Case Study: Camera & Photography Industry Statistics (2024)

In this article, our team collected the most detailed camera and photography industry statistics up to 2022.

First, we took a look at the global and local sales market as well as shipment values for different types of cameras.

Then, we took into consideration the industry drop amid the Covid-19 pandemic that affected most industries.

Based on the data we collected, there are some interesting patterns in the market to analyze!

Overall Digital Cameras Statistics

• The digital camera industry had an estimated market value of $8.2 billion in 2021. (Research and Markets)
• By 2028, it’s expected that the market will show $12.1 billion growth. (Report Linker)
• According to the Camera & Imaging Products Association, in 2021, there were over 8 million units shipped. This reveals an estimated drop of 9% compared to the year 2020. (CIPA)
• Worldwide digital camera revenue has reached over $21 billion in 2022. (Statista)
• CIPA predicts that the total digital camera shipment will drop by 6.1% near the end of 2022. (CIPA)
• By calculating the compound annual growth rate (CAGR), it’s expected that the market will grow annually by 3.43% from 2022 to 2027. (Statista)
• The highest digital camera revenue is generated in China, with a total of over $5 billion in 2022. (Statista)
• In 2022, there are $2.79 generated per person when it comes to global digital camera revenues in relation to the total population. (Statista)
• In 2022, the total Shipment quantity of DSC cameras worldwide has reached more than 738,000 units for August. (CIPA)
• In 2023, the digital camera industry is expected to show a growth of 7.6%. (Statista)

Interchangeable-lens Cameras (ILCs) Statistics

• By August 2022, Interchangeable Lens Cameras (ILCs) accounted for 70% of the total shipped units. (CIPA)
• The total shipped units of ILCs (DSLRs and mirrorless combined) went up by about 0.8% from the end of 2020 to the end of 2021. (CIPA)
• DSLRs (Digital Single-Lens Reflex) shipped units are less than mirrorless cameras with a difference of about a million units. (Statista)
• There is a gap between DSLR shipped units and mirrorless cameras, which continues to widen. Over the course of one year, DSLR shipped units went from 2.4 to 2.1 million (Statista), while mirrorless cameras shipped units went from 2.9 to 3.1 million. (Statista)
• In 2021, the worldwide camera industry shipped 132,797 ILC units with Single-Lens Reflex or SLR less than the net amount shipped the year before. (CIPA)
• The total DSLR units that were shipped out in 2021 is a little over 2 million. (Statista)
• Worldwide, the number of DSLR camera loads has been steadily declining since 2012. (Statista)

Instant Cameras Statistics

• It’s expected that the instant film camera market, which held a value of nearly 1 billion dollars in 2019, should grow by 2.5% until 2026. (Data Intelo)
• There are over 3.5 million persons between the age of 25 and 54 who own a polaroid camera, according to Simmons’s Study of Media and Markets

Built-in Lens Cameras (Compact Cameras) Statistics

• Total Shipment for built-in lens cameras went down by 15.8% in 2021, with a total of a bit over 3 million shipped units. (CIPA)

Camera Lenses Statistics

• According to the Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA), the total number of interchangeable lenses shipped was more than 9.5 million units last year. (CIPA)
• By the end of 2022, it’s expected that the number of shipped lens units for cameras with interchangeable lenses will decrease from last year’s value by a minor 0.7%. (CIPA)
• The number of shipped ILC lenses jumped by an increase of 5.8% in 2021, which could be an indication that this segment didn’t get affected by the global pandemic. (CIPA)

Canon Cameras Statistics

• Canon foresees a net sales increase of 10% by the end of 2022. (Nikkei)
• Canon’s imaging division (camera industry) makes up 19% of the company’s net sales, which comes in second place after its printing division. (Peta Pixel)
• The imaging division in Canon witnessed a net sales increase of 20.7% last year. (Peta Pixel)
• Canon’s sales in 2021 totaled 2.74 million units, which was a drop from the company’s performance in 2020. (The Digital Picture)

Sony Cameras Statistics

• Sony held the no.1 spot in the full-frame mirrorless cameras segment in North America for eight consecutive years up to 2021. (Sony)
• Sony’s A7IV camera has been the best-selling mirrorless model on the market for the last four years. (Peta Pixel)

Overall Digital Cameras Market Share Distribution

• Two years ago, only five companies dominated the market as follows: (Mirrorless Rumors)
• Panasonic: 4.4%
• Fujifilm: 5.6%
• Nikon: 13.7%
• Sony: 22.1%
• Canon: 47.9％
• Other brands, like Pentax, Leica, Hasselblad, GoPro and OM SYSTEM, shared the leftover 6.3%.

Photography Statistics

• There are over 12,458 companies currently working in the photography services industry around the U.S. (Splento)
• Last year, the photography industry was valued at over $36 billion. (business wire)
• By 2023, it’s estimated that the world’s total photo count on iPhones or Android phones will increase to 93% from 89% in 2020. (Mylio)
• About 90% of consumers have only taken photos with their smartphones instead of an actual camera. (Communities Dominate Brands)
• The coronavirus pandemic caused a more than 23% decrease in the photography industry revenues. (IBIS World)
• According to a study, more than 63% of photographers said that business got slower amid the 2019 global pandemic. (Globe News Wire)
• 57% of photographers in a survey showed cautious optimism that 2022 would be better for business than 2021. (Zenfolio)

The Takeaway

After summarizing the results of camera and photography industry statistics, we’ve learned so much about the market trends over the past few years leading up to 2022.

It’s obvious that this market is dominated by large camera manufacturing companies, like Canon, Sony, Nikon, FUJIFILM, and Panasonic.

With the ongoing silicone shortage and the residual effects of the global pandemic, it’s still a long road ahead in the digital camera industry.

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