Camera Makers Went Weird in 2025 - and That's Exactly What the Shrinking Industry Needed

The camera industry shipped 6.5 million interchangeable lens cameras last year -- a 50% decline from 2010's peak -- yet 2025 may have been the most creatively ambitious year in nearly two decades of digital photography. DPReview's Richard Butler argues that this year's releases displayed 'invention, experimentation and niche-tickling lunacy' not seen since digital's earliest days.

Interchangeable lens shipments rose 11% in the first ten months of 2025 compared to last year, and fixed lens cameras climbed roughly 26%. The practical cameras arrived as expected: Panasonic's S1 II, Canon's EOS R6 III, and Sony's a7 V all delivered performance that 'can go toe-to-toe with the pro sports models of just a few years ago.' But the stranger releases drew attention.

Sony's RX1R III faced criticism for being a 'lazy update,' yet Butler found it 'small, fun to use and the pictures look great.' Leica launched the Q3 Monochrom, a $7,800 fixed-lens full-frame compact that cannot capture color. Fujifilm's X half targeted young buyers who might otherwise hunt for vintage compacts on eBay. The Sigma BF abandoned traditional camera design entirely -- no viewfinder, one dial, intentionally stylized.

'Look at some of this year's releases through a pragmatic lens of whether they're the best tool for the job, and the conclusion you'd typically draw is 'no,'' Butler wrote. These cameras 'aren't trying to be the best, the most flexible or the most practical. They're intentionally, knowingly niche.'

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