The Digital Cameras of 2009 in graphs and charts

Another month is in the books, so it is time to take a quick look at the new digital cameras of 2009, but this time, we are using pictures instead of text! You can see the complete play-by-play in text at the new digital cameras of 2009 page.

We start with the first graph below, showing the number of digital camera models announced by manufacturer in 2009. As you can see, Olympus, Samsung and Sony have the most new models so far this year, as they have been "squirting" cameras left and right.

The next graph below shows the total number of cameras announced so far in 2009, up to September-30. The first column is the total number of digital cameras, both fixed-lens and interchangeable-lens, from the major manufacturers we track. You can see the list at the bottom of this page.

The second column shows the total number of interchangeable lens cameras, including DSLRs, M43rds and digital rangefinders, and the third column shows the superzooms. For this purpose, superzooms are defined as fixed-lens digital cameras with a zoom ratio of 10X or more.

The third graph, right below, shows the new digital cameras by month, from January to September 2009. The blue bars are the total number of digital cameras (fixed and interchangeable lens), while the orange bars are the iLCs (interchangeable lens cameras), which includes DSLRs, digital rangefinders and Micro Four Thirds. As you can see, it's a shiny-silver world out there in terms of volume :)

There are some interesting patterns - the vast majority of the new digital cameras were announced in just four months: January, February, July and August (blue bars)! On the other hand, the iLCs (interchangeable lens cameras) had a more even-keeled pattern (orange bars). Also of note, January, the month of the CES trade show in Vegas, had the highest number of new camera announcements, yet none of them were of the interchangeable lens variety.

Despite this being a Fauxtokina, not a Photokina year, and despite the global economic environment and the balance sheets of some of the manufacturers, we had a total of 187 digital cameras announced in nine months. A 187-pound baby ;-)

Please note that the numbers shown above may not be 100% accurate. It is possible that we have missed a few of the shiny-silver-clone models. If you notice any camera models missing or miscounted, please let us know.