Finally we got the detailed CIPA camera and lens shipment data for the whole year 2023. It contains a lot of interesting data:

• Shipment of cameras (fixed and interchangeable) did drop by 3,6% in terms of numbers and increased by 4.9% in terms of value.
• Shipment of mirrorless cameras increased by 18,6% in terms of numbers and increased by 10,9% in terms of value.
• Shipment of DSLR cameras did drop by 36% in terms of numbers and increased by 28,9% in terms of value.
• Shipment of fixed lens cameras did drop by 17,4% in terms of numbers and increased by 8,9% in terms of value.
• Shipment of interchangeable lenses did drop by 0,9% in terms of numbers and increased by 6,7% in terms of value.

What does this tell us? The decade long decline stopped. In terms of value both mirrorless and lens sames increased quite a bit. So overall we can look forward to a 2024 that should have a similar pace like 2023 had. And this is good as manufacturer now don’t have to fear the market will shrink further.

Is Micro Four Thirds “Really” In Trouble???

Today deals at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon FR, Amazon IT, FotoErhardt DE, FotoKoch DE.
This is Why I Love the Micro Four Thirds / MFT System of my OM System OM-1 Camera (Guido Van De Water).
Placing the World’s Blackest Material Inside a LENS (Mathieu Stern).
From Stills to Motion: A Photographer’s Guide to Shooting Video (Explora).
How to Overpower the Sun with Flash Photography (42West).

Plenty of news on the facebook OMD group, Panasonic FF and the GH5 group.
I kindly invite you all to follow me on Youtube, Instagram, Threads for more broader camera talk :)

Preorders:
OM-1II at Amazon US&CA&EU, BHphoto, Adorama, Om Digital,
FotoErhardt, Calumet, WexUK. OM Germany, OM UK, OM, Italy, OM France.
150-600mm at Amazon US&CA&EU, BHphoto, Adorama, Om Digital,
FotoErhardt, Calumet, WexUK. OM Germany, OM UK, OM, Italy, OM France.
9-18mm at Amazon US&CA&EU, BHphoto, Adorama, Om Digital,
FotoErhardt, Calumet, WexUK. OM Germany, OM UK, OM, Italy, OM France.

PetaPixel posted a Safari hands-on test of the OM-1II and the new 150-600mm lens.

Micro Four Thirds Has Awesome Kit Lenses!

Today deals at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon FR, Amazon IT, FotoErhardt DE, FotoKoch DE.
Lord Of The Rings!!! – Aperture Ring That Is!!! (Grant Robert).
LUMIX Live: Just Chatting, New Lens AMA
An Introduction to Color Calibration (Explora).
Tips for Taking Character Portraits (42West).

Plenty of news on the facebook OMD group, Panasonic FF and the GH5 group.
I kindly invite you all to follow me on Youtube, Instagram, Threads for more broader camera talk :)

Preorders:
OM-1II at Amazon US&CA&EU, BHphoto, Adorama, Om Digital,
FotoErhardt, Calumet, WexUK. OM Germany, OM UK, OM, Italy, OM France.
150-600mm at Amazon US&CA&EU, BHphoto, Adorama, Om Digital,
FotoErhardt, Calumet, WexUK. OM Germany, OM UK, OM, Italy, OM France.
9-18mm at Amazon US&CA&EU, BHphoto, Adorama, Om Digital,
FotoErhardt, Calumet, WexUK. OM Germany, OM UK, OM, Italy, OM France.

Jermey Grey posted an interesting “optimistic” article about OM Digital. I am only going to report the key message:

The OM-1 Mark II has landed with more of a whimper than a bang. It’s a great camera but there’s not much new about it. However, the rush to pass judgment on what the lack of novel features means for the future of OM System and Micro Four Thirds at large is premature.

Despite what appears from the outside to have been a relatively smooth transition, it is imperative to understand that any disruption to research and development or engineering time has a cascading effect.

Production and manufacturing tasks, even if they’re only briefly stopped, cannot be instantly restarted. A disturbance to camera and lens development has repercussions that last years.

I remain optimistic, perhaps naïve, that photographers have not seen much of OM Digital Solutions’ meaningful work. We’re approaching the time frame when OM Digital Solutions’ product teams will be wrapping up work they began when Olympus completed the sale of its photo business, and that assumes that the transitional period was as smooth inside OMDS as it appeared from the outside.

I hope that photographers will stay patient for just a bit longer. The wait may very well be worth it.