The State of the Camera Industry in 2014

[Canon Rumors]

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>

 

[Orangutan]

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.

 

[old-pr-pix]

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?

 

[Orangutan]

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.

 

[Mr1Dx]

13 Vs 3, the gap is huge

 

[agierke]

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.

 

[jeffa4444]

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.

 

[martti]

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.

 

[dolina]

Wonder what the camera market will be like by 2020?

 

[old-pr-pix]

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.

 

[unfocused]

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.

 

[Random Orbits]

Type	2012	2013	+%	2014	+%	2012-2014
Mirrorless	4%	5%	+20%	7%	+40%	+75%
DSLR	16%	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!

 

[dak723]

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.

 

[Woody]

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.

 

[Woody]

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. :

 

[abrama94]

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.

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.

 

[sanj]

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.

Its just a joke.

 

[Berowne]

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

 

[Sporgon]

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.

 

[Loswr]

Canon Rumors is a US blog site...

CSCs lack nothing in features over DSLRs...

Two independent statements that have one thing in common.