Some interesting statistics from CIPA

[Marty4650]

There has been a lot of discussion about the state of the camera industry. So I thought it might be interesting to look at CIPA's own published statistics to see which trends are evident. I compiled their numbers for units shipped and revenue since 2012, and I came up with this:



Please note, since only six months of 2024 have been reported so far, I compared average months rather than full years to see gains or declines. Also consider that CIPA does not represent the entire industry, just "almost all of it." These numbers reflect only Japanese manufacturers who are CIPA members, and do not include brands like Leica or Hasselblad that are made in the EU, or Chinese brands sold under generic names.

A few observations:

• Overall, the number of units shipped has dropped dramatically, and might have leveled off a bit, but is still dropping. The number of units shipped per month is down 87% from the number shipped in 2012.
• Monthly revenue is also down, but not by as much due to price increases. But the net result is that the industry is only taking in 63% as much revenue as they were 14 years ago. And this is despite dramatic price increases.
• Fixed Lens cameras have dropped from 61% of volume and 37% of CIPA revenue down to 10% of volume and 8% of revenue despite a 588% unit price increase.
• MILC cameras have increased from 3% of volume and 6% of revenue to 28% of volume and a staggering 48% of revenue.
• DSLRs have almost disappeared, going from 13% of volume and 32% of revenue down to 5% of volume to 3% of volume, and this with a very modest 22% unit price increase over 14 years. When adjusted for inflation they have actually gotten cheaper than they ever were.
• Lens shipments have dropped 69% but revenue is about the same due to price increases. The number of lenses shipped per ILC shipped is about the same, at 1.7 lens per ILC.
• The most significant change happened to fixed lens cameras, who went from cheap almost disposable items to very expensive speciality items. Their average wholesale unit prices went from around $60 per unit up to almost $400 per unit during this time period. They became high end imaging devices.

Another interesting statistic that isn't on my chart is that so far this year 291 million cameras were shipped, but only 167 million were produced. This means 124 million were sold from inventory made last year. Six months into the year and there is still unsold inventory from last year.

Here is shipments and revenue by product type on graphs:

View attachment 3556016



CIPA has suffered an 87% loss of volume and a 37% loss of revenue but will survive due to price increases and manufacturing consolidations and efficiencies as long as there are still specialists, professionals and enthusiasts who want their products. And they can still be profitable as long as those people are willing to pay higher prices.

But digital cameras are no longer a mass market item like they once were. They are now a specialty item for a very select market sector. And after more than a decade of decline, this is not a temporary situation that can be reversed with new features or better technology. And the fact that Amazon, the world's largest marketer, divested itself of this website is proof of that.

But none of that will prevent me from buying a new camera, or a few more lenses!

--
Marty
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my blog: http://marty4650.blogspot.com/

 

[Chris R-UK]

You chose to start at 2012 which was just about the peak of the digital boom. If you had started at, say, 2004 or 2019, the graphs would have looked very different.

CIPA used to have an annual press conference and published on their site the slides that they used. 2-3 years ago one of the slides compared current ILC sales with sales in, I think, 1995 at the peak of the DSLR boom. That showed that the numbers of ILC sales were about the same, suggesting that the digital boom had come and gone and the market was back to photography enthusiasts. I used their slide in a talk to my camera club.

The difference between manufactured units and sold units is interesting. I wonder if some of that is restocking after all the parts shortages of a couple of years ago.

--
Chris R

 

[DirkPeh]

And where can I buy my next 400,- high end fixed lens camera?

 

[Maoby]

eBay :-D

 

[tbcass]

Here is shipments and revenue by product type on graphs:

View attachment 3556016



CIPA has suffered an 87% loss of volume and a 37% loss of revenue but will survive due to price increases and manufacturing consolidations and efficiencies as long as there are still specialists, professionals and enthusiasts who want their products. And they can still be profitable as long as those people are willing to pay higher prices.

But digital cameras are no longer a mass market item like they once were. They are now a specialty item for a very select market sector. And after more than a decade of decline, this is not a temporary situation that can be reversed with new features or better technology. And the fact that Amazon, the world's largest marketer, divested itself of this website is proof of that.

But none of that will prevent me from buying a new camera, or a few more lenses!

Revenues generated are more important than the # of shipments because the high-volume low-price P&S marked has disappeared. Since I believe that the most important thing to consider is what has happened since the pandemic, I see Fixed Lens cameras slowly recovering, Mirrorless recovering quickly and DSLRs fading fast.

--
Tom

 

[Revenant]

It should be noted that a couple of non-Japanese manufacturers were or are supporting members of CIPA, and therefore reflected in the numbers. Samsung was a member when they were still making cameras, and Carl Zeiss is still a member on the lens side. If I recall correctly, Eastman Kodak used to be a member too, but that was before 2012. You're correct in that Leica and Hasselblad aren't included, though.

 

[tbcass]

You're correct in that Leica and Hasselblad aren't included, though.

The sales of Leica and Hasselblad are small enough that their inclusion probably wouldn't make a big difference.

 

[Bob A L]

Thanks for the work, very interesting. There is only one thing that I personally believe might not be 100%. It is the comment about part of this years sales being unsold equipment from last year's manufacture. I believe that is likely made up of unsold items manufactured in the last several years. It seems that some manufacturers are still likely selling models that have not been manufactured in the last several (at least 3-5 years).

 

[Bill Ferris]

CIPA used to have an annual press conference and published on their site the slides that they used. 2-3 years ago one of the slides compared current ILC sales with sales in, I think, 1995 at the peak of the DSLR boom.

I suspect you intended to write, SLR. The peak year of SLR interchangeable lens camera shipments in volume and value was 1981 when 7.5 million units shipped.

