable lens cameras. 

The US never took to CSC cameras whereas Asia did and to a lessor extent Germany & the UK in Europe. CSCs lack nothing in features over DSLRs the main difference has been sensor size until Sony birthed the A7 / A7R. What is missing from current DSLRs / CSCs is the convenience that Smartphones offer for instance Canon could include wi-fi, bluetooth or NFC along with its own app. to upload to the Canon cloud embedded in ALL cameras. You could then access these photos via your Smartphone with all the advantages DSLRs / CSC offer married to Smartphone distribution advantages. 

Traditional cameras will find their level and Smartphones WILL morph into something else. The camera manufacturers will have to produce more niche products to address the differences between the three regions gone are the days when the rest of the world gets what the US likes.


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## martti (Feb 28, 2015)

a camouflage 5DIII would probably sell....my personal experience about ladies and cameras is that very often it is the guy who buys the camera even if it ends up with Madame.


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## dolina (Feb 28, 2015)

Wonder what the camera market will be like by 2020?


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## old-pr-pix (Feb 28, 2015)

jeffa4444 said:


> Canon Rumors is a US blog site ...


Craig might take exception to that, there are certainly many US forum members; but, CR is Canadian, not US.

All the statistics I reference are from CIPA which is Japanese and represents global data. As dilbert said, DSLR shipments are shrinking. I'm not saying DSLR's are dead, just making the observation (based on CIPA data) that mirrorless represented only one out of five interchangeable lens cameras shipped in 2012 (19%). That percentage has grown in 2014 to be one out of four ILC shipments (24.9%). 

Clearly forecasts that MILC would dominate by now have not been accurate; but, MILC's are a significant factor. As more pro oriented features (larger sensors-Sony; weather sealing; PRO oriented lenses-Fuji, Sony, Olympus, Panasonic; better tracking autofocus; improved stabilization-Sony, Olympus, etc.) materialize in the MILC realm it would not be surprising to see the shift continue.


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## unfocused (Feb 28, 2015)

old-pr-pix said:


> I wonder if that is enough to lead to a pink 5DIV?



Yeah, because Diane Arbus, Joyce Tenneson, Mary Ellen Mark, Margaret Bourke Wright, Rineke Dijkstra, etc., etc., picked their cameras for its color.

Let's cut the stupid, sexist comments.


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## Random Orbits (Feb 28, 2015)

dilbert said:


> Type20122013+%2014+%2012-2014Mirrorless4%5%+20%7%+40%+75%DSLR16%21%+21%24%+14%+50%
> 
> The growth in mirrorless shipments rose, the growth in DSLR shipments shrank.



Yeah, although if you planned your sales based on 2012's IDC prediction, then you'd be in a world of hurt. Actual mirrorless sales are less than 1/4 than predicted. Oops!


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## dak723 (Mar 1, 2015)

I guess I just don't get the comments comparing Mirrorless and DSLRs. These are both interchangeable lens cameras (ILCs). They don't really compete with one another now, and in a few years they will be even more indistinguishable from one another. EVFs are getting better and closer to OVFs. OVFs, as camera makers add more informational overlays that are present on today's EVFs, are getting closer to EVFs. The competition is between camera phones and ILCs. I have both a DSLR and a mirrorless. I use them for the same purposes. They are not competitors.


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## Woody (Mar 1, 2015)

Random Orbits said:


> Actual mirrorless sales are less than 1/4 than predicted. Oops!



After all the hype we hear on these forums, one may be misled into believing otherwise.


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## Woody (Mar 1, 2015)

dak723 said:


> I have both a DSLR and a mirrorless. I use them for the same purposes. They are not competitors.



