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Is the compact camera dead?

BCN Retail published the article “Is the compact camera dead?” Here is the recap from digicame-info:

• Casio has left the compact camera market, Nikon has stopped development, and Sony and Fujifilm have significantly scaled back their lineups. Some may fear that the category itself will disappear as it is pushed aside by smartphones. The bottom line is that it is not dead at all. Compact cameras still account for more than 60% of camera sales. Although their sales value composition ratio is small, ranging from the upper 20% to lower 30%, a certain level of sales continues.
• The average price is also rising, just like with interchangeable lens cameras. In particular, the increase in the proportion of relatively high-priced models over 50,000 yen stands out. As of September 2021, this was only 6.8% of the total number of units sold, but this September it had risen to 33.2%. This is thought to be largely due to the impact of inflation, but at the same time, it is also highly likely that there are an increasing number of users who want better products even if they are a little more expensive.
• Year-on-year sales of interchangeable lens cameras fell significantly in both unit volume and value. Although the decline narrowed in October, sales remain below the previous year’s level. Compact cameras are also showing a slowdown, with unit sales declining slightly in September and October. However, sales value remained above the previous year, with October sales value increasing by double digits to 115.3%. With prices of mirrorless cameras rising, it could be said that even relatively high-priced compact cameras are now looking cheap.
• The compact camera market structure has changed significantly in the past few years. Canon is by far the top five in terms of sales volume in September, with a large share of 31.1%, backed by the PowerShot and IXY series. Meanwhile, Fujifilm, in second place, took a 13.4% share, largely due to the huge sales of its instax mini Evo. Kodak and Kenko Tokina, in third and fourth place, moved into the “vacant lot” left by major manufacturers. They are the main players who have expanded their market share by leveraging their good cost performance, and have greatly changed the market. And Ricoh Imaging, with its GR series, has made it into the top five with a modest single-digit share. The GR brand, which has been around since the film era, still has many die-hard fans.

The market price of old compact digital cameras has increased 20-fold in one year

The Japanese website Dime published the article “The market price has increased by about 20 times in one year! The noisy charm of old compact digital cameras that Gen Z is addicted to“. Here is the recap from digicame-info:

• Among young people in their teens and twenties who belong to Generation Z, old models from the heyday of compact digital cameras in the 2000s and 2010s (= old compact digital cameras) are suddenly gaining popularity. What is the reason for this attraction to Generation Z? Yuta Mimura, manager of the used camera specialty store “2nd BASE”, analyzes as follows.
• “Many people perceive the characteristics of the image, such as the tendency for it to have blown out highlights and noise, as being film-like, and the lo-fi feel is probably what makes it so popular.”
• “The vast majority of compact digital camera users want to try film, but the running costs of film and developing are a hurdle. Old compact digital cameras make it easy to take low-fi photos at low cost. What’s more, their Y2K designs from the 2000s are also boosting their popularity.”
• “Sales (of old compact digital cameras) were not that high at first, but from around spring of last year sales started to pick up, and by summer our inventory couldn’t keep up.”
• It is unclear how long the boom will last, but its momentum does not seem to be slowing down, with cameras that were selling for 1,000 or 2,000 yen two or three years ago now selling for around 20,000 yen.

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Ricoh Japan announced a partial resumption of orders for some GR models.

Check Ricoh GR camera’s availability at:

• US: Adorama | B&H Photo | Amazon
• DE: Foto Erhardt
• UK: WEX | Park Cameras

Full text of the press release (Google translated):

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