Zeiss shifts focus to smartphone photography market but remains firmly involved in dedicated camera lenses as well

Nov 16, 2023

After recent rumours swirling about Zeiss leaving the photography lens market for good, the company has issued a statement to one of its ambassadors, Greg Watermann (via Sony Alpha Rumors). In the response, Zeiss reveals that the company will continue manufacturing high quality photography lenses, although some of the wording seems a bit ominous for fans of the company's gear and photography in general.

ZEISS has not withdrawn from the photo lens market.

A simple look at www.zeiss.com/consumer-products/int/photography.html or amazon.com shows that we are still promoting and selling our photo lenses. But we have to face the facts. In the first months of the pandemic, the global market declined significantly and irreversibly. And companies have to adapt. And, of course, we are bringing our unique expertise to mobile imaging. Because it is also clear that consumers, as well as ambitious and professional photographers, increasingly prefer their smartphones for all-day photography.

In the statement, Zeiss alludes to a trend that everyone has been aware of for a while — smartphones are taking over the consumer photography scene. While it's certainly true that powerful smartphone cameras have cut a swathe through the dedicated camera market, CIPA reports show that there has been some recovery since the pandemic. There has been a 10.8% increase in camera body sales in 2022, compared to 2021.

Zeiss throwing its weight into the smartphone market in partnerships with the likes of Sony and Vivo is how it has responded to the smartphone shift. Companies like Canon and Sony have swung in the other direction, vying for the smartphone photographer market, instead. Canon's most recent PowerShot V10 vlogging camera targets smartphones directly, while Sony's ZV-1 II aims to draw the same crowd away with a compact form factor and nifty video features.

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Sony Alpha Rumors, Greg Watermann, The Phoblographer, PetaPixel, Zeiss

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