The latest industry figures from the trade body CIPA reveal that more cameras were shipped between January and May 2024 than during the same periods in 2022 and 2023. Yes, camera sales are actually climbing!
Who is CIPA?
Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA) is an international industry association based in Japan that was originally founded as the Japan Camera Industry Association in 1954. It consists of members engaged in the development, production or sale of imaging related devices including digital cameras.
The current CIPA president Hiroyuki Ikegami is from Nikon, and the Vice President Masato Yamamoto is from Fujifilm. Other members include: Canon; Kenko Tokina; OM Digital Solutions Corporation; Panasonic; Sigma; Sony; Tamron; Hoya; Ricoh; Seiko Epson.
Supporting members include: Adobe; Apple; Brother; Carl Zeiss; Cosina; Huawei; Samsung and Microsoft.
The association's mission is to contribute to the business success of its members through various activities in securing fair business environments and by hosting events such as the world premier shows of camera and imaging devices, in addition to formulating worldwide industry standards to enhance the convenience of consumers.
Interestingly, many of the technical terms, measurements and camera menu symbols in our cameras have been standardised by CIPA. These include: sensitivity of sensors; IS performance and rating; resolution measurements; Exif data and focal lengths.
What the latest CIPA report reveals
The figures published this week reveal that 2.3 million interchangeable lens cameras were shipped so far this year up til the end of May period, marking a 9.8% increase over the same period in 2023 and an 11.9% rise compared to 2022.
Furthermore, there were 718,000 cameras with built-in lenses shipped so far this year up til the end of May period which is a 7% increase compared to last year, though they remained 4.2% lower than in 2022.
The value of interchangeable lens camera (ILC) sales grew by 28.6% compared to last year, reaching ¥251.8 billion ($1.6 billion), partly due to the weak Yen boosting the value from overseas sales. Similarly, the value of fixed-lens camera sales surged by 34.7% to ¥37.6 billion ($233 million), indicating that some of the growth in the compact market is driven by desirable high-value cameras like Fujifilm's X100 VI.
As predicted, sales of DSLR has declined while mirrorless cameras are making up 83.75% of ILC shipments by volume, and 92.9% by value.
Judging by these graphs, it's interesting to note that sales traditionally peak between September and November. With the high demand for the latest generation of digital cameras, including the Fujifilm X100VI, Nikon Z6III, and the soon-to-be-released Canon R5mkII, we may be on track for the strongest sales growth in some time.
To read more CIPA sales data, you can visit their statistics page here.
