The Leica SL3-P might be the best camera the premium marque has ever made, but there’s no way I’d be able to justify the $6690/£5150 price. No surprise that the last person I spotted using a Leica in public was Andy Serkis, aka Gollum from Lord of the Rings. It’s a self-declared luxury brand.
Yet at one time camera manufacturers produced a broad range of models to suit all budgets and skillsets. OK, so this was when more people were buying cameras instead of just using phones, but is there a direct correlation here? In other words, is a shrinking market prompted by less people wanting cameras… or not being able to get the cameras they want?
The latest May 2026 figures from Japanese industry watcher CIPA reveal that, contrary to previous reports that compact camera shipments were up 30% year-on-year while mirrorless registered a dip, there’s currently a fall in shipments across all camera categories. Part of this could be blamed on a lack of availability and demand outstripping supply for cameras like the Fuji X100VI, Ricoh GR IV and newer Panasonic L10. And the fact that smaller licensed brands like Kodak (also selling very well in Japan), Yashica et al aren’t included in CIPA’s round up.
More than just a blip
But what if Canon, Nikon, Panasonic, Sony and OM Digital Solutions made more of the fixed lens pocket compacts they used to – which social media suggests there’s a new market for? At the time of writing this demand has existed for two to three years. Surely that’s longer than the ‘passing trend’ the likes of Canon have dismissed the ‘compact camera boom’ as being, despite marketing a limited-edition version of its six-year-old PowerShot G7 X Mark III. Panasonic’s 15x optical zoom/1-inch sensor TZ300/ZS300 from earlier this year to me feels a bit more like it; but again, the price tags of both very much indicate ‘premium’ rather than mass market models.
Perhaps the infrastructure of the biggest names isn’t set up to pump out $100/$200/$300 point and shoots any more. And of course there are economies of scale; if you can sell one camera at $1000 then why bother attempting to sell ten at $100?
But with cheap and cheerful models from China filling the gaps the bigger brands have vacated, as they looked to photo enthusiasts and monied content creators to sustain them, I wonder how long is wise for those self-same brands to keep looking the other way?
Do you think the compact camera boom is a load of hot air, or carries a weight that the biggest brands should do their best to pay attention to? At the same time, are most new cameras from the traditional manufacturers simply unaffordable? Share your thoughts with AP.
The views expressed in this column are not necessarily those of Amateur Photographer magazine or Kelsey Media Limited. If you have an opinion you’d like to share on this topic, or any other photography related subject, email: [email protected]
Related reading:
- Best compact cameras: perfect point-and-shoots for photos and video
- If you just want a point and shoot compact for under $100 – this is the best on offer right now
- Is this the start of the compact camera renaissance?
Follow AP on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Irys.
