Smartphones Appeared to Have Replaced Cameras for Good, Until the Rise of Mirrorless Cameras

The original iPhone didn’t aim to replace traditional cameras. It wouldn’t have replaced them even if it wanted to. Its 2 MP camera was useful but not high-quality, and it couldn’t even record video. However, over time, smartphones greatly improved their camera capabilities, leading to a decline in the popularity of compact cameras. Despite this, the traditional digital camera market is still going strong, and an interesting trend is emerging.

Mirrorless cameras on the rise. The latest report from the Camera & Imaging Products Association, the Japanese association responsible for analyzing the photography sector, shows that distribution for single-lens mirrorless cameras is breaking records. According to the reported data, sales of mirrorless cameras increased by 20% in the first half of 2023, marking three consecutive quarters of growth.

Bye-bye, pandemic. The most significant sales increase was seen in China, with a 44% growth in distributed units, followed by Japan with 30% and Europe with a modest, but notable, 9% increase. As Nikkei reports, the surge in sales of single-lens mirrorless cameras is attributed to the return to normalcy in travel and the post-pandemic boost in tourism.

Hello, tourism. According to UN Tourism, the number of international travelers in 2023 doubled from the previous year to around 235 million people. These are very similar figures to pre-pandemic levels, representing 80% of the total amount of tourists in 2019.

As phone sales are declining… The smartphone market, which has been experiencing exceptional growth for years, is currently facing a more challenging phase. Global unit distribution fell by 7.8% last year, according to IDC, and it seems unlikely to easily recover.

… mirrorless camera sales are increasing. On the other hand, mirrorless cameras are experiencing a surge in popularity in the world of digital photography. So much so that some experts consider 2022 to be the year of the mirrorless camera. Sales have shown significant growth, and the value of these cameras has increased even more, according to photography news site PetaPixel. Notably, the price of digital cameras has doubled compared to three years ago.

AI technology isn’t limited to smartphones. Tourism and the benefits of digital cameras aren’t the only reasons behind the increase in sales. Manufacturers are starting to integrate features previously found only in smartphones, such as artificial intelligence capabilities. For instance, the Nikon Z9 can now detect and use autofocus on eight different subjects, including birds and vehicles, in addition to people. Furthermore, there are new user-friendly features that help prevent out-of-focus and improperly exposed photos.

Mirrorless cameras are becoming lighter. This is yet another factor that could explain why their sales are growing. Manufacturers are developing lighter models, such as the recent Canon EOS R100, an entry-level model weighing 356 grams, which is 10% lighter than its predecessor and only about twice the weight of an iPhone 14.

This article was written by Javier Pastor and originally published in Spanish on Xataka.

Image | Luke Kung

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