Point and Shoot Cameras are Basically Dead

limr · Sep 8, 2022

Wait, we're supposed to care because if fewer point and shoots are sold, there will be fewer people on photo forums? People who use point and shoots are generally not the ones joining photography forums. And even if forum membership declines, so what? People who share an interest/hobby/profession will always find a way to gather. It's already happened. It's not like we're all chatting on an old Telnet BBS, after all. If forums go away, something else will take its place. I find very little reason to fuss about declining point and shoot sales.

misterjones · Sep 9, 2022

dolina said:
CIPA global shipping figures tells a different story

1999: 1st year CIPA published global shipping figures
2010: All time high global shipping figures
2017-2022: Last 6 years

Year
1999
2010
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022 forecast
Total Cameras
5,088,207
121,463,234
24,978,486
19,423,371
15,216,957
8,886,292
8,361,521
7,850,000
Point & Shoot
-
108,576,298
13,302,797
8,663,574
6,755,467
3,578,643
3,013,250
2,560,000
Total SLR & Mirrorless
-
12,886,936
11,675,689
10,759,797
8,461,490
5,307,649
5,348,271
5,290,000
SLR
-
12,886,936
7,595,708
6,620,999
4,504,987
2,374,569
2,241,772
-
Mirrorless
-
-
4,079,981
4,138,798
3,956,503
2,933,080
3,106,499
-
Worldwide population
6.034 billion
6.922 billion
7.509 billion
7.592 billion
7.673 billion
7.753 billion
7.9 billion
8 billion
% of worldwide population relative to cameras shipped that year
0.0843%
1.7547%
0.3326%
0.2558%
0.1983%
0.1146%
0.1078%
0.1013%

Enthusiast & professionals using dSLR & mirrorless may largely left unchanged.
Consumers are not upgrading, delaying upgrades or never bought dSLR & mirrorless

This is reflective on how many full frame & APS-C cameras there are among the top 3 camera brands

Full frame camera bodies dominate the enthusiast & professional user
APS-C camera bodies dominate the consumer user

As of today these are the camera body-only SKU with USA warranty listed on https://www.bhphotovideo.com/

Brand
Canon
Sony
Nikon
Age of Full Frame Mirrorless Mount
4
12
4
Mirrorless APS-C
2 (RF-S mount) + 2 (EF-M mount)
4
3
Mirrorless Full Frame
5
9
4

I think a big hole in charts like this comes from the fact that many professionals and enthusiasts don't upgrade cameras all that often, so naturally sales will drop as people find a camera they're comfortable with. If anything, they're going to buy lenses over and over in the case of DSLR owners. I've been running with the same camera (my S4500) since I got it for xmas in 2012. Earlier that same year my oldest daughter took up photography in college and bought a camera similar to mine, an S4300. The camera suited my needs for all these years and I saw no reason to upgrade until this year when I decided it was time to go DSLR (same for her, she's had it ever since and is only now interested in an DSLR). Also, second hand sales are a thing, particularly with people testing the waters with photography as an interest so those sales are not being counted. The DSLR and lenses I bought at the beginning of the year I got from a pawn shop I happened to stop in while looking for music equipment. I have a niece that's getting into photography and was gifted two DSLR's by my stepfather ( a veteran freelance photog) as well as a couple of lenses from me so while she's new to photography, her equipment isn't counted.

In a nutshell, there are people still buying cameras, but it's possible they're just buying them second hand, especially with the economy the way it's been for some years now.

RacePhoto · Sep 9, 2022

What I should have written was, yes P&S cameras are dead as are many other levels of digital cameras for consumers. The Phone does what they need and that's Good Enough.

For comparison, some people drive a compact car, others a SUV and some choose a hotter model. But racing and sports enthusiasts will get a Porsche, 911, a Ferrari or a Corvette. I have a minivan. All of the above could go for groceries, or work for commuting. Some of them have much more potential for speed and cornering.

Some cameras are much better at making large high quality images. Phones and P&S aren't those cameras in any case. But for recording everyday life, holidays, concerts, anything else, phones are just fine.

What's the old line? What's the best camera? The one you have with you. :encouragement:

dolina · Oct 27, 2022

Gen Z is Bringing Back Digital Cameras of the Early 2000s

The most unexpected camera trend of 2022 so far.

petapixel.com

cgw · Oct 27, 2022

dolina said:
https://petapixel.com/2022/10/26/gen-z-is-bringing-back-digital-cameras-of-the-early-2000s/[/URL

Nano-trends like these last about as long as a medium-strength hangover--thankfully.

dolina · Oct 27, 2022

cgw said:
Nano-trends like these last about as long as a medium-strength hangover--thankfully.

