industry

What Canon says and does is important to the camera industry because it is so dominant across large swathes of the sector. And as a publicly listed company, it is required to publish both its financial results and business strategy going forward. Canon recently updated its medium-term strategy, so where does it see itself in five years' time? In one word: dominant. More importantly, what does this say about the future for everyone else?

Camera manufacturers have long told us that the future was mirrorless and - as if there was any doubt - Canon and Nikon even joined the party as far back as 2018, yet compact cameras and DSLRs have stubbornly refused to die. With 2022 well and truly over, we can now safely say that it was the year of the mirrorless camera and this marks some profound changes across the board for the industry as a whole.

Hasselblad has shuttered its East Coast-based operations including its entire New Jersey service center. Its headquarters and all of its service work has been moved to the company's Burbank, California, center that it now shares with DJI.

It looks like a glamorous job, taking photos in beautiful places and a dance party every night. Or maybe it looks like the worst job ever, dealing with high expectations and family drama. Wherever you stand on the subject, listen up because I’m going to share the best and worst parts of the job to help you decide if you should be a wedding photographer.

It is time to give kudos to a company that was not too long ago floundering at the bottom of the financial heap and appeared to be close to completely collapsing: Nikon.

Photography once changed fashion but now fashion is changing photography, threatening to make it obsolete.

The camera market is a bastion of high tech as manufacturers constantly innovate to create market-leading products. Not only that, they appear to invest increasing amounts of money into research and development in order to stay relevant as the smartphone onslaught continues unabated. Or do they?

The average family may shoot four thousand photos in a year. If you have been taking pictures since the iPhone 3G came out in 2008, it means that now, after 14 years of a trigger-happy existence, you are inundated with over 50,000 photos. And you probably cannot find a perfect shot from a vacation you took just three years ago.

Since the 90s, the digital camera has entered our lives as a unique, practical product that no one had experienced before. Despite the 640x480 image size and very simple design of the first cameras, their innovative capabilities were admirable.

Earlier this month Olympus revealed some of the thought process behind the 2020 sale of its camera division in which the company jettisoned it in order to pursue greater stability and profitability from its broad portfolio of medical technology. This is in stark contrast to Nikon, which has wiped the slate clean and started again. What is going on with Japanese camera manufacturers and are there any lessons to be learned?

A market research study has concluded that the commercial photography business is growing, largely thanks to a surging e-commerce industry.

The death of the DSLR was always in the cards - as soon as Nikon and Canon entered the mirrorless fray in 2018 it was not a case of if, but when. However, what was perhaps not expected was the rapidity with which the sales rug would be pulled from beneath DSLR consumers' feet. It's all or nothing when it comes to mirrorless.

In April, Atomos said it fired CEO Estelle McGechie because she refused to move to Australia, but she says it was actually because she refused to turn a blind eye to what she characterizes as securities fraud and revenue manipulation.

For the first time since 2010, more United States customers own Apple iPhones than Android-based phones. According to the data gathered by Counterpoint Research, the iPhone overtook the Android ecosystem this past June with a 50% claim of the U.S. market share.

A new report from the World Silver Survey found that demand for silver increased 19% last year achieving its highest levels since 2015. Part of this increase is being attributed to the rising demand and surging popularity of film.

Over the next ten years, the number of photographers is expected to grow by 17%, or more than double the average growth rate for all industries, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Pentax could now be in the strange and advantageous position as the main beneficiary of the demise of the DSLR as both Canon and Nikon prepare to exit the space.

Let’s talk about something obvious that apparently is big news: Nikon is going to stop making DSLRs.

The announcement has landed and it's now official: Canon has released an APS-C RF-mount camera. In fact, it hasn't just released one - but two - in the form of the R7 and R10. It might seem strange, given that Sony and Nikon have had APS-C models for some time, but this is a big deal because Canon already has the EF-M mount and EOS M APS-C mirrorless range. This begs the question, is Canon about to scrap the EOS M line?

