CIPA data for 2020: Digital Camera Sales Collapse accelerated

[Solinar]

I wonder what the sales of secondhand gear is like by comparison? I, for one, have found a lot of value in gently used secondhand gear in the last year, and I've spent a fraction of what I would have spent buying new gear. This doesn't help the immediate sales of new gear, but there's a trickle down effect with people who wait to get recent generation cameras secondhand. A heavy enthusiast or pro who needs serviceable gear can kit themselves out at half to two thirds the cost of buying new. I certainly did.

While the second hand market has been around both during good times and hard times - in my opinion, it reduces new camera sales - unless the seller of the second hand gear uses the proceeds of their sale to purchase new items.

 

[Range-rover]

Shall we agree to disagree? I see the same data but arrive at a different conclusion: That all camera sales are declining, but high-end mirrorless is declining less.
There are older DSLRs like Nikon D700 and Canon 5D which should serve them nicely and last for many years.

I have a Canon 5d it's a great digital camera, it just takes pictures,
not a lot of menu selection which I like, maybe the camera companies
should stop with the thousand and one menus that drive people crazy!.

 

[jsrockit]

I have a Canon 5d it's a great digital camera, it just takes pictures,
not a lot of menu selection which I like, maybe the camera companies
should stop with the thousand and one menus that drive people crazy!.

Unfortunately, I think that those of us that like stripped down cameras are a minority. It makes sense that would appeal here on RFF, but on other sites... features are salivated over.

 

[Range-rover]

Unfortunately, I think that those of us that like stripped down cameras are a minority. It makes sense that would appeal here on RFF, but on other sites... features are salivated over.

it's true some people the more stuff the more they like it. 😱

 

[css9450]

I have a Canon 5d it's a great digital camera, it just takes pictures,
not a lot of menu selection which I like, maybe the camera companies
should stop with the thousand and one menus that drive people crazy!.

Unfortunately, I think that those of us that like stripped down cameras are a minority. It makes sense that would appeal here on RFF, but on other sites... features are salivated over.

The nice thing about DSLRs, well, most DSLRs anyway, is one can shoot with them using as many or as few features as they like. I can shoot my D750 just like a 1960s Nikkormat if I choose to. And often I do.

Sonys may be the exception; their menus being more cumbersome than the rest, but even that may be just a reflection of my unfamiliarity with them.

 

[JeffS7444]

I have a Canon 5d it's a great digital camera, it just takes pictures,
not a lot of menu selection which I like, maybe the camera companies
should stop with the thousand and one menus that drive people crazy!.

Though menus can seem intimidating, often it's just a matter of going through them once or twice to configure things to your liking, and then you can ignore much of them. Many options are obscure or specialized, and I do not feel the need to change these at all.

Although typical for new cameras to ship with just a Quick Start guide or no printed manual at all, a detailed owner's manual can usually be downloaded.

 

[JeffS7444]

Sony's may be the exception; their menus being more cumbersome than the rest, but even that may be just a reflection of my unfamiliarity with them.

One Sony A6000 feature which really had me baffled involved the autofocus: My camera would constantly hunt for focus even though it was set to "S" mode. I finally discovered a pre-focus feature, switched it off and was much happier for it!

 

[JeffS7444]

Unfortunately, I think that those of us that like stripped down cameras are a minority.

But does anyone agree as to what those stripped-down features should include? 😉

 

[jsrockit]

But does anyone agree as to what those stripped-down features should include? 😉

Probably not... but no video and paired down menus seem to be popular choices.

 

[Range-rover]

The nice thing about DSLRs, well, most DSLRs anyway, is one can shoot with them using as many or as few features as they like. I can shoot my D750 just like a 1960s Nikkormat if I choose to. And often I do.

Sony's may be the exception; their menus being more cumbersome than the rest, but even that may be just a reflection of my unfamiliarity with them.

I had a Sony A7II and the menu's were a lot plus that and a small
body and big lenses were to me a bit odd to hold.

 

[Filter Factor]

- video in general (more than 50% are using their cameras for stills only, and not for video)

More than 50%? Hardly sounds like a convincing majority. If you had said more than 80% or 90% I'd tend to agree you have a point.

