Nikon has introduced one camera so far in 2026, the Nikon Z5IIC, and the company’s interchangeable lens camera sales are the lowest sales numbers reported since the end of 2022.
The data comes from the company’s second-quarter financials, which saw overall growth in both revenue and profit but declining sales in the camera division.
Amid the number crunching, Nikon also shared a chart detailing camera sales since April 2022. The second quarter of the current fiscal year saw 150,000 sales for camera bodies, bringing the first half of the year to 360,000.
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That’s the lowest that camera body sales have been since the quarter spanning the first three months of 2023.
So far this year Nikon has only launched the Z5IIC, which takes the tech of the Nikon Z5II and puts it into a smaller, viewfinder-free body. With pre-orders opening on September 24, the Z5CII only had around a week of pre-orders to be tallied in the financial results for the second quarter.
In recent years, Nikon has launched around two mirrorless cameras a year. Last year, it released the Nikon ZR in addition to the Z5II. The year before it launched the Nikon Z6III and Z50II, while 2023 brought the Z8 and Zf.
But Nikon has also revised its forecast for the next quarter, which encompasses the holiday shopping season. The company expects to sell around 400,000 fewer cameras in the third quarter than previously estimated.
Nikon says that the camera market has declined significantly in China – which echoes other reports from camera makers, including Canon and Sony, who also reported a decline in mirrorless sales.
The latest numbers from the Camera and Imaging Products Association (CIPA) also show that the biggest decline in camera shipments is in those bound for China.
Along with a drop in sales, Nikon says that higher prices for memory components are also a factor in the forecast. Next quarter, the manufacturer expects a decline in the previously anticipated revenue but expects profit to remain the same – partially due to refunds from US tariffs.
While Nikon’s camera division is seeing reduced sales, the company as a whole posted both revenue and operating profit higher than initially estimated.
Revenue is up in every one of Nikon’s business segments except for the imaging products, including nearly 30% revenue growth for the precision equipment segment.
According to the latest numbers from CIPA, Japan’s biggest camera makers have seen a 5% drop in camera shipments for 2026 so far.
