My eyes usually glaze over...

[josephandrews222]

...when CR posters comment on the state of the camera industry.

Perhaps those reading this post have seen the graphic in this link before...but what it conveys is, at least to me, striking (even though the general point has been made over in over in this very forum).

Infographic: Digital Camera Sales Dropped 87% Since 2010

This chart shows how many digital cameras the world's largest camera vendors shipped between 2003 and 2016.

www.statista.com

 

[SteveC]

It appears to me that ILC sales (in red) are pretty steady the last few years, although it did peak back in 2012. It's point-and-shoot cameras that are suffering, to the point where the ILC is now the majority of the market instead of being a mere niche.

This makes a lot of sense to me...there's just no point in a $100 point and shoot any more. Of course that leaves us with very high priced point-and-shoots, which strike many (including me, to an extent) viscerally as pointless. (I bought a Point and Shoot recently, but it has ridiculous optical zoom and barely fits in my pocket, so it fills a couple of niches.)

 

[Random Orbits]

I wouldn't be surprised if the ILC markets shrinks below the level before the digital revolution. People "consume" imagery differently than before. We used to print them, but now it's a post on social media, which is quickly supplanted by new posts and quickly forgotten. If people don't print, they don't need a higher quality camera and the cell phone is fine.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

It appears to me that ILC sales (in red) are pretty steady the last few years, although it did peak back in 2012. It's point-and-shoot cameras that are suffering, to the point where the ILC is now the majority of the market instead of being a mere niche.

This makes a lot of sense to me...there's just no point in a $100 point and shoot any more. Of course that leaves us with very high priced point-and-shoots, which strike many (including me, to an extent) viscerally as pointless. (I bought a Point and Shoot recently, but it has ridiculous optical zoom and barely fits in my pocket, so it fills a couple of niches.)

ILC's are also dropping, only Mirrorless seems sort of stable, but DSLR sales don't look good.