Originally posted by photoptimist I very seriously doubt that changes in the number of pros is more than a rounding error the camera makers.
CIPA reports shipments of over a million interchangeable lens cameras to the Americas and yet the Professional Photographers of America (PPA) has 30,000 members and the The American Society of Media Photographers only has 7,000 members. Even if you assume that professionals buy a new camera every single year (extremely unlikely!), they represent on a few % of total market.
Sure, professionals play a huge role in marketing because a lot of non-pro buyers like the idea of using "pro" equipment. But I'd bet that >90% of actual camera sales go to hobbyists, enthusiasts, and upper-middle class consumers who think they need a "real camera."
I can’t authoritatively affirm that >90% of actual camera sales go to hobbyists, enthusiasts, and upper-middle class consumers who think they need a "real camera" but my daughter was a member of The American Society of Media Photographers when she worked for a Network Broadcast News company and remains a member of the Screenwriters Guild - East (her Union). She has said over and over about my compulsive gear buying that real professional photographers are conservative with their gear purchases/leases, using the minimum possible to get the best images possible, which makes sense. Pros (or the companies that employ them and often own the gear) are interested in making more money than they spend, Gear is an expense. Professionals
wear out their gear before replacing it unless there is a
real technology advantage - better images, faster, with less Post for instance because the gear changed. Those new advantages are less frequent now than in the first ten years of the digital conversion.
She once tried assigning Remotes with 5D’s instead of Sony professional shoulder cams, but it didn’t work. The video togs never learned to pull focus with a DSLR. Now she is the Communications and Media Director for a State Executive Branch Office (her employer is The Office of the [ . . . . . ]. Among her many responsibilities is directing the social media for the State Office.
Last week she ordered an iPhone shoot
with a Gimbal to post to Instagram.
Telling?