The camera slowdown has started. Camera shipments drop in the latest numbers from Japan, but compact cameras and mirrorless aren’t to blame

The Japanese Camera and Imaging Products Association predicted a slowdown in sales of cameras for 2026 – and that prediction is starting to show in the latest numbers. In the February 2026 CIPA numbers, worldwide camera shipments were 99.7 percent of the same time last year.

The February 2026 camera shipments are 97.2 percent of January’s numbers. Comparing the same month to the same time last year is often a better comparison that eliminates factors like seasonal sales, and those numbers look a bit better at 99.7 percent, indicating a very slight decline as major Japanese camera brands shipped 604,822 cameras in February.

Breaking those numbers down by category, cameras with built-in lenses – which includes the trendy compact camera category as well as bridge cameras – rose compared to February 2025 at 117.1 percent.

Cameras with interchangeable lenses, however, were 94.1 percent of the previous year’s numbers. The culprit? DSLRs, which are down to just 38.3 percent of last year’s numbers for the same month.

Mirrorless cameras saw a slight bump at 104.1 percent compared to last February. Lenses saw a slight decline with 98.1 worldwide shipments compared to February 2025.

Despite the minor drop in February, however, 2026 numbers overall are beating last year’s data so far. Adding January and February together, overall camera shipments were 107.2 percent of the same time last year, including a 110 percent change for mirrorless and 125.8 percent for compact cameras.

CIPA is predicting far slower growth for the camera market in 2026 than in 2025, with compact cameras predicted to grow at a slower rate and mirrorless cameras predicted to decline about 2.6 percent.

While that’s disappointing after 2025 was the best year for the camera industry in more than five years, CIPA seems to think the camera market will continue to stabilize – but that 2026 won’t have the same double-digit growth as last year, and as the month-by-month data starts to trickle out, the organization's 2026 predictions don’t seem far off. While there’s a slight decline, the organization overall expects stabilization rather than rapid growth or decline for this year.

The resurgence of compact cameras, the trend for retro cameras, and the growth of vlogging cameras for social media likely all played a role in helping stabilize the market last year. This year, camera companies are already facing rising costs for memory, as AI creates a demand for digital storage that’s creating a shortage for both consumers buying things like memory cards and external hard drives, and tech companies themselves.

The numbers follow a healthy January, which boasted a 115.6 percent jump from January 2025 numbers, but a 75.3 percent change in the month-to-month numbers from December’s holiday shopping heyday.

The CIPA data only tracks participating member companies in Japan, but that list includes a majority of major camera brands, including Canon, Sony, Nikon, Fujifilm, OM System, Panasonic, Sigma, and Tamron. Brands that are based outside of Japan, such as Leica, Kodak, and the growing number of Chinese lens brands, aren’t included in those numbers.

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