DSLR Camera Sales Soar

A review of Photo Marketing Association (PMA) figures are expected to show that camera unit sales of DSLRs have soared by 350,000 since 2004, which is an eight hundred percent increase.

By the end of 2008 PMA predicts the number of DSLRs sold to total around 400,000 units. Compare that to four years ago when the figure stood at around 50,000.

DSLR growth has impacted point and shoot cameras. There has been a corresponding decline in digital compact sales.

PMA went on to say that this year will witness 'the first decline in overall value of the digital camera market for many years'.

They added that while it may only be a small decline of sales, perhaps of the order of 1%. However it shows the steady price erosion of average camera values over the previous years, a steady decline which is no longer capable of being offset by the higher value DSLR sales, as has happened in previous years sales.

Further review of the stats show that overall annual unit sales of digital cameras in the United Kingdom  remains constant at around 6.5 million units, according to the photo trade body. The total sales volume of the UK's digital camera market stands at around £900m.