Digital camera sales reached a nadir a few years ago but recent trends have proven there’s still life in the old dog yet.
One reason for that trend is, perhaps surprisingly, young folk. A recent report by Nikkei Asia reveals members of Generation Z are fuelling digital camera sales in China because of general dissatisfaction with smartphone cameras.
Shipment volume to China has risen 25 percent to 1.9 million units in 2024. China now accounts for 28 percent of total global shipment value which is up 13 percentage points since 2019.
A large part of the uptick is down to social media: people realize that digital cameras — with their advanced sensors, optics, and controls — can take far superior images than smartphones that are hamstrung by relatively tiny image sensors. Enhanced video features and auto-tracking focus systems also appeal to image-conscious users.
Nikkei Asia spoke to a Chinese couple touring Tokyo who were shooting with Sony and Fujifilm cameras. “Digital cameras can produce clearer images than smartphones and accurately capture the things that we see,” the couple tells the news website. The pair planned on sharing their photos on Xiaohongshu, a Chinese social media website better known as RedNote.
Japanese manufacturers are also shipping more high-end cameras to China that sell for more money and yield better profits. The average price of a camera shipped to China in 2024 is 97,000 yen ($637).
“In China, the best-selling models are priced at around 15,000 yuan ($2,100). The popularity of video and photo-sharing platforms is fueling demand, particularly among younger consumers and women,” a Sony representative tells Nikkei Asia.
While many believed the smartphone spelled the end for digital cameras, it has not come to pass. It is not just in China where sales are on the up: PetaPixel reported that in the January to May period of 2024, camera sales hit their highest levels in the past three years. Sales of interchangeable lens camera shipments increased by 10 percent on the previous year.
While smartphones have made giant strides — often utilizing computational photography to bolster inherent shortcomings — anyone serious about creating beautiful imagery simply must have access to a bigger sensor, lens options, and full manual control of the device they are shooting on.
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.
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