The Photography Industry in 2017 – What happened, what changed?

Our friends at LensVid posted their monitoring and analysis report about the state of the photography industry in 2017. They mined a lot of data to produce their figures.

LensVid’s conclusion:

Last year we predicted that it is likely that in 2017 we will see the global camera market go below 20 million units. We were wrong. Instead, the market jumped to 25 million units which means that we still have something to learn about the fundamental changes that the market is going through.

Beyond that, it is also unclear why the compact camera market saw an increase in 2017 or what cameras were mainly responsible for this surprising boost.

What we would be willing to risk speculating about is the DSLR vs. mirrorless part of the market. So far the DSLR segment of the market has been in a steady decline for at least six years. The mirrorless segment, on the other hand, was more or less stagnant but had a big increase of over 32% in 2017.  Even if we won’t see another huge increase in 2018 (and this actually might happen with the possible release of pro mirrorless models by both Canon and Nikon this year), the ratio of mirrorless to DSLR cameras out of the total interchangeable lens cameras, is going to increase and might be getting very close to a tie by the end of this decade. Read the report at LensVid.

The folks at LensVid found a slightly bizarre aspect in their data analysis. There are now more compact cameras manufactured compared to 2016. They didn’t found any apparent reason to explain this. This could either be attributed to Sony (maybe the RX100?) or to some huge success of one of Canon’s new compact cameras that we missed to get aware of. What do you think? Sound off in the comment section.

The 5min video below sums up everything.

If you want, you can check LensVid’s analysis of the photography industry in the previous 4 years.

[via LensVid]

Breathing Color Welcomed into Canon Alliance Partner Program

canon rumorsCanon press release:

Breathing Color Welcomed into Canon Alliance Partner Program

Five new media types certified for use with imagePROGRAF PRO Series Devices

MELVILLE, N.Y., February 12, 2018 – As part of its continued drive to expand collaboration with key players in the large-format industry, Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, is proud to welcome Breathing Color, a designer and supplier of award-winning digital inkjet canvas, papers, and canvas coatings, as a new member of the Canon Alliance Partner Program (CAPP) for imagePROGRAF Large-Format Solutions.

Through CAPP, third-party media and software companies are able to work with Canon to help develop and promote new printing solutions for imagePROGRAF devices. As a result of this association, five fine-art media types offered by Breathing Color have now been certified for use with the imagePROGRAF PRO-6000, PRO-4000, PRO-2000, and PRO-1000 devices.

Click here to open the rest of the article

Off Brand News: Fujifilm reports impressive 76,1% increase in operating income from imaging segment

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Fuji released the 2017 Q3 financial report. The results are stunning: +15.6% revenue increase and +76,1% operating income increase. Not bad at all.

Fuji’s statement:

In the photo imaging business, overall sales increased due to favorable sales, especially in instant photo systems which enable users to enjoy on-the-spot printing of photos, such as the instax series and instax films in the Year-End shopping season. instax SHARE SP-3, smartphone printer, launched in November 2017, adopted the square format, popular for use in SNS. It advocates a new way of photo printing to boost printing demand among smartphone users. In the high-value-added printing businesses, sales expanded thanks to continued business growth from various services, including Wall Decor services that enhance the fun of decorating and displaying photographs by adding panels to the photographs and framing, the new COYOMI service for creating desktop calendars with favorite photographs, and the Year Album service that uses AI-based proprietary technology to automatically arrange the layout of a photo album.
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In the electronic imaging field of the optical device and electronic imaging business, overall sales increased due to strong sales of FUJIFILM X-E3, which is achieving the most compact and lightweight body*, offering outstanding operational comfort and launched in September 2017, X Series such as FUJIFILM X-T20, FUJIFILM X100F which were launched in February 2017, FUJIFILM GFX 50S, a medium format mirrorless digital camera, adopting a big sensor (43.8mm by 32.9mm), and interchangeable lenses. In the optical device field, overall sales increased, reflecting the strong sales of various industrial use lenses such as lenses for and vehicle camera and projector, and MK lenses series were also launched as a new series of cinema camera lenses designed for recording video such as online video, whose market is expanding. Fujifilm announced 24x zoom lense UA24 x7.8BE in September 2017, achieving both small, lightweight body and 4K high-definition. With this introduction, Fujifilm has 8 4K broadcast camera lense products and is seeking to lead the field. * As of January 2017 in the X Series of mirrorless cameras equipped with a viewfinder

While most of the profit come from the successful Instax lineup, I guess it is at least to some degree also due to the fact that Fuji always gives the impression they really love their customers, for instance delivering firmware updates that add plenty of features. This is something we never see from Canon.

I always wished/hoped Canon would deliver a mirrorless lens ecosystem like Fuji did. But nope (so far).

[via Mirrorless Rumors and Fuji Rumors]

Canon EOS 80D deal – $899 (reg. $1099, refurbished from Canon)

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Canon EOS 80D at a glance:

  • 24.2MP APS-C CMOS Sensor
  • DIGIC 6 Image Processor
  • 3.0″ 1.04m-Dot Vari-Angle Touchscreen
  • Full HD 1080p Video Recording at 60 fps
  • 45-Point All Cross-Type AF System
  • Dual Pixel CMOS AF
  • Expanded ISO 25600, Up to 7 fps Shooting
  • Built-In Wi-Fi with NFC
  • RGB+IR 7560-Pixel Metering Sensor

The Canon Direct Store has refurbished Canon EOS 80D bodies in stock at $899.20. Compare at $1,099. Refurbished gear from the Canon Store is certified by Canon and comes with 1 year Canon USA warranty.

Always check the refurbished gear listings at the Canon Store. This is the place where the best deals on Canon gear are hiding, and waiting to be found. Please note: stock availability comes and goes. What’s not in stock today may be tomorrow.

Today’s Gold Box and one day only deals at Amazon US, Amazon DE, Amazon UK, B&H Photo, eBay, Adorama.

Let’s talk video performance: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV vs Sony A7R III video-comparison

 

Sony A7R IIIvs EOS 5D Mark IV

Sony A7R III vs Canon EOS 5D Mark IV – Which one is better for video?

Photographer and reviewer Dustin Abbott posted part 4 of his Canon EOS 5D Mark IV () vs Sony A7R III () showdown. This episode examines video performance of the two cameras.

Part 3 was about high ISO performance and resolution. Part 2 was about dynamic range, Canon isn’t exactly famous for being industry leading here. Part 1 of the EOS 5D Mark IV vs Sony A7R III showdown was about color science, where Canon is the state of the art other have to reference.

Let’s talk ISO performance and resolution: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV vs Sony A7R III video-comparison

 

Sony A7R IIIvs EOS 5D Mark IV

Sony A7R III vs Canon EOS 5D Mark IV – Which one has better ISO performance?

Photographer and reviewer Dustin Abbott posted part 3 of his Canon EOS 5D Mark IV () vs Sony A7R III () showdown. This episode examines high ISO performance and resolution of the two cameras.

Part 2 was about dynamic range, Canon isn’t exactly famous for being industry leading here. Part 1 of the EOS 5D Mark IV vs Sony A7R III showdown was about color science, where Canon is the state of the art other have to reference.