WHAT HAPPENED IN 2019?

An overview of the year in new cameras

For all the exciting new kit and technological innovations that were ushered in, it’s difficult to look at 2019 without feeling a pit in the stomach. The year started with a stark prognostication, as Canon CEO Fujio Mitarai warned in January that the camera market would contract for two years and would ultimately shrink by as much as 50%, mainly due to smartphone use. Things appeared bleaker in February, with the annual report by LensVid noting that the market has collapsed by 84% since 2010.

The lifeline identified by most manufacturers was to pare down production of lower‑end products (those most likely to be made redundant by camera phones) and focus on higher‑spec bodies – the kit favoured by professionals and business users.

It also became clear that DSLR sales, in particular, were bottoming out. Mirrorless cameras officially came of age in 2018, when Canon and Nikon joined the full‑frame party, but in 2019 it became undeniable that mirrorless cameras are no longer some quirky alternative to DSLRs; in much the same way as smartphones took over from flip phones and Nokias, mirrorless systems are virtually the new standard in the industry.

The issue of full‑frame versus cropped sensors also became something of a non‑issue in 2019, for two main reasons. Firstly, APS‑C cameras continued to enjoy strong sales – to the point that Fujifilm’s Toshihisa Iida not only dismissed Canon’s grim predictions, but reminded everyone that the industry is much bigger than full‑frame.

That’s also true in literal terms, too, bringing us to the second reason: medium format was even further democratised in 2019, with everything from GFX bodies to Hasselblads becoming more affordable. So here’s a look at the major events over the past year.