AFTER over a decade of bleak news about the key Japanese camera market, domestic research firm GfK Japan has reported positive growth for the first time in 13 years. According to GfK, sales volume in 2023 reached 1.2 million units, a year-on-year rise of 7%.
As widely reported in AP, demand for higher-end mirrorless cameras is helping reverse the trend, despite the ever-increasing photographic prowess of smartphones; makers can charge premium prices for top-end models, while stylish compacts, notably the Fujifilm X100VI, are all the rage, thanks in no small part to social media influencers. Indeed, unit sales of compacts rose by 6%, only three percentage points behind interchangeable-lens cameras. Kaoru Takeuchi, a science writer, made some perceptive comments on the story when it recently appeared on the website of…
