February 8, 2025

The Global Shipment Value of Digital Cameras has Returned to its Highest Level

The global shipment value of digital cameras in Japan, including mirrorless single-lens cameras, reached its highest level in nine years in 2024. The primary driver is the demand from China's young Generation Z for "looking good" photos on social media. Young people who are dissatisfied with smartphone cameras are buying high-performance products. Manufacturers are also looking to grow the market by equipping their cameras with features that cater to social media needs.

The Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA) announced on February 3rd that the global shipment value of digital cameras in 2024 reached 824.7 billion yen, a 15% increase from 2023. This is the fourth consecutive year of growth and the highest level since 2015, when it was 885.4 billion yen.

On social media, there is a significant emphasis on "looking good," which has resulted in a growing demand for features that assist users in capturing photo opportunities. Companies such as Canon and Nikon are competing to improve the autofocus functionality that tracks moving subjects.

Each company is enhancing their video-compatible features. Fujifilm has released a mirrorless camera capable of recording videos with a vertical angle of view similar to a smartphone. Sony has introduced a lightweight mirrorless single-lens camera that can record videos continuously for three hours. A representative from Nikon mentioned, "People now have more opportunities to view high-quality videos on social media and are becoming increasingly selective about how they express the videos they create."

The digital camera market has been on the defensive against smartphone cameras, with shipments dropping to 20% of their peak in 2020. By showcasing capabilities not available in smartphones, it seems that the trend of market contraction, particularly in the high-end segment, has been stopped.

However, smartphone manufacturers keep developing cameras. Xiaomi's flagship model, a major Chinese smartphone maker, features lenses co-developed with Leica Camera, a German luxury camera brand. It also seeks to attract professional photographers, who have typically depended on digital cameras.