Photography Is Changing and Your Favorite Brands Must Adapt or Die

The world of photography has undergone significant transformations over the past few years. More changes are happening now, and it’s fascinating to see it evolve and affect our photography. Companies need to adapt or face extinction.

In the past, to obtain high-quality camera accessories, one had to purchase from a select few well-established, traditional brands. Consequently, you paid premium prices for them through big retailers. If on a tight budget, you could find cheaper alternatives. However, the build quality was usually poor, and they would not last long, even with the lightest use.

The market has changed. There are now increasing numbers of superb devices with new names that are producing some great gear at lower costs.

Of course, much of this equipment comes from China. Historically, it seemed as though that country was mass-producing solely low-grade goods. However, in much the same way Japan took the lead in producing electronics following the Second World War, Chinese manufacturers, mainly based in the Guangdong Province city of Shenzhen, have progressed. They now produce first-class equipment equal to the older brands. Names like Benro, Leofoto, Treeroot, Falcam, 7Artisans, TTArtisan, Laowa (Venus Optics), Neewer, and Godox are shaking up the markets.

Concentrating less on high-street retailers or shunning them completely, they take advantage of the distribution and logistics of online marketplaces. Moreover, many Asian manufacturers are undercutting the big names by just enough to win over customers. Those lower prices are good news for consumers, but a warning to old-style manufacturers: to survive, they need to start thinking about changing their strategies and learning from the approach adopted by these younger brands.

'They Are Copying Designs!,' Shouts Mr Angry 

One complaint made about Chinese goods is that designs are stolen. Indeed, there have been some high-profile cases of Chinese manufacturers blatantly copying the designs of goods from the U.S. and Europe. But it is an unfair exaggeration to say every Chinese company does it. We are seeing innovations and unique designs coming from some of the Chinese companies.

Furthermore, it ignores the fact that companies in the U.S. are suspected of the same. For example, Masimo, a medical device company that produces blood oxygen monitoring equipment, accused Apple of stealing trade secrets and infringing patents. That led to a temporary ban on certain Apple Watch models in the U.S. in late 2023, and Apple subsequently disabled the oxygen monitoring feature using that technology. Similarly, Amazon has faced patent infringement lawsuits, as have other big companies.

Camera companies also copy ideas from others. For example, Olympus (now OM System)—among many other innovations—introduced five-axis image stabilization, Pro Capture (the camera buffers images when the shutter is half-pressed), and automatic sensor cleaning. These features soon caught on with other manufacturers and are featured in many different models. Then, Canon’s EOS R5 was the first to include AI-based subject detection, which is now common in other brands’ top models. Also, the Fujifilm X100S was the first to feature a hybrid autofocus, which has been widely adopted.

Copying technology is nothing new. In the 1960s, Soviet Russia produced cameras that were very similar to Leica models. Subsequently, there were cries of design theft.

Is Your Camera Brand Safe?

Although affecting the accessories market, so far, the new manufacturers are not damaging interchangeable lens camera sales. But it may be only a matter of time before that happens.

Cheap, low-quality digital cameras can be found online. If the same pattern follows as has happened with tripods, third-party lenses, and flashes, then we will start to see better cameras coming from Shenzhen too. If they undercut the prices of the current brands and offer good quality products, the well-known brands of the past will suffer unless they adapt.

Collaboration and Compatibility Are Key to Success

Although small, Leica is a growing company with 14% growth in 2023/2024 to approximately $577 million. Its collaborations and expansion into mobile imaging helped it reach a tech-savvy younger audience. It also has a strong lineup of high-quality cameras. Moreover, its premium pricing strategy, brand prestige, heritage, and new monoband stores all add to its success.

At the end of the last decade, the Russian-made Zenit M rangefinder camera was made in collaboration with Leica. That collaboration seems to have ended for obvious reasons, but Leica also works with Huawei and Xiaomi (both Chinese), Panasonic Lumix, and Sigma (both Japanese).