It is also possible that writers ran out of ideas for their quota that week.

RacePhoto · Oct 28, 2022

dolina said:
It is also possible that writers ran out of ideas for their quota that week.

Now that makes some sense! Nothing in the news, so they create news from the minimal scraps. I loved the list of best P&S cameras. Really? You'll see my answer below, any camera that uses those and a SD card, not some Mfg. specific like some tried to force on us.

Hey, lets not forget there are whole groups of Analog photographers, that are into old equipment, why not P&S cameras?

My ride along for years was an A400 until I upgraded to something "better" and A1200 Canon. 12MP P&S that rode between the seats in the car, in case I needed to grab a shot. The reason I picked those models was pretty basic - they use standard AA batteries, which can be found anywhere, instead of some specific rechargeable.

The same camera also fit into my photo vest pocket for walking around, if I wasn't taking a real camera.

iPhone SE here, I'm still in the dark ages. Car camera is now a T2i with a 28-135 and other than the size, it's essentially a large format P&S? :encouragement:

AlanKlein · Oct 28, 2022

RacePhoto said:
Now that makes some sense! Nothing in the news, so they create news from the minimal scraps. I loved the list of best P&S cameras. Really? You'll see my answer below, any camera that uses those and a SD card, not some Mfg. specific like some tried to force on us.

Hey, lets not forget there are whole groups of Analog photographers, that are into old equipment, why not P&S cameras?

My ride along for years was an A400 until I upgraded to something "better" and A1200 Canon. 12MP P&S that rode between the seats in the car, in case I needed to grab a shot. The reason I picked those models was pretty basic - they use standard AA batteries, which can be found anywhere, instead of some specific rechargeable.

The same camera also fit into my photo vest pocket for walking around, if I wasn't taking a real camera.

iPhone SE here, I'm still in the dark ages. Car camera is now a T2i with a 28-135 and other than the size, it's essentially a large format P&S?

I've got a Canon Elph Sd750 or a Canon S95 if you're interested.

PhotoHobbyist · Nov 7, 2022

Todays P&S cameras now have advanced super zoom and image stabilization that phones can't match. They can catch things that otherwise would be missed. My Canon SX720 with 40X analog zoom extended with 160X digital zoom took pic of a sign hanging from a stop light that was barely visible.

RacePhoto · Nov 12, 2022

AlanKlein said:
I've got a Canon Elph Sd750 or a Canon S95 if you're interested.

Mine are just for fun now and the funny thing is, last one I couldn't resist was the SD750 at a church resale shop, for $2.99 - complete, with manuals, in the original box.

Just realized one more reason, other than standard batteries, that I like the Powershot series. They have a viewfinder.

Back on topic. P&S and pocket cameras are history. If demand is anything to set the company policy, I can't imagine anything much new being developed.

dolina · Feb 18, 2023

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.

Year	2019	2020	2021	2022
Total Cameras	15,216,957	8,886,292	8,361,521	8,011,598
Point & Shoot	6,755,467	3,578,643	3,013,250	2,084,865
Total SLR & Mirrorless	8,461,490	5,307,649	5,348,271	5,926,733
SLR	4,504,987	2,374,569	2,241,772	1,853,222
Mirrorless	3,956,503	2,933,080	3,106,499	4,073,511
% of Point & Shoots	44.39%	40.27%	36.04%	26.02%
% of SLR & Mirrorless	55.61%	59.73%	63.96%	73.98%

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

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.

JoeW · Feb 18, 2023

Not quite obsolete or dead. Just not as popular. But I know of a couple of photographers who got point and shoot cameras recently to use to shoot underwater (like snorkeling). And I'm not sure how I see a phone replacing that capability.

Rickbb · Feb 18, 2023

I remember a time when any autofocus and auto exposure camera was considered a point and shoot.

AlanKlein · Feb 18, 2023

JoeW said:
Not quite obsolete or dead. Just not as popular. But I know of a couple of photographers who got point and shoot cameras recently to use to shoot underwater (like snorkeling). And I'm not sure how I see a phone replacing that capability.

I find cellphones terrible to use as a vacation or party camera except when shooting off the cuff. You can't see it's screen in sun and trying to hold and shoot is just so ergonomically poor. The flash is weaker and there's no zoom. Night shots have too many artifacts.