CIPA's January 2025 data shows compacts are more popular than ever
Photo: Richard Butler The Camera and Imaging Product Association (CIPA) recently published its total production and shipment data for January. The latest data shows that demand for compact cameras remains strong. Shipments of interchangeable lens systems also increased year over year, while those of SLR systems slowed. CIPA breaks down its data into camera types, with dedicated sections for cameras with built-in lenses and interchangeable lens systems. It also differentiates between SLRs and mirrorless cameras and provides specific data regarding various regions. All digital still cameras saw a 6% increase in shipment compared to January 2024 data, while interchangeable lens cameras were up 5% year-over-year. A graph showing the total number of shipments of digital still cameras. Graph: CIPA Built-in lens systems, though, saw the biggest increase of all categories. With 124,085 units shipped in January, cameras with integrated lenses saw an increase in shipments of 11% compared to January last year. Also notable was the 50% increase in the value of shipped compact cameras compared to January last year. The fact that the value is increasing faster than the number of units shipped indicates prices are higher for those cameras. The growth in value isn't entirely surprising, given that demand for compacts is high right now. Cameras like the Fujifilm X100VI have been extremely popular. According to Map Camera, one of the largest photography retailers in Japan, the Fujifilm X100VI was its best-selling camera in February 2025. The buzz surrounding the Canon Powershot V1, which was only recently announced at CP+, is also significant. The Powershot V1 is only available in Asia and wasn't scheduled to start shipping until April. Despite all that, DCWatch reported that Canon has already announced it is experiencing supply shortage issues and that delivery times may be longer than usual as a result. While that growth in compact camera shipments is interesting, it seems to be largely the result of two regions. China saw the greatest increase; shipments of compact cameras grew substantially year-over-year, with just 6,055 units shipped in January 2024 versus 18,955 units shipped in January 2025, a 213% increase. Asia (excluding China and Japan) also saw an increase, though at a more modest 22%. Europe and the Americas, however, actually saw a few thousand fewer shipments of compact cameras year-over-year (around a 6% fall). While compacts saw an increase in shipments, SLRs saw a decline in January 2025 compared to January 2024. Shipments of SLRs were down 16% year-over-year. This isn't much of a surprise, given that the last DLSR that was released was the Pentax K-3 Mark III in March 2021, and Canon and Nikon last released DSLRs in 2018 and 2020, respectively. Sigma is also no longer developing new DSLR lenses. Needless to say, it seems the sun is setting on DSLRs, so it makes sense that shipments would be slowing.
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| Photo: Richard Butler |
The Camera and Imaging Product Association (CIPA) recently published its total production and shipment data for January. The latest data shows that demand for compact cameras remains strong. Shipments of interchangeable lens systems also increased year over year, while those of SLR systems slowed.
CIPA breaks down its data into camera types, with dedicated sections for cameras with built-in lenses and interchangeable lens systems. It also differentiates between SLRs and mirrorless cameras and provides specific data regarding various regions. All digital still cameras saw a 6% increase in shipment compared to January 2024 data, while interchangeable lens cameras were up 5% year-over-year.
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A graph showing the total number of shipments of digital still cameras. |
Built-in lens systems, though, saw the biggest increase of all categories. With 124,085 units shipped in January, cameras with integrated lenses saw an increase in shipments of 11% compared to January last year. Also notable was the 50% increase in the value of shipped compact cameras compared to January last year. The fact that the value is increasing faster than the number of units shipped indicates prices are higher for those cameras.
The growth in value isn't entirely surprising, given that demand for compacts is high right now. Cameras like the Fujifilm X100VI have been extremely popular. According to Map Camera, one of the largest photography retailers in Japan, the Fujifilm X100VI was its best-selling camera in February 2025. The buzz surrounding the Canon Powershot V1, which was only recently announced at CP+, is also significant. The Powershot V1 is only available in Asia and wasn't scheduled to start shipping until April. Despite all that, DCWatch reported that Canon has already announced it is experiencing supply shortage issues and that delivery times may be longer than usual as a result.
While that growth in compact camera shipments is interesting, it seems to be largely the result of two regions. China saw the greatest increase; shipments of compact cameras grew substantially year-over-year, with just 6,055 units shipped in January 2024 versus 18,955 units shipped in January 2025, a 213% increase. Asia (excluding China and Japan) also saw an increase, though at a more modest 22%. Europe and the Americas, however, actually saw a few thousand fewer shipments of compact cameras year-over-year (around a 6% fall).
While compacts saw an increase in shipments, SLRs saw a decline in January 2025 compared to January 2024. Shipments of SLRs were down 16% year-over-year. This isn't much of a surprise, given that the last DLSR that was released was the Pentax K-3 Mark III in March 2021, and Canon and Nikon last released DSLRs in 2018 and 2020, respectively. Sigma is also no longer developing new DSLR lenses. Needless to say, it seems the sun is setting on DSLRs, so it makes sense that shipments would be slowing.