If you factor world population into the mix, annual shipments of ILC bodies the last several years is on par with SLR popularity in the 1960s.

That showed that the numbers of ILC sales were about the same, suggesting that the digital boom had come and gone and the market was back to photography enthusiasts. I used their slide in a talk to my camera club.

2012 was the peak of the digital camera boom. 20 million ILC units shipped that year.

The difference between manufactured units and sold units is interesting. I wonder if some of that is restocking after all the parts shortages of a couple of years ago.

 

[ishwanu]

CIPA used to have an annual press conference and published on their site the slides that they used. 2-3 years ago one of the slides compared current ILC sales with sales in, I think, 1995 at the peak of the DSLR boom.

I suspect you intended to write, SLR. The peak year of SLR interchangeable lens camera shipments in volume and value was 1981 when 7.5 million units shipped.

I was about to post that 1995 certainly was not the peak of the DSLR boom (or any camera boom that I can think of). The few DSLRs of that time were extremely expensive and purchased only in very small numbers.

 

[Revenant]

You're correct in that Leica and Hasselblad aren't included, though.

The sales of Leica and Hasselblad are small enough that their inclusion probably wouldn't make a big difference.

 

[Jaime100]

What is missing is the trend within the film end of things? Yes, only Leica.... some cheapo Kodak's and Lomography and some Mint, and now the Pentax....and soon to be Mint Rollei....

But a trend. Not much I am sure but worthy of mentioning ... Maybe gauged more on the film industry sales than the new camera industry though.

 

[Jaime100]

You're correct in that Leica and Hasselblad aren't included, though.

The sales of Leica and Hasselblad are small enough that their inclusion probably wouldn't make a big difference.

True...but a trend is a trend and in order to gauge the true perspective, ...Leica and Hasselblad should be in the mix to understand the 'upper end' market, of of which, there are plenty who have money and are willing to spend. I would have had those combined as one category.

Of course, the chart is not for us to create, but just to casually read!

 

[Revenant]

You're correct in that Leica and Hasselblad aren't included, though.

The sales of Leica and Hasselblad are small enough that their inclusion probably wouldn't make a big difference.

True...but a trend is a trend and in order to gauge the true perspective, ...Leica and Hasselblad should be in the mix to understand the 'upper end' market, of of which, there are plenty who have money and are willing to spend. I would have had those combined as one category.

Of course, the chart is not for us to create, but just to casually read!

 

[Chris R-UK]

I have now found the CIPA graphs that I was referring to and my memory has been somewhat faulty.

The graphs were from a presentation to the press in 2020 so the data is up to 2019. I am not sure that I am allowed to post the graphs here, so here are the key point from them.

• In volume terms the film ILC market, lens and cameras, peaked in 1981 although 1990 and 1998 were very close - less cameras but more lenses. In value terms the SLR/lens market peaked in 1990.
• In both value and value terms the Digital ILC market (cameras/lenses) peaked in 2012. In volume terms 2020 was about 5x the market size of 1981, in value terms it was about 10x the size of 1990.
• In volume terms compact camera sales peaked in 2008-2010. In value terms the peak was in 2008.
• The main point that CIPA made in the presentation was that in value terms the photographic market in 2019 was still about double the market size in the film era.

That was of course 2019, just before Covid, and things have been more complex since. There was little or no Yen inflation in the period 1990-2019, but there has been some Yen inflation since then.

 

[DirkPeh]

It should be noted that a couple of non-Japanese manufacturers were or are supporting members of CIPA, and therefore reflected in the numbers. Samsung was a member when they were still making cameras, and Carl Zeiss is still a member on the lens side. If I recall correctly, Eastman Kodak used to be a member too, but that was before 2012. You're correct in that Leica and Hasselblad aren't included, though.

Is DJI a member? Would be misleading if not.

 

[Revenant]

It should be noted that a couple of non-Japanese manufacturers were or are supporting members of CIPA, and therefore reflected in the numbers. Samsung was a member when they were still making cameras, and Carl Zeiss is still a member on the lens side. If I recall correctly, Eastman Kodak used to be a member too, but that was before 2012. You're correct in that Leica and Hasselblad aren't included, though.

Is DJI a member? Would be misleading if not.

No, CIPA tracks cameras of the traditional type, so no drones, action cams, camcorders, smartphones etc.

 

[mfinley]

In 10 years a 90% drop in sales numbers but only a 40% drop in sales revenue. That means we are paying a whole lot more for cameras today as this dying industry struggles to stay alive. :-(

 

[msu79gt82]

In 10 years a 90% drop in sales numbers but only a 40% drop in sales revenue. That means we are paying a whole lot more for cameras today as this dying industry struggles to stay alive. :-(

Not really.

• I paid $1800 for the Nikon D300 in Nov 2007
• I paid $2100 for the Nikon D600 in Sept 2012
• I paid $2000 for the Nikon D500 in July 2016
• I paid $2000 for the Nikon Z6 in Feb 2019
• I paid $2500 for the Nikon Z6iii in July 2024

My experience is that prices have been more of less been steady for what you are getting since at least mid-2000. The D300 was $1800 (in 2007) and it was DX. The Z6 was cheaper than the D600 seven years later. Yes, the Z6iii was the most expensive ($500 more in five years), but in my mind it is a whole lot more camera (and inflation is a whole lot higher now than then).

 

[SelrahCharleS]

That's probably because the low-margin cameras like the Canon Powershot A series largely stopped selling because people were buying phones instead.I suspect ILCs were always a higher margin product.

So yeah, if you were buying $80 point and shoot cameras that market went away, but I don't think the prices of ILC's has gone up dramatically even if they are trending higher.