The year 2020 saw digital camera shipments nosedive to a new low of 8.9 million units, down from 121 million units in 2010. It was believed it couldn't get any worse and, indeed, shipments stabilized in 2021. So why do sales appear to be in free-fall again?

Over the last decade, mirrorless camera technology has evolved to the point that it's now a welcome technology for many photographers and filmmakers. Although, along the way, it's not been an easy ride for the big mirrorless camera brands. User sentiment, Japanese earthquakes, the pandemic, and newer technology adoption have all taken their toll, leading to spot fires in the manufacturing process and camera uptake.

Atomos made the somewhat surprising announcement this week, as CEO Estelle McGechie, who was appointed to the position last fall, is no longer with the company because she had failed to move to Atomos's base of operations in Australia.

The camera sector isn't exactly a thriving business at the moment, with year-on-year declining sales and a slew of manufacturers having exited the market.

The news of falling camera shipments is like the dripping of a faucet. It comes with a regular, steady, beat, and just when you think it has stopped... plink, there it goes again! So perhaps it's no surprise that CIPA -- the trade body for manufacturers -- has a downbeat forecast for 2022, but strangely seems to have missed the good news!

Ricoh Japan has published more details on its plans to adjust its Pentax camera business structure. The company says that its main goals are to add additional contact points with customers and strengthen direct communication with them.

Sony announced last week that it was the number one mirrorless brand holding the highest market share for eight years straight. Canon then followed this up by claiming that it was the number one digital camera company, also leading on mirrorless market share. In a game of smoke and mirrors--something Sherlock Holmes would be proud of--who is telling the truth?

The US Commerce Department has published a semiconductor supply chain report that projects the worldwide chip shortage will exist well into the last part of 2022, and possibly even 2023, meaning photographers will likely continue seeing shortages in new cameras for many months to come.

Photography -- is it a lucrative and glamorous job filled with travel, a hobby with an eye-watering amount spent on unnecessary gear, or something in between? Photographer Niels de Kemp pokes fun at the different misconceptions people have about what photography is all about in this humorous 2.5-minute tongue-in-cheek sketch.

It's the dawn of a new era for OM Digital Solutions (OMDS) -- Olympus as was -- as it forges a new beginning, with a new camera, bearing the new name, and the last to be emblazoned with the Olympus logo. Is this the start of a golden age for Micro Four Thirds (MFT) or simply the beginning of the end for both OMDS and MFT?

The global silicon shortage has resulted in a lack of supply across the electronics industry and the camera industry has been particularly hard hit. A new report alleges that the problem may be worse than some realize.

With 2021 well and truly over, those manufacturers that align their finances to the calendar year are now producing their financial reports. Canon's latest figures reveal strong and sustained performance, even during the pandemic, which is a result of its shift to mirrorless camera manufacture and facilitating the beginning of a new market dominance.

In November, Nikon entered a lighting partnership with Nissin and Profoto, leading many to believe Nikon was exiting the lighting game. Even if that is eventually the case, Nissin's new Nikon flash shows high prices are here to stay.

Ricoh seemingly made the significant announcement that it would cease the mass production of digital cameras (which includes the Pentax brand), shifting instead to a direct-to-market model. For now, it only affects its business in Japan, although the ramifications could affect its business more widely. What does this mean for Ricoh (and Pentax) and their future?

Ricoh's President and CEO Noboru Akahane has announced that the Pentax and GR camera brands will undergo a dramatic restructuring of the business.

PhotoShelter has acquired United Kingdom-based digital asset management (DAM) software provider Third Light in a move that is designed to expand PhotoShelter's capabilities for enterprises, organizations, and visual creatives.

With an implosion of shipments caused by COVID in 2020, the expectation was that 2021 would see a rebound... until COVID hit again. So how have camera manufacturers fared in what has become another traumatic business year?