According to data on Worldwide camera shipments, Nikon is now selling 11 mirrorless cameras for every DSLR they sell, with 760,000 mirrorless cameras shipped in 2024, compared to Nikon’s 70,000 DSLR cameras shipped. The camera shipments for all brands was published by Nikkei/DClife, and shows some interesting facts, including the growth of the mirrorless camera market (up 10% overall), and DSLR sales down 18% overall. Nikon sales are down 46% for DSLRs, from 2023 to 2024, whereas mirrorless sales for Nikon are up 21%.
It’s easy to see why, as Nikon’s last DSLR, the 24MP Nikon D780 was released in 2020, a whole 5 years ago, and as a full-frame model it’s quite high-end and therefore expensive. In terms of numbers, it’s always budget models that sell the most, and with Nikon, the last budget DSLRs they released, the D3500 was released in 2018, a whole 7 years ago, a camera that you can no longer buy new.
Here are Nikon’s worldwide camera shipment figures for 2023 and 2024:
| 2023 | 2024 | Year-on-year | Change | |
| Nikon Mirrorless | 630,000 | 760,000 | 121% | up 21% |
| Nikon DSLR | 130,000 | 70,000 | 54% | down 46% |
It will be interesting to see how these numbers look next year, as very few Nikon DSLRs are still available to buy new, and if you’re still looking to buy a DSLR, then another brand is likely to be more readily available.
- Worldwide Mirrorless camera shipments up by 10% with one clear winner growing fastest
- In the DSLR market, there’s one clear winner, and nobody else even comes close
In terms of DSLRs, there is only one brand left committed to DSLRs, and that’s Pentax who are releasing new models, and lenses (albeit sporadically). Nikon and Canon have both committed fully to mirrorless cameras and lenses, with no new DSLRs or DSLR lenses planned to be released. This does make buying new DSLRs and DSLR lenses more difficult, but if you’re prepared to buy second-hand, then some real bargains can be found.
Follow AP on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.
Sources: DCLife.jp, via Nikonrumors.
