market

Canon’s Strategic Plan Looks to Dominance and Expansion

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?

2022 Was Officially the Year of the Mirrorless Camera

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.

The Changing Fortunes of Japanese Camera Manufacturers

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?

Mirrorless Continues Its Inexorable Rise At the Expense of the DSLR

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.

Falling Camera

Why 2022’s Falling Camera Sales Shouldn’t Worry You

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?

Why Pentax Has Failed at Mirrorless Cameras

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.

The Camera Sales Forecast for 2022 Isn’t as Bad as CIPA Makes it Sound

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!

OM Digital Has Its First Camera, But Does it Have a Future?

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?

An illustration of a photographer in front of a declining sales chart

Back Where We Started: The Camera Industry is Again a Bit-Part Player

Remember those heady days of 2010? The release of the iPhone 4 and iPad, the New Orleans Saints won Superbowl XLIV, Iron Man 2 hit the cinemas, Eminem released Recovery, and Biden was Vice-President. It was also the year when camera shipments peaked at over 120 million units. How did the industry become the bit-part player it now is, shifting 9 million units just ten short years later?

The Market For Discontinued Photographic Film

My fridge was recently full of instant film. I mean that literally, it was not possible for me to put any more packets of the film into the fridge without risking damaging them.

Why is Canon Putting Its Best Mirrorless Features Into a DSLR?

After Canon shared the development information on the impending 1D X Mark III last year, we called out that its specs not only blow away any previous notions of what a camera with physical moving parts could do but also noted that it's got all the makings of a great mirrorless camera... with a mirror.

Sony’s Mirrorless Cameras are Winning Over the Pros: Bloomberg

The ongoing battle over camera supremacy between Canon, Nikon, and Sony is receiving more mainstream attention in the business world. Bloomberg has published a report on the rise of Sony through its mirrorless cameras and states that Sony is now winning over professional photographers.

Canon is Already #1 in Mirrorless Cameras in Japan

Sony has multiple full frame mirrorless cameras on the market and Nikon is planning to unveil its first later this month, but it seems that having a pro-oriented mirrorless camera isn't a prerequisite for doing well in the mirrorless market. Case in point: Canon is apparently already the #1 mirrorless camera company in Japan even before announcing its own rumored full frame mirrorless system.

Samsung Ramping Up Image Sensor Output to Overtake Sony for #1

Sony is the 800-pound gorilla of camera sensors these days, boasting a global market share of around 50% in late 2017, but increased competition may be looming on the horizon. Samsung is reportedly ramping up its image sensor production capacity with a goal of overtaking Sony for the #1 spot.

Sony’s Sensor Domination Marches On as Record Profits Pour In

Five years ago, after seeing losses of $2.9 billion, Sony announced that it would be focusing its efforts on dominating three things: games, mobile, and image sensors. Well, the company just announced record quarterly profits and its ambitious plans for global sensor domination are still alive and well.

Nikon’s Year: Digging Into the Latest Financial Results in 2017

Here's the crazy corner Nikon is in: they can claim a modest 7% increase in operating income for the fiscal year that they just finished, but had far lower net sales and, with restructuring costs, had a significant loss. Nikon predicts that they'll recover to profitability next fiscal year, but with lower sales.

There Are Now 8x More People Taking Pictures than 10 Years Ago

Camera sales haven't been doing too well in recent years, but that hasn't kept picture taking from exploding. While the dedicated camera industry has seen year-on-year declines, smartphone photography has turned everyone into a casual photographer: there are now 8 times as many picture takers worldwide than there were 10 years ago.

Adobe Doubles Profits Thanks to Growth in Creative Cloud Subscribers

Adobe announced its quarterly results last Thursday, and investors are happy: the company beat market expectations by doubling profits from a year ago thanks to a huge growth in Creative Cloud subscribers. It seems that the shift from boxed software to digital subscription plans is paying off big time for the San Jose, California-based company.

Samsung Officially Exiting the UK Camera Market

Samsung's rumored shuttering of its camera business looks like it's continuing to play out. After pulling out of the camera market in Germany earlier this month, the company is now saying that it's ditching the UK as well.

Camera Sales May Be Stabilizing After a Few Years of Freefall

The camera market has been struggling in recent years, with Canon, Nikon, and Sony all recently reporting drops in camera demand from a year ago. But there may be a sliver of positive news for camera makers: sales appear to be stabilizing a bit after a few years of huge drops.

EyeEm Raises $18M More to Turn Photo Sharers Into Photo Sellers

Photo sharing service EyeEm has raised an additional $18 million in funding after taking $6 million from investors back in 2013. The new war chest will be used to further the company's mission of becoming the top network for photographers looking to make some money with their photos.

Top Instagram Users Making Thousands Per Photo by Promoting Products

It pays to have a lot of Instagram followers -- literally. Top users on the photo-sharing service these days are finding that their simple picture snapping can be turned into real dollars, and a lot of them at that. The numbers may astound you: some users are receiving thousands of dollars in exchanging for sharing a single photo that promotes a company's products.

Good Enough to Succeed in Photography

It’s been a tough few years and people are frustrated with the state of the industry. Everywhere I turn, people seem to be saying that a photography career isn’t what it used to be and that budgets are tight. Many of the blogs I read and the message boards that I visit all seem to be repeating the same message: There’s no work, there’s no money, and the competition is too intense to succeed. To quote one frustrated photographer, “How do you f’ing make a living shooting pictures anymore?”