Earlier this week we reported on the new Leica D-Lux 8 compact camera, and the general upsurge in sales of (and interest in) digital compacts after a very difficult few years.
Now, the latest camera figures from Japan provide further proof that reports of the death of the compact have been greatly exaggerated – thanks in no small part to the near-frantic demand for the Fujifilm X100V1.
The main takeaway from the latest figures from the CIPA trade body in Japan is that more cameras were shipped from January to May this year than in the same period last year and the year before.
A total of 2.3 million ILCs (CIPA favours the rather clunky term ‘Interchangeable Lens Cameras’) shipped, nearly 10% more than the same period last year, and a rise of 11.9% from 2022 – when the effects of the pandemic were still being felt (this needs to be remembered: numbers are still down from what they were pre-Covid).
Compact cameras are making money again
The weak yen has also helped the big Japanese makers, with the value of ILC sales growing 28.6% to 251.8 billion yen ($1.6 billion). All good news, and not entirely unexpected, but hidden within the rather dry statistics is a real nugget.
Although sales of fixed-lens cameras/compacts only rose by 7% year on year, the value of these sales shot up by 34.7% to 37.6 billion yen ($233 million).
This can’t all be put down to Fujifilm’s X100VI, but there is no doubt that the hype around, and insatiable demand for, this camera is good news for fans of compact cameras.
Other makers will have been keenly aware of its success, and will presumably want their own piece of the compact action. The future for this market sector is looking rosier than it’s done for sometime.
Sun continues to set on the DSLR
Meanwhile, mirrorless cameras continued to erode the DSLR’s share of the ILC market. Mirrorless cameras accounted for 83.7% of ILC shipments by volume during the January to May 2024 period, and accounted for a whopping 92.9% of the value of these shipments. Apart from Pentax, we are unlikely to see another DSLR from a big Japanese maker.
So, it’s as you were for camera makers, with research and development budgets likely to be laser-focused on high-margin mirrorless cameras with interchangeable lenses – but we are likely to see more of this R and D money earmarked for fixed-lens mirrorless compacts, too.
Further reading
‘Affordable’ Leica D-Lux 8: more proof compacts aren’t dead yet
The best compact cameras in 2024
Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome DSLR review – a black & white with grey areas