Similarly, Videndum, which owns Manfrotto, is showing continued growth, especially in the top-end creator and streaming markets. The company focused on expanding its product lines and digital presence, which influenced its profitability. Its brands include Gitzo, Wooden Camera, Sachtler, Teradek, Audix, Rycote, Colorama, Savage, Avenger, Lowepro, and JOBY. That diverse range will benefit from collaborating with others within the same company.

Peak Design ensures its ecosystem is internally compatible. It manufactures a high-end, environmentally friendly range of accessories that work together. For instance, the Travel Tripod fits in the side pocket of their rucksacks while those bags have provision for the Capture Camera Clip to attach to the strap. Their now widely copied modular Cube system works with most of their bags too.

Urth (formerly Gobe) has a similar approach, with a planet-friendly lineup of compatible first-class filters, bags, and accessories.

Other brands have succeeded by collaborating too; Zeiss worked with Vivo and Sony, while Hasselblad worked with OPPO and OnePlus.

How Is Canon Performing?

Meanwhile, some companies haven’t adopted that approach.

Canon is an insular company and, to date, has not collaborated as much as others. Historically, it has benefited from that approach. Moreover, they seem to have actively discouraged other companies’ gear from working with their equipment. For example, as widely reported, the excellent EOS R5 Mark II will not work fully, if at all, with third-party batteries. It also maintained control over the RF mounts and its autofocus protocols. Thankfully, Sigma and Tamron are now licensed to produce some RF lenses, but that lack of cooperation was off-putting for some potential buyers.

Does Canon suffer much as a result of its insularity? Although the quantity of its cameras shipped increased, its net income and operating profit reportedly dropped significantly in 2024. It blamed higher operating expenses, economic stagnation in key markets, plus increased R&D and production costs. However, other companies faced the same barriers and yet did not suffer.

Maybe it will change its approach and start seeking diversification through collaboration, like other companies are doing.

Successful Camera Collaborations

Mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras now outsell DSLRs. Globally, Sony sold the most mirrorless cameras in 2024 and now holds 26% of the market. Sony, of course, produces the sensors used in most other brands’ cameras and has its range of smartphones.

After a long-term decline in sales, Nikon is on its way up again with its successful Z-series cameras. It collaborates with a variety of companies and organizations across some advanced manufacturing and imaging industries.

Seeing success, too, is the OM System. In its fifth year since joining JIP, it had a successful brand revival strategy combined with strong sales. The recently released OM System OM-3 is currently the bestselling camera in Japan, a major success for a relatively small company. The brand is benefiting from being part of the JIP group. It has also acquired Toshiba, which makes phones. Will there be future collaborations there?

OM System and Panasonic Lumix are the ultimate collaborators, sharing the Micro Four Thirds ecosystem with eight camera lens companies and various cinema, security, medical, industrial, and drone manufacturers.

What Does the Future Hold?

A 2025 White House memorandum acknowledged a cost-of-living crisis, citing that many American families are overwhelmed by the high costs of daily necessities. This is a global phenomenon. If people are struggling to buy food, they won’t be buying camera gear. Furthermore, with international trade wars, increasing tariffs, military conflicts, and sanctions, barriers to businesses working together are growing.

We will need to wait until July 15 for the next Consumer Price Index (CPI) data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to see how the recent sanctions and wars are impacting the inflation figures. A healthy rate of inflation will be 2%, the target set by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

We might not see much divergence from that yet; there will be a delay in inflation in technology as retailers stocked up in anticipation of the recently imposed tariffs, and many are still selling the stock they bought before the new tariffs were imposed. However, the invasion of Israel into Gaza and the subsequent hostilities with Iran will probably increase oil prices, which in turn will push up distribution and manufacturing prices even further.

What Do You Think?

What do you think of these changes within the photography industry? It will be good to hear your thoughts and comments below.