The Panasonic Lumix L10. The OM System PEN. The Sigma FP2. The Sony FX5. Those newly launched cameras have a key problem in common: pre-orders were so high that the cameras became backordered, often in a matter of just days. Now, a major camera retailer in Japan is warning of a decreased supply in the camera industry.
The insight comes from Map Camera, a major camera retailer in Japan, who recently shared its latest sales figures. The camera retailer said (machine-translated from Japanese) that while demand has remained strong, sales have dropped “due to factors such as a decrease in supply from manufacturers and a delay in the launch of new products compared to initial projects.”
Between the high number of newly announced cameras that quickly became backordered, the rising costs of memory, and camera makers warning of increased difficulty with supply, 2026 has continued to hint at signs of decreased supply.
Creators in 2026 are facing higher memory costs amid the growth of AI and rapid expansion of data centers – but the rising cost of memory could be affecting the cost and availability of parts for cameras as well. Several manufacturers have warned investors of these rising costs, including Canon, Sony, Nikon, and Fujifilm.
Just last month, Canon told investors that it would raise camera prices in 2027 if higher material costs continued. At the same time, Canon said that its previous plans to increase compact camera production again before the end of the year wouldn’t reach its original goal due to supply shortages.
Viral compact cameras have had long backorders well before 2026, with the rise of the compact camera trend making popular models like the Fujifilm X100VI and Canon G7 X Mark III nearly impossible to find in stock. But many of the newly announced cameras in 2026 have quickly become backordered – and not just compact cameras like the Lumix L10 but mirrorless cameras and cinema cameras as well.
Camera launches in 2026 also seem to number fewer new models than in previous years, fueling speculation that the rising cost and increasing scarcity of memory are squeezing not just photographers but camera makers too.
An unusual number of mirrorless and advanced compact cameras launched in 2026 have faced backorders and initial supply shortages in at least one region.
Among the largest camera makers, brands have introduced eight major mirrorless announcements in 2026 so far – the Sigma FP2, Nikon Z5IIC, Canon EOS R8 Mark II, OM System PEN, Leica SL3-P, Sony FX5, Canon EOS R6 V and Sony A7R VI – and two large-sensor compact cameras with the Ricoh GR IV Monochrome and Panasonic Lumix L10. (To define “major launches,” I excluded anything with a sensor smaller than Micro Four Thirds, like the GoPro Mission 1 Pro ILS, and excluded purpose-built cameras like the OM System OM-3 Astro.)
Of those recent launches, the Sigma FP2, OM System PEN, Panasonic Lumix L10, Sony FX5, and Ricoh GR IV Monochrome have faced initial backorders in at least one region shortly after launch. That’s five out of 11, or 45 percent, of the major cameras launched in 2026 facing initial backorders in at least one region.
Some of those backorders were regional and resolved quickly. The OM System PEN, for example, was so backordered in Japan that the launch date was pushed back to November, but the camera is readily available at US retailers currently. Cameras like the Sony FX5 faced initial backorders due to popularity, but the FX5 was then further delayed to correct a production problem.
While quarterly financial reports and numbers like those from Map Camera hint that supply is a concern for the largest camera makers, what’s unclear is how severe that shortage is.
The latest numbers from the Camera and Imaging Association, for example, show that camera sales have declined slightly in 2026 to 95.7 percent of last year’s numbers, but production has seen a smaller drop at 96.9 percent. That suggests that production hasn’t declined as much as actual camera sales.
Regardless, the number of cameras facing initial backorders and the brands' warnings of supply shortages suggest that supply in the camera industry could be a trend to watch moving into 2027.
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