Camera sales are on the up again. After a steady decline over the past five years, there are indications that the rout has been halted.
Interchangeable lens cameras are leading the recovery, increasing 7.4% in April compared with the same month in 2016. It’s also interesting that DSLRs are losing out in favour of mirrorless. In the first four months of 2017 DSLR sales fell by 9% while non-reflex cameras sold over 50% more. Overall, sales are still favouring DSLRs with 2.4 million bodies sold compared with 1.3 million non-reflex. That gap, though, is narrowing.
The inference is that mirrorless cameras are continuing their upward trend, largely at the expense of DSLRs and I expect this trend to continue. The figures are provided by the members of the Camera and Image Products Association (CIPA) wich covers most major manufacturers but not some of the higher-end companies such as Leica, Hasselblad and Phase One.
Most of us will welcome this news. There have been many gloomy predictions that the camera market was in terminal decline and that in the future smart devices would take over the world. My pet theory, which I have mentioned before, is that the opposite will happen. Smartphones have introduced millions to photography and most have been impressed with the results they can get. Smartphones flatter largely because few people these days print their photographs and are content to view them on a smartphone or tablet.
Yet once a smartphone owner gets the bug for photography, the next step is to wonder if a “proper” camera would improve results. I am sure this is happening and that is why I am optimistic.
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