The latest Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA) figures are in. The Japanese photography trade organization publishes a monthly report on camera and lens shipments and has just released the November 2024 figures for the total number of interchangeable lens cameras (ILCs, further subdivided into DSLRs and mirrorless), compact cameras, and lenses for the month, and compares this data with that of the previous two years.
The headline figures paint a pretty rosy picture, showing that all camera shipments for November 2024 were 27.2% higher than in November 2023, and were also above that of November 2022. Delving deeper into the data reveals that DSLR shipments were up by some 18,000 units over October 2024 and up 20.1% over November 2023, but down 17% cumulatively for the year. And while mirrorless shipments had dropped by 90,000 units compared to October 2024, they were up 31% over November 2023 and up 16% cumulatively for the year.
It's not surprising to see the monthly figures tail off towards the end of the year, as the figures represent the number of products shipped to retailers rather than sold to consumers. The September/October period traditionally sees a peak of shipments ahead of the lucrative pre-Christmas selling period.
CIPA had previously predicted that it would have shipped 5.89 million ILCs, 1.52 million compacts and 9.57 million lenses by the time all the data for 2024 has been collated. However, by extrapolating from the trends of 2023's shipping patterns, ILCs could end up as high as 6.6 million units and lenses at about 10.4 million, which would make 2024 the best year for the industry since pre-Covid-19 pandemic times, when a total of 8.46m ILCs and 14.2m lenses were shipped in 2019.
Of course, only time will tell the true figures, which are due around this time next month, and we'll bring you all the finalized data for 2024 then.
Note that these figures represent shipments from members of the CIPA organization – but that's most of the big Japanese players (Canon, Cosina, Fujifilm, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, Sigma, Sony, Tamron, Tokina, Ricoh and Zeiss). If you have a head for figures, why not see the full CIPA camera and lens data for November 2024 to crunch the numbers for yourself?
Take a look at our guides to the best mirrorless cameras, and the best compact cameras. We've also go guides to the best Fujifilm cameras, and the best retro cameras.