Compact cameras are also used for the same purpose of image capturing. :


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## abrama94 (Mar 1, 2015)

jeffa4444 said:


> Canon Rumors is a US blog site and the views mainly represent the US. Lens Rentals charts show the Americas as the smallest market of the three (Japan is part of Asia adding the Asia & Japan numbers gives us 39%).
> Im less concerned about DSLR / CSC numbers the chart shows just in 2009 the numbers were 12.9M and 2014 was 13M. The long term average is 8.8M for inter-changeable lens cameras.
> 
> The US never took to CSC cameras whereas Asia did and to a lessor extent Germany & the UK in Europe. CSCs lack nothing in features over DSLRs the main difference has been sensor size until Sony birthed the A7 / A7R. What is missing from current DSLRs / CSCs is the convenience that Smartphones offer for instance Canon could include wi-fi, bluetooth or NFC along with its own app. to upload to the Canon cloud embedded in ALL cameras. You could then access these photos via your Smartphone with all the advantages DSLRs / CSC offer married to Smartphone distribution advantages.
> ...




I agree.
Unfortunately, I see smartphone cameras taking a bigger bite of the ILC sales. It comes down to convenience and the ability to edit and transmit your photos to social media or to family/friends. People buy SLR cameras for some special events and after a few weeks it sits in the closet.
As of yet few cameras have wifi, but none with image editing and transfer to other sites.
If you disagree compare 5 years ago when a lot of people had compact or SLR cameras at events, now a lot of people use smartphones(with the selfie stick) or some type of pad for photos.


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## sanj (Mar 1, 2015)

unfocused said:


> old-pr-pix said:
> 
> 
> > I wonder if that is enough to lead to a pink 5DIV?
> ...



Its just a joke.


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## Berowne (Mar 1, 2015)

This is quite interesting. The decline in DSLR-sales is tremendous. Does anyone have data from pre-digital age wich compare for instance SLR-sales vs. simple cameras like the Kodak instamatic? What is about the increase of the amount of digital pictures, i have in the mind that it must be huge. How many smartphones with cameras are sold? And is it not so that many people are making videos instead of pictures? (you-tube growth!) 

In the sum DSLRs perhaps are devices wich are dying in the forseeable future, especially the expensive ones, or is there any reason why it should be not so?

Greetings Andy


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## Sporgon (Mar 1, 2015)

Berowne said:


> This is quite interesting. The decline in DSLR-sales is tremendous. Does anyone have data from pre-digital age wich compare for instance SLR-sales vs. simple cameras like the Kodak instamatic? What is about the increase of the amount of digital pictures, i have in the mind that it must be huge. How many smartphones with cameras are sold? And is it not so that many people are making videos instead of pictures? (you-tube growth!)
> 
> In the sum DSLRs perhaps are devices wich are dying in the forseeable future, especially the expensive ones, or is there any reason why it should be not so?
> 
> Greetings Andy



Don't ask me to chase around for hard figures, but as the film slr developed into the dslr, and this tech began to cheapen and mature the ownership in 'higher end cameras' ( ie interchangeable lens cameras) exploded, and many more people partook in this type of photography as a hobby than they ever did with film. This sort of growth is unsustainable in anything, and the used market is awash with perfectly contempory dslr cameras for very little money, the rise of Internet sale sites such as ebay have added to this. 

So what we are seeing in sales is to be expected, the 'mirrorles' vs 'dslr' is only a tiny part of it.


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## neuroanatomist (Mar 1, 2015)

jeffa4444 said:


> Canon Rumors is a US blog site...
> 
> CSCs lack nothing in features over DSLRs...



Two independent statements that have one thing in common.


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## old-pr-pix (Mar 1, 2015)

Berowne said:


> This is quite interesting. The decline in DSLR-sales is tremendous. Does anyone have data from pre-digital age wich compare for instance SLR-sales vs. simple cameras like the Kodak instamatic?



According to CIPA statistics, during the ILC peak around 1997-2000 (just prior to digital domination) about one out of eight film cameras sold was an interchangeable lens camera (mostly SLR). I can't read the footnotes to tell if disposable cameras are officially counted as "cameras" or if they are counted as "film sales." I suspect they are counted as film.

CIPA statistics go back to 1951, for anyone interested their English language website is: http://www.cipa.jp/stats/dc_e.html


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## jeffa4444 (Mar 1, 2015)

The 10 year average for film SLRs was 8.8M. Before the introduction of the Canon AE-1 the average was 5.6M.


