Camera Sales Statistics & Market Share 2022

Another year, another potentially challenging year for the camera industry.

The numbers are in from 2021, and we’re also starting to get a few forecasts on what this year will look like for camera manufacturers.

We’re pulling most of the figures from our recent posts:

As well as Camera & Imaging Products Association’s (CIPA) data as of last February 2022.

Here’s the run down:

Total Digital Camera Sales Down by 5.9% in 2021

The first quarter of 2022 is now over, and we finally get the whole picture for 2021’s figures. CIPA says there were 8,361,521 units shipped in 2021, or a 5.9% drop from 2020. Remember, these are the total number of digital cameras shipped – not sold – and are comprised of both interchangeable systems (DSLRs and mirrorless) and built-in lens cameras.

Interchangeable Lens Camera Systems (ILCs) Total Shipped Units went up by 0.8%

While overall camera shipment dropped last year, ILCs shipped still totaled 5,348,271 in 2021 or a 0.8% uptick from 2020. This uptick, however small, is still a very good sign of what is to come especially when you factor in the pandemic and the global chip shortage that threw the entire electronics industry into disarray.

ILCs Account for 60% of Total Units Shipped

In the same vein as the previous figures, it looks like the market still demands interchangeable lens systems. Total ILCs shipped last year (DSLRs and mirrorless combined) added up to 5,348,271 units. CIPA notes this demand for ILCs “is a barometer of the industry” in that this growth is attributed to how interchangeable lens cameras’ performance is directly linked to the market’s growing demand for more versatile systems.

Built-in Lens Cameras (Compact Cameras) Shipment went down by 15.8%

Compact cameras took a steep nose dive last 2021. There were only 3,013,250 built-in lens cameras shipped out last year or just 84.2% of 2020. We can surmise the downtrend of compact camera sales since 2010 was a direct result of smartphones overtaking compact cameras in both demand and sales.

There are 1.8 Lenses Shipped out for Every ILC Shipped last 2021

CIPA says the camera industry shipped lenses 9,549,347 last year. That means for every interchangeable lens camera shipped, there’s about 1.8 units of lenses shipped out. The figure actually increased by 5.8% more than last year which CIPA notes as a strong signal that the market’s demand for creative expression, despite the pandemic, did not waver.

CIPA Predicts a 6.1% Drop in Total Digital Camera Shipment for 2022

The association notes they had difficulties summarizing the shipping outlook for the current year. Considering the pandemic and the global chip shortage affecting every supply chain, it’s easy to see why. One silver lining however is that CIPA expects the 1:1.8 multiplier of ILCs to lenses.

Mirrorless Cameras Ships 1 million More Units than DSLRs

DSLRs may be in their twilight years now, but the decline in production isn’t as bad as we’ve originally predicted. Petapixel’s Mike Smith looked at the 20-year overview in camera shipment and found that the gap in shipped DSLRs vs. mirrorless cameras just widened by a cool million – from 2.4m to 2.9m in 2020, to 2.1m to 3.1m in 2021 respectively.

Mirrorless Shipment Value Rose to 67% More in 2021

In 2020, mirrorless shipment value saw a sharp uptick, reaching approximately $1.9B to now $2.8B last 2021. Mike attributes the skyrocketing mirrorless shipment value as the direct result of the top camera manufacturers releasing newer models and the consumer’s pent-up demand for new cameras.

Reports say mirrorless now accounts for 67% of the total value of units shipped in 2021.

This monumental rise in shipment value, Mike says, is a great indicator that mirrorless is the future because this has been the only thing that has risen in camera shipments and values since 2010.

Canon Expects a 10% Increase in Net Sales in 2022

The red team held the fort extremely well in the last few years. Canon’s imaging only comes second to the company’s printing division, accounting for 55% and 19% of sales respectively. Still, the imaging division saw a 20.7% increase in net sales last year. Canon now expects to see a 10% jump in net sales from both the printing and imaging divisions.

DSLR Shipment Went Down by 9.3%

The camera industry shipped out 2.16 million DSLR units last 2021, 220,000 units less than 2020. This is probably telling of the tried-and-true DSLR’s gloomy future. Canon recently announced they’ll be stopping development for flagship DSLRs, and the rest of the Industry, mainly Nikon, will probably follow suit very soon.

Sony Leads Mirrorless Camera Sales in 2021

NPD Group puts Sony as the top selling mirrorless brand for 2021. Keep in mind though that the qualifier used here is “mirrorless camera sales” and not camera sales overall. According to NPD, Sony took the top spot for the most sold mirrorless camera brand in the U.S. and in Canada, with the A7IV also being the best-selling mirrorless camera released in the last four years.

Canon is the #1 Digital Camera Company

The same market research company also awarded Canon the top spot in overall camera sales, including compact cameras, DSLRs, and mirrorless. Canon still has the upper hand in total sales generated in 2021, selling an estimated 3.2 million units, accounting for 38% of the market.

The “Most Popular” Isn’t Necessarily the Best

For example, cinema cameras (eg. Red) and the Panasonic cameras are really popular among filmmakers, YouTubers, streamers and various other popular niches.

Fujifilm is Technically the Largest Camera Manufacturer in the World

This may come as a shocker, but Fujifilm actually outsold every other camera manufacturer combined in 2019. Fujifilm sold 10 million Instax cameras in the same year alone, outselling the entire camera industry. The statistics that we’ve touched on primarily focused on digital cameras (mirrorless and DSLRs), but if you put instant cameras in the equation, Fujifilm is top dog.

Top Camera Brands’ Japanese Market Share

Before we get into the figures, we should first establish that the BCN Awards only accounts for camera sales in the Japanese market. Still, the award giving body should be a good yardstick which we can use to measure how the top brands’ are performing.

DSLR Sales

Canon – 59.8%
Nikon – 33.9%
Ricoh (Pentax) – 5.8%

Mirrorless Sales

Sony – 32%
Canon – 28%
OM System – 12.7%
Nikon, Fuji, Panasonic – no data

Integrated (Compact) Camera Sales

Canon – 34.1%
Sony – 23.1%
Fujifilm – 11.6%

Camera Manufacturer Market Share for 2021

Japanese news outlet Nikkei shares the current standing of every camera manufacturer. Canon, Sony, and Fujifilm saw a bit of upward movement, but Nikon took a sharp 4.9% drop for 2021.

Canon – 47.9％ (+2.5%)
Sony – 22.1% (+1.9%)
Nikon – 13.7% (-4.9%)
Fujifilm – 5.6% (+0.9%)
Panasonic – 4.4% (-0.3%

The remainder of the pie, or 6.3% of the market, is comprised of OM SYSTEM, Hasselblad, Pentax among others.

It could still be a long, tumultuous road ahead for the camera industry with the pandemic and ongoing silicon shortage kicking a hurting market while it’s down.

Some experts, however, say CIPA’s largely pessimistic outlook for 2022 may have been too overdramatic, with Canon’s data forecasts a substantial 10% bump in sales, and the present but almost surprisingly small decline in overall DSLR shipments suggesting that the camera industry might soon catch a break.

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