WHAT HAPPENED IN 2019?
For all the exciting new kit and F 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 even 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
