Nikon failed to innovate their compact camera line, an unstated reason for their lack of popularity, but the chart below shows a 10-fold decline among all brands. Many serious photographers aren’t buying compacts because smartphones are “good enough;” even though, the image quality of 1″ sensor compacts with zoom lenses still often far exceeds that of smartphones.

Being able to shoot in RAW with compacts is also understated.

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From: PetaPixel

Nikon Closes Camera Factory in China, Blames Rise of Smartphones

Nikon announced today that it will be shutting down its digital camera factory in the Jiangsu province China, blaming the rise of smartphones for the demise of the compact digital camera market. …

“In recent years […] due to the rise of smartphones, the compact digital camera market has been shrinking rapidly, leading to a significant decrease in operating rate at [Nikon Imaging (China)] and creating a difficult business environment,” Nikon says. …

Illustration by CIPA/Sven Skafisk

“The global market for compact digital cameras has shrunk to a tenth of its peak within the past decade,” the Nikkei Asian Review reports.

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