Point and Shoot Cameras are Basically Dead


dolina

Senior Member
Jan 21, 2010
1,219
17
38


Almost every major camera manufacturer has either openly discontinued its point-and-shoot line of cameras or has not produced a new one in many years, according to a new report. In short, smartphones have all but totally replaced compact cameras.

The compact camera market, colloquially known as point-and-shoot cameras, has been experiencing a massive collapse in worldwide shipments over the last decade and a half. Since 2008, when worldwide shipments reached 110.7 million cameras, the market has significantly shrunk and fallen to 3.01 million units as of 2021 — a 97% drop.

Nikkei reports that in response to the market’s contraction, Canon, Nikon, Panasonic, Fujifilm, and Sony have all either dramatically scaled back productions or outright admitted that there will be no further compact cameras.
“Although we are shifting to higher-end models, we have strong support for lower-end models, and will continue to develop and produce them as long as there is demand,” Canon tells Nikkei.

Canon denies that it isn’t planning to make new compact cameras, but it hasn’t released a new one since 2019.
Sony’s response echoes Canon’s and the company says that it is not discontinuing new product development in the compact camera space, although Nikkei notes the company hasn’t made a new “Cyber-Shot” camera — its compact camera line — since 2019.

Nikkei reports that Nikon has stopped developing cameras that would fall under its “Coolpix” line, the company’s branding for compact point-and-shoot style cameras. Nikon tells Nikkei that it still sells two high-magnification models and that future production volume will be determined by the market, which as noted, isn’t growing.

Panasonic, which at one point owned the top share of Japan’s compact camera market, tells Nikkei that it has been reducing the volume of point-and-shoots that it has been producing over the last several years in response to the shrinking market. Additionally, while it plans to keep making current compact cameras for the time being, it will focus on developing high-end mirrorless cameras aimed at enthusiasts and professionals, including a camera that it plans to release next year that it is developing in conjunction with Leica.

Nikkei claims Fujifilm has ceased production on its compact camera line “FinePix” and is not actively developing new models for it, instead focusing its efforts on higher-end models like the X100V and above.

Ricoh, which owns the Pentax brand, and OM Digital aren’t mentioned in the story, but Ricoh seems unfazed by the market contraction and has notably released two point-and-shoot cameras in the last year: the WG-80 and the GR IIIx (and later along with its special edition). Ricoh seems immune to making decisions in line with market trends, as it has also stubbornly refused to make a mirrorless Pentax camera, going so far as to say that the brand “cannot go mirrorless.”

It has been a long, slow process, but the death of the point-and-shoot appears all but complete at the hands of the smartphone, whose imaging capabilities manufacturers continue to improve.
 

Click here for the point & shoot cameras released in the last 5 years.

Below are the number of models released per year

2022

- 0

2021

- 1

2020

- 6

2019

- 11

2018

- 18

2017

- 10
 

  • Like
Reactions: BBTM
Last 6 years worldwide shipments of digital still cameras.

Year201720182019202020212022 forecast
Total Cameras24,978,48619,423,37115,216,9578,886,2928,361,5217,850,000
Point & Shoot13,302,7978,663,5746,755,4673,578,6433,013,2502,560,000
Total SLR & Mirrorless11,675,68910,759,7978,461,4905,307,6495,348,2715,290,000
SLR7,595,7086,620,9994,504,9872,374,5692,241,772-
Mirrorless4,079,9814,138,7983,956,5032,933,0803,106,499-

Some interesting camera shipment stats

Smartphones vs film & digital still cameras


Digital camers: dSLR vs Mirrorless vs Point & Shoots (no smartphone)

TCaJ2sP.png


Digital camers: dSLR vs Mirrorless (no smartphone or point & shoot)

nq8Im87.png
 

Last edited:
Leica Q2 is US$5,800. Still selling. In 2023 Leica Q3 is expected at higher price. Rumored 60MP.
Sony still selling RX100 VII at SGD $1,650.
Fuji still selling the exceptionally beautiful X100 V at SGD $2130.
Ricoh still selling GR III at SGD $ 1170.
Canon still selling G7 Mark III at SGD $879. But no new models developed lately.
The above compacts are obviously not "entry level".

Nikon and Panasonic have confirmed that they will no longer be developing entry level point and shoot cameras. Who cares?
That is their problem. They leave a market vacuum for others to fill.
Who asked Panasonic to indulge in M43 for so long and lose market share.

Olympus camera division forgot they are a CAMERA company, not a particular obsessively fixated sensor size format company.
And paid the ultimate price. The subsidiary company was "sold" a.k.a. killed.

Compacts can do more than smartphone cameras. They are cheaper than ILC mirrorless cameras. Thus they fill a niche in between.
The demand for compacts has not depleted to zero.
Especially if the compact has at least a 1 inch sensor or bigger.
Leica Q2 has a FULL FRAME sensor.
Ricoh GR III has an APSC sensor.
Fuji X100 V has an APSC sensor.
Canon G7 Mark III has a 1 inch sensor.

In future, compacts made by manufacturers will be aimed at high end buyers. They will be EXPENSIVE status symbols.
Aimed at people who buy something because it is expensive. Whether they actually need it is not the point.

Cheap low end compacts will not be made because the smartphone has eaten their lunch.
 

  • Like
Reactions: dolina
I was looking at used Coolpix A cameras the other day. It seems they are holding their value better than almost all other cameras. Who would have thought?
 

CIPA members as a whole had mirrorless doing better than point & shoots + SLR.

I think P&S + SLR will go below 0.5 million/year by 2026? Mirrorless will be 6-7 million annually? Catering to working photogs and enthusiasts demanding the last 1% of performance.

Year2019202020212,022
Total Cameras15,216,9578,886,2928,361,5218,011,598
Point & Shoot6,755,4673,578,6433,013,2502,084,865
Total SLR & Mirrorless8,461,4905,307,6495,348,2715,926,733
SLR4,504,9872,374,5692,241,7721,853,222
Mirrorless3,956,5032,933,0803,106,4994,073,511
% of Point & Shoots44.39%40.27%36.04%26.02%
% of SLR & Mirrorless55.61%59.73%63.96%73.98%
Worldwide population7.673 billion7.753 billion7.9 billion8 billion

16 years ago this slide was shown at the unveiling of the 2007 iPhone 2G.

yDex8ZT.png



Puts into perspective what annual worldwide shipments of nearly quarter billion iPhones and about 1 billion Android smartphones have done to game consoles, digital cameras, MP3 players and PCs.

wlfD8Qy.png


Those waiting for the replacement of the 2020 Canon EOS R5 body will have to wait for as late as July 2024 for an announcement and November 2024 to be on the shelf.

So at most a 20 month wait.
 

Last edited:
P&S almost dead, but not dead. Ricoh GR, Leica Q, Fuji X100 series, are all selling pretty well.
 

P&S almost dead, but not dead. Ricoh GR, Leica Q, Fuji X100 series, are all selling pretty well.
I could imagine P&S dropping <0.5 million annually.
 

yeah, market getting much smaller, to Ricoh, Leica and Fuji, their P&S bring them good level of sales and profit, just like Sony RX100 series.
 

yeah, market getting much smaller, to Ricoh, Leica and Fuji, their P&S bring them good level of sales and profit, just like Sony RX100 series.
And yet point & shoots are now at 2 million last year when 2019 had them at 6.7 million