Vlogging cameras have quietly become the new entry-level cameras, heralding a new kind of first-time camera owner
(Image credit: Sony)
It happened so quietly that most people barely even noticed it, but it is absolutely undeniable: vlogging cameras are the new entry-level cameras – and with them, the industry is welcoming a completely new kind of entry-level camera user.
Everywhere you look, manufacturers are pushing vlogging cameras instead of their traditional entry-level cameras – and the reason is so obvious. Going back at least two years, market trends showed that while the traditional camera market has been shrinking in every other sector, the single growth area is in vlogging. Not video, but specifically vlogging – driven in principal by YouTubers and content creators.
"It can be said that vlogging cameras are entry-level machines that expand the base of camera users," wrote Japanese business daily, Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun.
"Camera manufacturers are competing in the video blog (vlog) market… Each company has equipped their products with functions necessary for vlog shooting," it continues, observing that Sony has even launched the dedicated Vlogcam line (known as the ever-growing ZV product line in the West, currently consisting of five separate cameras).
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"While domestic camera companies are entering the vlog market one after another, small video cameras developed by GoPro in the United States are also sweeping the market."
My colleague Hannah was recently lamenting the demise of traditional entry-level DSLRs, and wondering where all the entry-level cameras have gone. The answer, it seems, is that they've become vlogging cameras – and the people who buy their first cameras aren't beginner photographers any more, now they're beginner vloggers.
We need to stop thinking of entry-level camera buyers as being photo-oriented. The truth is that, no matter how much the industry wants to entice smartphone shooters to upgrade to a "proper camera" for better image quality, the best camera phones are more than good enough for the vast majority of people.
So the next time you're watching some hapless YouTuber online, or you see someone on the street shooting with a gimbal or Gorillapod, don't snicker – these people are the lifeblood, and possibly the very future, of the camera industry.
The editor of Digital Camera World, James has 21 years experience as a journalist and started working in the photographic industry in 2014 (as an assistant to Damian McGillicuddy, who succeeded David Bailey as Principal Photographer for Olympus). In this time he shot for clients like Aston Martin Racing, Elinchrom and L'Oréal, in addition to shooting campaigns and product testing for Olympus, and providing training for professionals. This has led him to being a go-to expert for camera and lens reviews, photo and lighting tutorials, as well as industry news, rumors and analysis for publications like Digital Camera Magazine, PhotoPlus: The Canon Magazine, N-Photo: The Nikon Magazine, Digital Photographer and Professional Imagemaker, as well as hosting workshops and talks at The Photography Show. He also serves as a judge for the Red Bull Illume Photo Contest. An Olympus and Canon shooter, he has a wealth of knowledge on cameras of all makes – and a fondness for vintage lenses and instant cameras.