How has Covid-19 impacted the photography industry?

IN SOME ways, the question in our headline could be answered in one word – ‘badly’ – and we could get on with the rest of the issue. Yet the story is more nuanced than that. While it’s certainly the case that the pandemic has hit camera makers, retailers and photography businesses hard, it has also brought about some positive, and some would say, overdue changes, particularly in terms of more imaginative customer interaction. Necessity is, as they say, the mother of invention.

Camera and lens makers

As our sidebar (opposite page) shows, it’s been a challenging year for the big makers already buffeted by the threat of smartphones, global