The September statistics from the Japanese Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA) show a sharp rebound shipments of cameras and lenses following a sharp dip in August.


This graph compares total camera shipments from Japanese companies over the past three years, showing a sharp decline in August 2025 followed by a strong bounce-back in September. (Source: CIPA.)

Following a high point in May, CIPA’s August graphs revealed a sharp dip in shipments of interchangeable-lens cameras and lenses, with a much shallower fall-off in shipments of cameras with built-in lenses. This coincided with a record-breaking heatwave in Japan, along with the 80th anniversaries of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the end of World War II, which may have deterred many people from buying new cameras and/or taking photos. The September graphs show both interchangeable-lens cameras and lenses to have bounced back to levels close to – or slightly above – previous years. This augurs well for the up-coming Christmas and New Year holiday period when cameras are often purchased for gifts.


This graph shows the shipments of interchangeable-lens cameras from Japanese companies to September 2025 compared with volumes over the past three years, which roughly parallels camera shipments. (Source: CIPA.)

Interestingly, shipments of compact, fixed-lens cameras have been more stable throughout the year than interchangeable-lens cameras and lenses and have remained higher than the levels set for the previous two years for the year so far. The average value of fixed-lens cameras has also risen, particularly for models like the Fujifilm X100 series and Leica Q series, with some models selling for significantly more than their original retail price, in response to strong demand. Market sources claim this demand has come from street and travel photographers seeking high-quality, convenient and portable cameras.


This graph compares the fixed-lens camera shipments from Japanese companies over the past three years, showing growth in shipments for the year to September 2025. (Source: CIPA.)

Readers should note that CIPA’s statistics are biased towards the Northern Hemisphere, where camera and lens sales usually peak in spring, then tend to flatten out in June when many people take their annual holidays. They increase again in September when work and school resume and people look forward to the holiday season around Christmas and New Year. They only involve data from Japanese manufacturers so information about cameras and lenses made by manufacturers in China, Germany or other countries is not included.