CIPA figures for camera sales in 2013.

[LongQ]

http://www.cipa.jp/stats/documents/e/d-2013_e.pdf

Interesting numbers.

In the columns 100% means 'the same as last year'.


For reference here is 2012.

http://www.cipa.jp/stats/documents/e/d_2012_e.pdf

And 2011

http://www.cipa.jp/stats/documents/e/d_2011_e.pdf



We must be quite close to 'acceptable maturity' - a sort of state where people feel the results they can obtain are good enough and there is no need to chase upgrades just because they become available. In which case there is little obvious reason for the manufacturers to keep investing and extensive R&D either. They probably have plenty waiting in reserve though how much real difference it will offer is yet to be assessed.

Interesting times. If anyone comes out with really disruptive tech they might re-balance the entire market.

[Mr Will]

LongQ said:

We must be quite close to 'acceptable maturity' - a sort of state where people feel the results they can obtain are good enough and there is no need to chase upgrades just because they become available. In which case there is little obvious reason for the manufacturers to keep investing and extensive R&D either. They probably have plenty waiting in reserve though how much real difference it will offer is yet to be assessed.

It's not just a case of acceptable maturity but also one of market saturation. Manufacturers aren't just competing with each other, but with all the perfectly good digital cameras they have produced in the past that are now on the second hand market. A 70D is undoubtedly better than a 40D, but is it better than a second hand 5DII which are available for about the same money?

[LongQ]

A few more people are beginning to comment on the camera and lens sales figures.

Here is Michael Reichmann of the Luminous Landscape web site making some pertinent observations.

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/essays/what_matt...


There seems to be an interesting parallel for linear and digital periods of popular photographic uptake, different though they were.

The majority of cameras bought in the days of film would have done very little 'work'. Maybe 2 or 3 films a year I would guess.

Now people will buy (or used to buy) cameras for specific purposes just like the traditional 'snap shots' but many have migrated to using phones for that purpose.

DSLRs bought by enthusiasts very likely end up getting quite heavy use ... or hardly any at all. So with the digital technology rush slowing in the past 5 years or so there are not so many really good reasons for most people to upgrade - other than the desire for new toys or the relative few who just keep abreast of the latest greatest specs.

I can imagine that things will only pick up if some extremely disruptive technology appears from somewhere and can be placed in the mainstream marketplace at affordable prices.

Or some other development coming the other way could almost kill off the market entirely.

Interesting times.