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## mclaren777 (Mar 1, 2015)

The mirrorless market isn't growing the way some people (eg, sponsored photographers) like to claim. However, that's not going to stop them from beating the same drum again this year.


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## neuroanatomist (Mar 1, 2015)

The prediction from 2009: the rise of mirrorless means the end of the dSLR in five six seven years someday.


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## old-pr-pix (Mar 1, 2015)

jeffa4444 said:


> The 10 year average for film SLRs was 8.8M. Before the introduction of the Canon AE-1 the average was 5.6M.



I'm not sure whose data you are referencing. Here is the chart from the CIPA 2015 forecast to manufacturers. According to their data. shipments of all ILC's reached a peak of 7.5 million units in 1981 - this includes 35 mm SLR, rangefinder, and medium format, i.e. mostly 35 mm SLR's. Key Canon introductions were the AE-1 in 1976 and the A-1 (which added Program mode for first time) in 1978. AE-1 Program came along in 1981. By my eye, it looks like the 30 year average (1975-2005) is somewhere around 4.5 million. Please tell me if I'm missing something.

I assume the orange dash line is to show how far current ILC shipments would need to fall to match the previous peak level.


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## dolina (Mar 2, 2015)

^^ you should also overlay world population as well.

I'd love to see how Asia breaks down into per country with HK, TW from CN as separate camera markets.


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## jeffa4444 (Mar 2, 2015)

old-pr-pix said:


> jeffa4444 said:
> 
> 
> > The 10 year average for film SLRs was 8.8M. Before the introduction of the Canon AE-1 the average was 5.6M.
> ...


Agreed CIPA stats should be more accurate mine came from GfK data.


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## Ivan Muller (Mar 2, 2015)

I think what this shows about Canon is that they are playing it safe with mirrorless R&D spend in a declining camera market..we might not like it but from their pov it makes good business sense especially with the wildly optimistic mirrorless growth predictions...obviously Canon's internal predictions were more accurate and that's why perhaps they are taking mirrorless r&d and production slowly and also why its not being released in the usa...it just doesn't make economic sense yet...it would seem the mirrorless fans,although very vocal, are few and far between especially in the West.


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## chukronos (Mar 2, 2015)

Not surprised at all. The DSLR market is still greater than it was in 2009. 

The DSLR market had to be expected to decline. I am certain that Canon, Nikon, etc expected it. They were marketing inexpensive DSLR's as a pro-ish camera to be used like a point and shoot. 

How many people bought an inexpensive dslr and thought that their new cameras would make their kids look like celebrities, their pigeon closeup awe-inspiring, their cats able to finally haz cheezburger, and their landscapes automatically publication ready? 

I know many people that just use their phone camera now. All because their "good" camera doesn't make their photos look as good as it should. 

I hate it when cameras don't do their jobs. I guess I was lucky and got one of the good ones.


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## jeffa4444 (Mar 16, 2015)

All of the photography market is suffering VITEC Group report sales declines in tripods, bags etc. for 2014 and dont see any improvement in 2015.


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## davidmurray (Mar 16, 2015)

jeffa4444 said:


> All of the photography market is suffering VITEC Group report sales declines in tripods, bags etc. for 2014 and dont see any improvement
> 
> Going by the number of camera bags ive been buying for my one camera body I guess that means it's been just me and maybe one other propping up the industry.


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## neuroanatomist (Mar 16, 2015)

davidmurray said:


> Going by the number of camera bags ive been buying for my one camera body I guess that means it's been just me and maybe one other propping up the industry.



I suspect I'm that other person….


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## awinphoto (Mar 16, 2015)

neuroanatomist said:


> davidmurray said:
> 
> 
> > Going by the number of camera bags ive been buying for my one camera body I guess that means it's been just me and maybe one other propping up the industry.
> ...



Neuro, in my household, that right there would be grounds for a divorce lol


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