Canon and Nikon’s camera sales have dropped over 17%

Since last year, both Canon and Nikon have seen a drop in camera sales. Both companies are reporting they’ve lost about 17 percent of their imaging business sales.

Canon’s reports shows that the company has seen a 17 percent drop from 2018. Sadly, Canon’s report is actually better than Nikon’s. Nikon’s report paints a slightly worse picture, showing a 17.9 percent drop. This news, though grim, isn’t exactly unexpected. Both of the companies have seen, and continue to see, a drop in sales for dedicated cameras. One of the major reasons why this is happening is the advancement in smartphone cameras. As smartphone cameras continue to improve, they become more competitive against DSLRs.

Canon’s response to camera sales

Canon agrees that the rise of smartphone cameras have cut into their DSLR sales. “The contraction of the market for interchangeable-lens cameras, mainly for DSLRs, continued in step with the proliferation of smartphones,” Canon says. Canon goes on to say that this results in a “significant decline in sales and profits.”

In the first quarter, Canon’s sales were even worse. Its sales of interchangeable lens cameras were down to 19 percent to 850 thousand units.

“This reflects the combined impact of accelerated market contraction for DSLRs, in particular, entry-level models, and economic slowdown in China, which is a sizeable market for interchangeable-lens cameras,” says Canon.

Nikon’s response to camera sales

Nikon also says the market for both digital camera-interchangeable lens type and compact digital cameras has shrunk.

“For the digital camera-interchangeable lens type, sales of the D850, a digital SLR camera, were strong,” says Nikon. “However, unit sales of both digital camera-interchangeable lens type and compact digital cameras fell amidst the shrinking market.”

What does the future entail?

Many of the camera companies are bracing for the worst. As smartphone cameras continue to improve, it’s likely sales will get worse for the camera market. Though full-frame interchangeable lens camera sales are expected to stay strong while the market shrinks, the future really is uncertain.

Image courtesy slrlounge.com

Sean Berry
Sean Berry
Sean Berry is Videomaker's Managing Editor.

Related Content