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Game Over

The accelerating collapse of the digital camera market; game over for gear addicted "so called" photographers aka electronic garbage collectors.

The Statista Infographic Newsletter by Felix Richter,   Feb 7, 2020
The Statista Infographic Newsletter by Felix Richter, Feb 7, 2020

From the information above, digital camera sales declined by 87% between 2010 and 2019 leaving the remaining manufacturers fighting for an ever bigger share of an ever shrinking pie. Innovation is mostly done, with digital technology having matured. The in-built cameras in smart devices like smart phones and tablets has 99% killed off the fixed lens compact camera market and the interchangeable lens camera market is now following the same trend. Oof!

Source: CIPA
Source: CIPA

Then this year, with the pandemic, everything dropped off a cliff and it has yet to hit bottom. 

 

A number of camera and lens makers have temporarily slowed or indeed suspended production. One has sold off its Imaging Division completely putting the future of a whole format (MFT) in jeopardy and probably they won't be the last.

 

The downward spiral seems to be continuing at warp speed and when the market will flatten out or simply crash and burn who knows, but it does seem likely that it will soon be game over for gear addicted "so called" photographers aka electronic garbage collectors and only those few truly serious about the art of photography itself will be left. Roll on.