The camera market is due another shake-up and 2025 could be the year that makes or breaks it. So what factors could make this a pivotal year for the industry?
We’ve seen a resurgence in demand for new compact-style cameras, with Fujifilm’s X100VI and X-M5 , Sony’s ZV E10-II and the Panasonic Lumix S9 capturing the attention of the camera-buying masses. We also saw some incredible mobile devices with superb imaging functionality, such as the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, Oppo Find X8 Pro, OnePlus 13 and the Vivo X200 Pro. The most interesting thing about three out of four of those phones is they were all marketed with legacy camera brand names as an integral component of the devices.
The Oppo and OnePlus flagships both benefit from a co-developed Hasselblad camera system, while on Vivo’s website, the X200 is listed as “Vivo X200-series co-engineered with Zeiss”. They don’t once refer to it as a mobile phone, instead, it’s a “masterpiece in imaging”.
The fall in camera sales and the rise of smartphones with comprehensive camera functions speaks to a couple of things we’ve known for a while now. Firstly, people want a camera that they can have with them, always. Secondly, they don’t want to pay much more than $1,000/£1,000 for a quality imaging device. Did you know that dedicated compact cameras still account for roughly 60 per cent of all camera sales? The once-thriving category, which Casio and Nikon abandoned, is still doing relatively well. And based on current trends, we’re likely to see further focus in this segment for 2025. Could Sony release a new series of RX cameras, for example? Could we see updated Canon PowerShots? I think it’s highly likely that we will.
What does this mean for higher-end cameras? Canon and Sony launched flagship-level cameras in 2024, in the EOS R1 and the Sony A1 II, both to fairly lukewarm receptions. It left many of us to wonder why they released them in a shrinking market during turbulent economic times. They cost over £6,000/$6,000 and don’t solve any major pain points facing advanced photographers. Customers for these top-tier ‘Pro’ sports/news cameras rarely upgrade their kit, unless they’re given the latest model for free. I predict we will see dire sales of such cameras for the foreseeable future and the only high-end cameras worth making will be strategically marketed ones with even more niche audiences.
My theory may soon be tested, with Fujifilm rumored to be releasing a full-frame version of its GFX model, while at least one new Ricoh GR camera and a high-resolution Panasonic flagship may also be on the horizon. Camera makers will have to adapt as the market continues to shift. Old release cycles must die, and traditional approaches must be abandoned.
Dedicated camera brands have spent so long fighting a specification arms race among themselves that they have ignored both of the most lucrative consumer audiences. People who want affordable gadgets and people who want objects of desire. That’s something that successful phone brands have mastered, often satisfying both. By leading imaging innovation, as well as taking lessons from legacy camera brands like Leica, Zeiss and Hasselblad, smartphone OEMs have been stealing breakfast, lunch and dinner from the camera industry for years. It’s time camera manufacturers started learning from them by throwing the playbook out of the window.
