Administrators Andrew Reid 10,428 Posted February 3 Administrators Share Posted February 3 Has the digital camera market finally bottomed out? Or will retailers like Amazon start to turn their back on cameras altogether? In terms of the number of units shipped each year to stores, digital cameras are now shipping in lower volumes than in the year 2000. The chart above shows the decline until 2019 before the pandemic, reflecting the failure of management at Canon, Nikon, Sony and others. However the latest 2020 figures show a further decrease from 14.86 million shipments to just 8.8 million which brings us under the tally for the year 2000, 20 years ago. Much higher prices now compensate for the loss in volume (as I look into here), as we the customers and our wallets know only too well. Companies have placed their hopes in products like the Sony Alpha 1, Canon EOS R5 and the Fuji GFX series, but professional users and enthusiasts have all without many exceptions been hammered by the coronavirus pandemic. I also have somewhat of a gut feeling there is a global economic catastrophe soon and during that, sales of expensive $6000 cameras will flop. Although the decrease in unit shipments is not the same as a decrease in profits or total sales volume, it does show the extent to which the market has had to adjust… New blog post Emanuel 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Marcio Kabke Pinheiro 300 Posted February 3 Share Posted February 3 Right on point. And, yes, trouble ahead for cameras. My guess: in the future will be Leica model for all the survivors. Video will become a niche, with "cube" modular cameras being the norm. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tim Sewell 488 Posted February 3 Share Posted February 3 Pity the enthusiast! 'pro-sumer' models have always been supported by healthy sales of point'n'shoots. Take those away and, as @Marcio Kabke Pinheiro says, we'll be left with pro cameras at pro prices and Leica-level enthusiast models. people will be able to snap 500MP pictures of us weeping, on their wristwatch cams. IronFilm and Andrew Reid 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
amsh89es335 41 Posted February 3 Share Posted February 3 I wonder what the used market is looking like. Because someone who was a new photo enthusiast and did little research can get a used DSLR and lenses for fraction of the cost on a camera 5-8 years old and the images really hold up. Not mention people selling off gear they don't use to pay their bills while unemployed. RawZion and BenEricson 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Administrators Andrew Reid 10,428 Posted February 3 Author Administrators Share Posted February 3 1 hour ago, Marcio Kabke Pinheiro said: a Leica model for all the survivors Nice reward for making it through the apocalypse! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Marcio Kabke Pinheiro 300 Posted February 3 Share Posted February 3 27 minutes ago, Andrew Reid said: Nice reward for making it through the apocalypse! All the survivors will be marked with a red dot. Juank and Emanuel 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BenEricson 394 Posted February 3 Share Posted February 3 1 hour ago, amsh89es335 said: I wonder what the used market is looking like. Because someone who was a new photo enthusiast and did little research can get a used DSLR and lenses for fraction of the cost on a camera 5-8 years old and the images really hold up. Not mention people selling off gear they don't use to pay their bills while unemployed. Right. I would also wonder if everyone's financial situation / the lack of traveling might explain an even further drop. Any used 35mm or Medium Format gear right now is $$$. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Administrators Andrew Reid 10,428 Posted February 3 Author Administrators Share Posted February 3 The lack of travelling is a problem for me. I had the choice of shooting Sheep in the UK, or closed shops under a grey steel sky in Berlin and that has just been the last 6 months Nothing is going on whatsoever! BenEricson 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
independent 148 Posted February 3 Share Posted February 3 You're seeing smartphones eating shitty digital camera market. Nothing wrong with that. Pro camera markets are fine; if anything, prices have come down: compare the prices of the Canon C300 series; the C300iii was released $4K lower compared to its predecessors. The introduction of C200, C70. Sony with their FX6. Red has trended cheaper as well, from the scarlet to the Komodo. For hybrids, I haven't looked into the financials, but goodness, Canon did well during a pandemic w/ the R5 and R6. Also, I don't think hybrid prices have necessarily risen, relatively speaking (not even accounting for inflation) Canon 5Dii: 2699 Canon 5Diii: 3499 Canon 5DIV: 3499 Canon R5: 3999, Canon R6: 2499 Well some manufacturers have: Sony A7s: $2500 Sony A7s2: $3000 Sony A7s3: $3499 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Matins 2 49 Posted February 3 Share Posted February 3 Perhaps it is time for the established camera companies to finally come up with something that resembles a 21th century camera body. One that resembles a smartphone, but with the bells and whistles of a proper camera. Sleek, pocketable, low-profile, a wide range of wireless functions like wireless charging, with new and smaller lenses. Andrew Reid and Katrikura 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Administrators Andrew Reid 10,428 Posted February 3 Author Administrators Share Posted February 3 1 hour ago, independent said: Also, I don't think hybrid prices have necessarily risen, relatively speaking (not even accounting for inflation) Canon 5Dii: $2699 Canon R5: $3999 Sony A7s: $2500 Sony A7s3: $3499 That looks like a rise to me. Did I miss something? Emanuel 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kye 3,193 Posted February 3 Share Posted February 3 6 hours ago, Marcio Kabke Pinheiro said: Right on point. And, yes, trouble ahead for cameras. My guess: in the future will be Leica model for all the survivors. Video will become a niche, with "cube" modular cameras being the norm. Video will never be a niche. The demand for video is on the rise, but never seems to get mentioned when the units shipped graphs come out each year. It's on the rise for people shooting with smartphones, but also for people who want better than they can provide. The professional videographers continually banging on about why the latest equipment is the absolute bare minimum and the camera