Camera Sales Dip, Digital SLR Sales Hold Up
Compact digital camera sales in 2009 are expected to decrease in units sold, and even more so in dollars. However, digital SLR cameras, especially cheap models, and also photo printing will remain growth areas for the digital market.
According to recent studies done by the Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA), Japanese digital camera shipments in 2009 are predicted to fall for the first time since CIPA began making forecasts many years ago. An overall decrease of .7% is expected. Japanese manufacturers are projected to ship under 120 million digital cameras globally in 2009.
Digital SLR shipments on the other hand will grow about 7 percent to just under 10.5 million units, while compact cameras will drop 1.3 percent to 108.6 million units, CIPA predicted. Digital SLR camera growth will be lead by cheap models from Sony, Nikon, and Cannon.
In addition, sales and shipments of DSLR camera lenses are expected to continue to grow through 2009, hitting 16.5 million units for an industry growth rate of 6.1 percent. Camera lenses enjoyed a 25 percent growth in 2008, which followed closely the growing install base of SLR cameras.
Another recently released study by the group PMA showed that overall digital camera sales fell 15 percent year over year in November. Printing of pictures, however, continued to grow. Volume growth of all digital prints grew over 10 percent year over year. This double digital growth was powered by online ordering, which jumped over 30 percent. Retail mini labs growth was 5 percent, instant kiosks growth rate was 4 percent and home printing increased by about 2 percent.
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