Shooting video with DSLRs is a VERY popular use for them. Those who use them, generally prefer them over standalone video cameras.

 

[JeffS7444]

Probably not... but no video and paired down menus seem to be popular choices.

I'm okay with video, but would not miss JPEG output including in-camera effects / film simulation modes and the like.

 

[HHPhoto]

DSLRs will be to mirrorless, what RFs were (are) to SLRs in the film world... an alternative.

I think this comparison isn't working very well, as the DSLR user base (look at the CIPA numbers of the last twenty years) is much much bigger than the former film rangefinder user base has ever been (you can find the data also on the CIPA page).

Cheers, Jan

 

[HHPhoto]

Your eye should ideally be relaxed and focused more or less at infinity regardless of whether the viewfinder image is being formed upon an OLED or the focusing screen of an SLR; this is what the eyepiece focus adjustment is for.
If you don't believe that you are viewing a 2D image formed upon the surface of the SLR's focusing screen, try removing it.
🙄

With an SLR, you are physically viewing the mirror picture, which is more far away.
But the more severe health problem of EVFs is the light emission, especially of the blue wavelength (lots of scientific test results proving it).

Cheers, Jan

 

[HHPhoto]

Sure, video. That's one button; I've never even pressed it. Never even cracked open the manual to that section.
Problem solved!

For you and your older cameras that may be certainly an option. But the problem for lots of users who are currently in the market looking for a new camera is that they have to pay quite a lot for features they don't need at all.
And they don't want to pay for that. That is one (of many other) reason(s) why the demand is declining. Potential customers are either using their currently onwned cameras much longer, or they are buying on the used market.

Cheers, Jan

 

[jsrockit]

I think this comparison isn't working very well, as the DSLR user base (look at the CIPA numbers of the last twenty years) is much much bigger than the former film rangefinder user base has ever been (you can find the data also on the CIPA page).

Cheers, Jan

True, but that doesn’t make the analogy wrong. DSLRs are being relegated to a specialized market more and more... mirrorless is the near future. Not too many new DSLRs arrive on the market anymore.

 

[HHPhoto]

Unfortunately, I think that those of us that like stripped down cameras are a minority. It makes sense that would appeal here on RFF, but on other sites... features are salivated over.

A "photography only" camera - without video - that is significantly cheaper would certainly appeal to a relevant number of customers.
And if it is a minority, it is also fine: Because in this rapidly declining market the manufacturers need all niches! With "mainstream products only" they won't have enough customers in the long run. At least some manufacturers won't have enough customers then to survive.
The bigger the variety in supply, the more choices the customers have, the higher the demand, the higher the customer base.

Cheers, Jan

 

[jsrockit]

A "photography only" camera - without video - that is significantly cheaper would certainly appeal to a relevant number of customers.
And if it is a minority, it is also fine: Because in this rapidly declining market the manufacturers need all niches! With "mainstream products only" they won't have enough customers in the long run. At least some manufacturers won't have enough customers then to survive.
The bigger the variety in supply, the more choices the customers have, the higher the demand, the higher the customer base.

Cheers, Jan

I agree with your wants. I’m totally in agreement. Yet, all I keep seeing is manufacturers making the same mirrorless cameras.

 

[Out to Lunch]

Yesterday evening, I celebrated the Lunar New Year with friends and family in Ho Chi Minh City. Most of the guests were in their early and late '20s. They took pictures, shot some video, and sent it to their friends and family all over the world. None of them had a camera. The moment their content was received a second later, these friends and family got online and shared their content. This is the type of communication the world expects today. Cheers, OtL

 

[css9450]

For you and your older cameras that may be certainly an option. But the problem for lots of users who are currently in the market looking for a new camera is that they have to pay quite a lot for features they don't need at all.
And they don't want to pay for that.

Such as video? How much does video add to the price of a new camera? Yesterday you mentioned the low-end DSLRs like the D3500 and D5600.... The body-only price of each is just a few hundred dollars, and they both shoot video. Video adds, what, one button? DSLRs have had video for a decade already; it isn't like we're still paying for them to invent the technology.