Camera sales are better than they’ve been in years, but compact cameras are showing the largest jump in price

Camera sales are continuing to show steady growth, according to the latest numbers from the Camera and Imaging Product Association (CIPA)’s latest data. But while both interchangeable lens cameras and fixed lens cameras are seeing more shipments in 2025 than the year before, the data suggests compact cameras are seeing the biggest increase in price.

CIPA tracks production and shipment of cameras using two key statistics: the number of cameras shipped and the value of those cameras in Japanese yen. Data hints that 2025 could be the best year for camera sales since 2019, with the first half of the year showing 116.6 percent growth.

CIPA’s numbers for August – the latest data available – indicate a continuation of that trend, with global shipments for January through August for all digital still cameras at 111.8% of the same time frame last year. That’s nearly 5.9 million digital still cameras shipped worldwide.

While the data shows growth for both interchangeable lens cameras and the trendy compact camera, the fixed lens category shows the highest increase in price metrics. In the first eight months of 2025, worldwide shipments in yen for cameras with a built-in lens are at 145.9% compared to the same time period last year. The number of compact cameras shipped, however, sits at 122.8% compared to last year.

So far this year, just under ¥93.5 billion worth of cameras with built-in lenses have shipped worldwide, which is about $623 million / £462 million / AU$941 million. Divvy that up by the 1,469,734 fixed lens cameras shipped, and the average value for those cameras is about $424 / £313 / AU$640. That’s compared to a $357 / £265 / AU$539 average from the same time period last year.

Cameras with interchangeable lenses are also showing growth for 2025, but not quite as high. Worldwide shipments of cameras with interchangeable lenses are at 108.5% of last year’s numbers so far. Interchangeable lens cameras still far outsell compact cameras, with more than 4.4 million shipped in the first eight months of 2025.

The value of those camera shipments, however, hasn’t increased as much, at 101.3% of the previous year’s numbers when tracking shipments by yen instead of the number shipped. Mirrorless cameras sit at 114.5% in number shipped compared to last year, but 103.5 when tracking the value.

DSLR shipments continue to slow at 75.4% in number shipped and 70.1% in value shipped, indicating the price is dropping faster than the number of cameras being shipped.

While 2025 is trending upwards for camera sales, August was a slower month, sitting at 79.1% of total cameras shipped compared to July. Compared to August of 2025, however, that number sits at 91.4%. Broken down by category, cameras with built-in lenses are at 125% and interchangeable lens cameras at 83.2% of August 2024 numbers.

CIPA has also recently started tracking shipment numbers by sensor size. While the relative newness of this tracking means there’s no 2024 data to compare to, the August 2025 data indicates that shipments of interchangeable cameras with sensors less than full-frame were at 84% of the previous month, where full-frame and larger were at 69.7% of the previous month in cameras shipped worldwide.

So far in 2025, the number of smaller sensor interchangeable lens cameras shipped is about one million units higher than those with full-frame or higher sensors.

CIPA data tracks only member companies, but that list includes some of the biggest players in the camera industry, including Canon, Fujifilm, Nikon, OM System, Panasonic, Ricoh, Sigma and Sony.

You may also like

Browse the best compact cameras, the best mirrorless cameras, or the best cameras for beginners.