from last week is trash paint a picture that there is an un-ending supply of people who want 6K advertisements for their laundromat, but the problem is that they don't want to pay enough for it. 1 hour ago, independent said: You're seeing smartphones eating shitty digital camera market. Nothing wrong with that. Pro camera markets are fine; if anything, prices have come down: compare the prices of the Canon C300 series; the C300iii was released $4K lower compared to its predecessors. The introduction of C200, C70. Sony with their FX6. Red has trended cheaper as well, from the scarlet to the Komodo. I agree. Smartphones are eating the market for cameras that will take less than 10,000 images before being left in a drawer. Prices might not have come down in an absolute sense, but what you get for your money is growing steadily - likely in rough alignment with Moores Law. If the obsession with 4K and 6K and 8K and 12K calmed even slightly then people would realise that the price of a camera that can deliver an image of X quality is dropping steadily. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ntblowz 641 Posted February 3 Share Posted February 3 Phones with uw/wide/tele is satisfying most of people's use, now i dont even care those 10x zooms 1" DC when my phone can do it too lol. Some quick photo while waiting for the next shoot on mobile phone. Emanuel 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IronFilm 4,266 Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 Sad to think I got into filmmaking basically at the very PEAK of camera sales, and now it is so so much less. @ntblowz, you could just about almost see me! If only the building at 2 Emily Place etc wasn't in the way. 16 hours ago, amsh89es335 said: I wonder what the used market is looking like. Because someone who was a new photo enthusiast and did little research can get a used DSLR and lenses for fraction of the cost on a camera 5-8 years old and the images really hold up. Not mention people selling off gear they don't use to pay their bills while unemployed. It's baaaaad news for the used market if you like picking up bargains. If for instance a future Nikon D500S gets released, you'll never ever see so many of those popping up on eBay a few years later, like you can find a Nikon D300S for ease dirt cheap. ntblowz 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jgharding 621 Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 Most of the younger generation are really into 3D and game engine now, it seems. I guess it's quite a bit more accessible too in some ways, with lots of free software and the limit being imagination, you don't have to use real lights and so on. It's also a far bigger industry in money terms and userbase than film and TV, so I think keeping new generations interested will also be a challenge if the prices keep rising. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
D4cl00 7 Posted February 5 Share Posted February 5 19 hours ago, jgharding said: Most of the younger generation are really into 3D and game engine now, it seems. I guess it's quite a bit more accessible too in some ways, with lots of free software and the limit being imagination, you don't have to use real lights and so on. It's also a far bigger industry in money terms and userbase than film and TV, so I think keeping new generations interested will also be a challenge if the prices keep rising. True, and I have that background myself having founded and run a games studio for over 13 years. However, filmmaking’s strengths (to me) are about human connection, either fiction or documentary. You have to spend a lot of money to copy that when working in real time engines, which are in return obviously great at interaction and non-linearity. To me both can be placed on a Venn diagram where the overlap is cinematography and storytelling, but outside that overlap have clear strengths. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
barefoot_dp 149 Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 On 2/4/2021 at 3:17 AM, amsh89es335 said: I wonder what the used market is looking like. Recently I thought about picking up a DSLR just for stills, as I've got plenty of EF lenses already. I do have an a6400 purely for use in a surf housing with the kit lens, but I don't like the idea of investing in a whole new set of lenses just for the occasional times I want to take some photos. I had a look at what used DSLR's were around, and was astounded to see that Canon 60D's are going for more now than when I sold mine about 6-7 years ago. As for cinema cameras, the current used market makes a pretty good case for not buying a Red. All those folks who dropped $60-80K+ on a Red, thinking they would be rental cash cows that they could then sell without much depreciation, can't even sell them for peanuts now. Pretty funny, seeing as this is the company who's slogan was "Making obsolescense obsolete". Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TomTheDP 196 Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 1 hour ago, barefoot_dp said: Recently I thought about picking up a DSLR just for stills, as I've got plenty of EF lenses already. I do have an a6400 purely for use in a surf housing with the kit lens, but I don't like the idea of investing in a whole new set of lenses just for the occasional times I want to take some photos. I had a look at what used DSLR's were around, and was astounded to see that Canon 60D's are going for more now than when I sold mine about 6-7 years ago. As for cinema cameras, the current used market makes a pretty good case for not buying a Red. All those folks who dropped $60-80K+ on a Red, thinking they would be rental cash cows that they could then sell without much depreciation, can't even sell them for peanuts now. Pretty funny, seeing as this is the company who's slogan was "Making obsolescense obsolete". Too bad RED media still costs a mint. Older Nikon DSLR's can be fantastic deals for the image. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Eric Calabros 230 Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 Both Sony and LG are now producing wall sized commercial microLED displays. Its still overpriced for consumers, but the price decline has been dramatic. If you want to provide content for that massive sized medium, you definitely need a pro gear, and 8k is bare minimum. But camera makers completely ignored this emerging technology that gonna change interior architecture of our buildings forever. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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