Commenting on the addition, which is part of a review of the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that interchangeable-lens cameras ‘represent a significant and growing market’.
Since 2004 only compact digital cameras have formed part of the basket of goods used to calculate the CPI.
The ONS adds: ‘With the decrease in purchases of traditional compact digital cameras, they now make up about half of consumer spending on cameras.’
The move chimes with a report published by Amateur Photographer last year that interchangeable-lens cameras were set to make up more than half the value of digital cameras shipped in any one year for the first time, according to Futuresource Consulting.
Further growth is expected as smartphone users pursue photography as a serious hobby and splash out on camera kit.
System cameras have entered the CPI category for Photographic, Cinematographic and Optical Equipment.
The ONS says the addition will improve coverage in an ‘under-represented area of the basket’.
