Photographic technology seems to rebel against any attempt to speculate about its future. In 2023, something has been recorded that would have been disconcerting three years ago: Fujifilm, one of the largest photography companies in the world, once again relies heavily on sales of chemical photography products.
Its Instax cameras and instant film reels account for 24% of this company's current sales. A very striking figure because Fujifilm is a multinational that has numerous divisions. They range from medical instruments to beauty products.
The data is surprising for another reason. In the world before the advent of digital cameras, Fujifilm was the second largest manufacturer of photographic film behind Kodak. That a large part of its income today once again depends on chemical photography is something that no one in the Japanese company itself could suspect a few years ago.
Conclusion: chemical photography is experiencing a renaissance that can no longer be considered a passing fad. There are many data that point in that direction: the difficulty in finding film or how the old glories of chemical photography, such as camera mechanic Antonio del Solar, triumph on TikTok.
Harman, one of the largest companies producing black and white reels, has just surprised with the launch of a new color reel. The first to be developed in the world from scratch in years.
But it is not only the world of chemical photographic technology that is causing us surprises. With the end of the pandemic and the return of tourism in a big way, interchangeable lens cameras have once again sold well. But taking photos of our trips is not the only reason that leads us to use a camera other than the phone.
Mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras, which have taken the place left by old SLR technology, have increased their sales by 20% annually in the first third of 2023.
This market only grew by 9% in Europe, but shot up to 44% in China. In fact, this year we have had the opportunity to try new very interesting mirrorless cameras when traveling.
The Sony A6700 was launched before the summer season and we were surprised by its extreme speed when focusing and taking photos. But also for the great quality of its videos. The fact of having an APS-C sensor, far from being a problem, is an incentive for those who do not want to spend large amounts of money on lenses for full-frame cameras.
The Sony A6700 also incorporated some surprises, such as better compatibility with mobile phones, and above all, truly incredible artificial intelligence capabilities for focusing.
Another mirrorless camera that, like the Sony, seems to be designed for amateur photographers who want high-performance cameras, is the Panasonic Lumix G9 Mark II. An incredibly fast hybrid camera, ideal for shooting video and taking challenging photos.
Like the Sony A6700, this Panasonic does not incorporate a full-frame sensor, but rather uses a Micro Four Thirds sensor, ideal so that the price and size of the lenses does not skyrocket.
They are two good examples of cameras for those who have proven that it is not a good idea to take all photos with phones. Surely the rebound in camera sales is not decisive in why phone sales have decreased in the last two years, but in the world of photographic technology anything seems possible.
