TOKYO: Major Japanese camera manufacturers are ramping up their mirrorless offerings as they seek to tap growing demand for advanced features, such as artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted shooting, Kyodo News Agency reported.
While global shipment volumes of digital cameras have declined with the rise of camera-equipped smartphones, makers are moving to seize new business opportunities amid an era of high-quality content creation driven by social media.
According to the Camera and Imaging Products Association, global shipments of digital cameras by major Japanese manufacturers totalled 8.49 million units in 2024, less than 10 per cent of the peak of 121.46 million units in 2010.
But mirrorless cameras are helping to boost numbers, with global shipments rising 22.5 per cent in the first six months of 2025 from the same period last year.
Meanwhile, single-lens reflex cameras (SLR) fell 21.5 per cent.
Unlike SLR cameras that use a mirror and prism system to enable the photographer to look through the lens, mirrorless cameras show an image through an electronic viewfinder and tend to be smaller and lighter.
The push towards higher functionality has driven up the average unit price of digital cameras more than sixfold in the past 12 years, skyrocketing from 15,000 yen in 2012 to 97,100 yen last year.
Actual retail prices are higher once distribution costs are factored in, but industry insiders say that demand is growing for high-performance models that have features beyond those of smartphones.
In April, Nikon Corp launched the Z5II, featuring AI-powered subject detection, making focusing on moving subjects easier. The model is popular among young people and is frequently used to post on social media platforms.
Fujifilm Corp recently released its own AI-equipped mirrorless camera — the X-E5 — while the EOS R50 V released by Canon Inc in May features a tripod mount on its side to accommodate vertical video shooting.
Sony Corp — the maker of the world’s first full-frame mirrorless camera, rolled out in 2013 — released the VLOGCAM ZV-E10 II, the sixth model in its vlogging camera lineup, in August last year. — BERNAMA-KYODO
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
