The latest camera sales statistics indicate that 2025 is on track to be the best year for camera manufacturers in more than five years – but the latest data suggests DSLRs are declining almost as fast as compact cameras are climbing.
The Camera and Imaging Products Association (CIPA) shared the latest numbers for November 2025. The data puts worldwide camera shipments for the first 11 months of 2025 overall at more than 8.6 million, which is 110% of the same time frame in the previous year.
That puts 2025 on track to be the best year for camera companies since COVID-19, if December follows the same pattern.
But looking at the camera shipments broken down by type uncovers some more insight into the state of the photography industry. In November alone, compact camera shipments were 144.2% of the same month last year. Meanwhile, DSLR shipments declined to 51.7% of the November 2024 numbers.
That puts the growth of compact cameras in November less than 10 percentage points behind the decline of DSLR shipments.
The growth of compact cameras as the DSLR declines is a recurring trend in the data for 2025, as in the previous month, brands shipped five times more compact cameras than DSLRs.
While compact cameras are growing at a rate similar to how quickly DSLRs are declining, mirrorless remains the reigning champ out of the different camera forecasts.
In the first 11 months of 2025, brands shipped more than 5.76 million mirrorless cameras, a 110.7% change from the previous year. Meanwhile, in the same time period, cameras with built-in lenses sat at 2.21 million, and DSLRs can’t even be numbered in the millions at 638,749.
Looking at November only, shipments for both interchangeable lens and built-in lens cameras dropped compared to October. But that tracks with the previous year’s month-to-month pattern.
Looking at November 2025 compared to November 2024 rather than compared to October 2025, the numbers are up. Worldwide, total camera shipments are 104.1% of the same month last year, built-in lens cameras 144.2% and mirrorless 101.7%.
Combining mirrorless with DSLR, however, the number for interchangeable lens cameras dropped a bit compared to November 2024 at 93.5%.
For lenses, the first 11 months of 2025 are at about 101.9% of the same time last year for worldwide shipments. Lenses for full frame and larger have declined slightly at 96.4%, with lenses for cameras with sensors smaller than full frame at 106.9%.
While the numbers indicate 2025 is likely to be the best year for cameras since 2019, the 8.61 million shipments for the first 11 months of 2025 are still significantly behind the 14.16 million for the same time period in 2019.
CIPA takes about a month to tally the numbers, which means in early February the organization should have the year-end data for 2025 as a whole. The organization tracks only member companies, but that list includes key camera manufacturers like Canon, Fujifilm, Nikon, OM System, Panasonic, Ricoh, Sigma and Sony.
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