Until 30 March, you can save 30% on your Luminar purchase (click here) when you use our checkout code ‘SAR30’.

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The Nikkei newspaper has published an article about the current state of digital camera shipments based on data from CIPA. Digicameinfo had access to the article behind the paywall and wrote this summary:

• Global shipments of digital cameras, including mirrorless single-lens cameras, are expected to recover to their highest level in nine years in 2024. The driving force behind this is the demand for “instaworthy” photos posted on social media by China’s young Generation Z. Young people who are not satisfied with smartphone cameras are purchasing high-performance products.
• The Camera and Imaging Products Association (CIPA) announced on the 3rd that global shipments of digital cameras in 2012 were 824.7 billion yen, up 15% from 2013. This is the fourth consecutive year of growth, and the highest level since 2015 (885.4 billion yen).
• The increasing sophistication of cameras pushes up product prices. The average price in the global market was about 97,000 yen in 2024, a fourfold increase over the past decade. By demonstrating capabilities not available in smartphones, it appears that the market’s shrinking trend, particularly in the high-end price range, has been halted.

It seems that China’s Generation Z is the driving force behind the recovery of the digital camera market, so we may see an increase in cameras aimed at this generation in the future.

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You get the 4-Pack Airtags for $64 only at Amazon (click here). I use them to track all my gear with these tools.

Reminder: Last week I reported about the new  Elevation Lab TagVault AirTag tripod Plate you can get for $19 on Amazon (click here).

Hot deal reminder:

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Last year I reported that Sony completed the production run of the Sony RX10 IV and there is no plan for a successor model. DigitalCameraWorld now makes the case why we still need those superzoom bridge cameras. They write:

Bridge cameras offer zoom that smartphones and even some mirrorless can’t reach, so why are there so few of them?

the bridge camera is the point-and-shoot but with a bazooka of a lens on the front, with zoom ranges from 20x to even 125x. Even the best smartphone cameras and camera binoculars pale in comparison compared to the far-reaching powers of a superzoom.

Photographers will want to stick with mirrorless, but bridge cameras offer both zoom and simplicity that appeal to non-photographers that just can’t get close enough with a smartphone. Just look at all the influencers raving about the small zooms on compact lenses like the Canon G7 X because they’ve realized how much more flattering a zoom lens is over a wide angle. The lens matters and is one of the reasons compact cameras are trending.

About the Sony RX10IV they writes:

While there are plenty of super zoom cameras still available, most of them are starting to show their age. The Sony RX10 IV, the current leader on the list of best bridge cameras, launched in 2017. Despite the age, it tops my recommendations because of a larger sensor and a 24-600mm zoom range.

But in their opinion, a new model with all the new features such as AI recognition, super-fast autofocus, etc. would make the device a bestseller. What do you think?

Mapcamera listed the top 10 best selling cameras in February:

1. FUJIFILM X100VI
2. Nikon Z50II
3. RICOH GR IIIx
4. RICOH GR III
5. SONY α7C II
6. FUJIFILM X-T50
7. Panasonic LUMIX DC-TZ99
8. Nikon Zf
9. Leica D-LUX8
10. SONY α7IV

Sony is starting to fall behind with no new affordable camera in the past 8 months: No A7V, no fixed lens RX, no true vintage model. We need something new from Sony don’t you agree?

Note: And this is their ranking for USED cameras:

1. Canon EOS R5
2. Nikon Z50
3. SONY α1
4. Canon EOS R3
5. SONY α7III
6. Nikon Z fc
7. Nikon Z f
8. Canon EOS R7
9. SONY α7RV
10. SONY α7C II