Camera sales have slowed for the third time in 2026, according to the latest numbers from the Camera and Imaging Products Association (CIPA). June’s worldwide camera shipments were 94.2 percent of the same month last year.
The latest numbers collected from Japan’s camera makers show a six-month decline in shipments for every category except for compact cameras and crop-sensor interchangeable lens cameras.
The numbers from June show the third decline in camera shipments for the year, though total camera shipments overall for the first half of the year sit just above the break-even point at 100.5 percent of the numbers from the first half of 2025.
While the total camera shipments for the first half of 2026 sit slightly above last year's numbers, the type of cameras that are shipping has shifted. Only two categories show growth for the first half of the year.
The compact camera trend has continued to boost growth in the fixed-lens camera category. For the first half of 2026, fixed-lens cameras have shipped 116.2 percent of last year’s numbers. The June numbers for fixed-lens cameras, however, show a slight decline from the same time last year at 94.2 percent of June 2025 numbers.
The point-and-shoot camera has seen a steady revival in recent years, driven in part by digital minimalists wanting to take photos without a phone and an increasing trend for smaller cameras. However, compact camera sales are only about 42 percent of the sales for mirrorless cameras for the first half of 2026, leaving mirrorless as the dominant category.
While both DSLRs (72.8 percent) and mirrorless cameras (98.1 percent) show a drop in numbers for the first half of 2026, there’s one interchangeable lens format still posting slight growth for the year: crop-sensor cameras.
In the first six months of the year, interchangeable lens cameras with sensors smaller than full frame – such as APS-C and Micro Four Thirds – grew slightly at 102.8 percent of the same time frame last year. The crop sensor category traditionally sells more cameras than the full-frame and larger category, as it tends to be home to many budget-friendly cameras and beginner cameras.
While camera shipments have slowed in three out of the six months of data for 2026 so far, 2025 was the best year for the industry since 2019 and the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the slowdown in some categories, the overall numbers for the first half of 2026 are still well ahead of 2024’s numbers, with 4.35 million cameras shipped so far compared to 3.78 million in the first half of 2024.
CIPA data only includes sales from camera companies in Japan – but with major camera companies like Canon, Sony, Nikon, Fujifilm, Panasonic, Ricoh and OM System based in the region, the data is often a good indicator of the camera industry's health.
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