Canon may raise camera prices due to increased memory costs. Oct 30, 2026 In August, Fujifilm mentioned the impact of rising raw materials prices in its routine financial reporting, and PetaPixel speculated that Fujifilm would be far from the only camera maker affected. It was the first domino to fall. Sure enough, Canon mentioned it during a Q&A on its FY2026 Q3 financial results, and the company will not be the only one to cite rising costs over the next few weeks. As Digital Camera Life reports, Canon held its usual Q&A session after publishing its latest financial results. While the results themselves are fine and not especially noteworthy - overall operating profit and net income increased quite a bit year-over-year - the tangential analysis and information are very interesting and, frankly, concerning. Someone asked Canon how the "shortages of circuit boards and electronic components" are impacting various segments, and Canon responded that Printing and Imaging are both facing "component shortages." These supply shortages typically raise costs, as seen across the flash memory space amid increased demand from AI data centers. Companies are bidding for a shrinking supply, driving prices up. Fujifilm alluded to this months ago, and now Canon is discussing it. "For components that are in short supply, we are using every possible means to secure the quantities we need for next year. As a result, we expect higher procurement costs, but our policy is to offset those increases through price increases from next year onward," Canon says. "We have already been making pricing adjustments in response to cost increases as they occur, and we will continue to make decisions on passing on costs from a long-term perspective, while considering the potential impact on sales volumes and balancing that against profitability." So there are two really important things to pull out of this quote. First, Canon expects its costs to increase next year. And second, Canon's modus operandi is to offset increased costs by passing them to the consumer, ergo, increasing product prices. It's shrewd business, if the market will support it. It's not always possible to fully offset increased costs by raising prices. Sometimes markets won't tolerate the necessary price increases, or a company may be willing to absorb some costs for its long-term prospects. For example, selling more cameras is good for Canon long-term, as it maintains more market share, sells more lenses, etc. Canon says it will be a balancing act, but, notably, the company is coming right out and telling investors that yes, its policy is to pass increased costs to consumers. This makes perfect sense, but photographers need to hear the news and prepare accordingly. Canon adds, in response to another question, that it doesn't expect memory and raw material prices to decline in 2027, so this may be a long-term problem in the photography industry. Much like SSD and memory card prices have continued to increase, cameras may be the next victim. Canon projects a significantly lower operating profit ratio in its Imaging business in Q4, which the company says is primarily due to higher memory costs and cost increases following the geopolitical strife in the Middle East. "At this point, we have not been able to fully pass these higher costs on through pricing," Canon says. "If these higher costs persist next year, we will absorb them through price increases." As DPReview observes, photographers have seen many price increases in recent years. Beyond higher memory card and SSD prices, even more obvious hikes have hit cameras and lenses because of President Trump's tariff policies. These price increases may prove prescriptive, as that was effectively a company passing higher operational costs directly to their customers. Earlier this year, Nikon discussed "higher costs" resulting from higher memory prices. Sony blamed increased memory costs for hurting its bottom line in the Imaging business. Canon may be the most open so far about how it will deal with these rising costs - passing them on to consumers - but it will very likely not be the only company to use this strategy. It's basically the go-to strategy across the technology space. "Photographers, many of whom were exhausted by the seemingly unending tariff-induced price increases last year, must unfortunately brace themselves for the impact of memory prices. They are coming," PetaPixel predicted in August. Memory is integral to digital cameras, and there's simply no way to get around using it. Manufacturers need the memory, and it is getting pricier. More expensive cameras are, frankly, inevitable. Image creditsCanon Affiliate Disclosure PetaPixel articles may include affiliate links; Petapixel may earn a commission if you buy through one. Love PetaPixel? Unlock Premium Perks. Discussion

Canon sold 16% fewer interchangeable lens cameras in Q3, and says memory costs could raise prices in 2027. Canon's Q3 2026 results: 620,000 interchangeable lens cameras, down 16%, compact revenue up over 50%, and a warning that memory costs could push camera prices up in 2027. Published: October 30, 2026 | By Mel Adali Quick facts * 620,000 interchangeable lens cameras in Q3, down 16%. Full-year forecast cut to 2.75 million. * Camera revenue still up 4%, because the average price per camera went up. * Compact camera revenue up more than 50%, for the third quarter in a row. * Canon no longer expects memory prices to fall in 2027, and says it will offset higher costs with price increases. Canon published its third quarter results on October 27. Most of the report is about printers, medical scanners and chip-making machines. The camera part is short, but it is the clearest look Camera Decision get at how the biggest camera maker is doing. The numbers below come from Canon's own presentation. The 2027 price comment comes from the question and answer part of the call, as reported by DPReview. The camera numbers. | / | Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 | Change | | Interchangeable lens cameras sold | 0.62 million | about 0.74 million | -16% | | Camera revenue | 158.8 billion yen | 152.7 billion yen | +4.0% | | Network cameras and others | 136.1 billion yen | 100.9 billion yen | +34.9% | | Imaging group profit | 46.8 billion yen | 38.1 billion yen | +22.7% | Canon blames the drop in units on two places: the Middle East, where the conflict has hit sales, and China, where people are spending less. It says demand is still solid everywhere else. I worked out the 2025 unit figure from Canon's 16%, so treat it as approximate. The interesting line is revenue. Canon sold fewer bodies but took in more money, because the mix moved to expensive full-frame cameras. Canon names the EOS R6 Mark III, launched last November, and the video-focused EOS R6 V from June. Fewer cameras, each one dearer. That is the same pattern the industry figures showed in its CIPA August post. Amazon price as of Oct 30, 5:15 AM ET Compacts are the growth story. Canon's compact camera revenue rose more than 50% in the quarter. It did the same in the first half of the year. Canon says younger buyers are a big part of it. The catch is that Canon cannot make enough. It cut its compact forecast for the year because production will fall short of plan. The reason is a shortage of components, and Canon says circuit boards and electronic parts have been hard to get since August, because AI hardware is soaking them up. If you have tried to buy a PowerShot V1 and found it out of stock, this is likely why. 16% fewer cameras, 4% more camera revenue, and compacts Canon cannot build fast enough. The camera market is not shrinking so much as getting more expensive. The 2027 price warning. This is the part that matters if you are planning a purchase. Memory prices have come up on every Canon earnings call this year. Until now Canon expected them to start easing in the second half of 2027. On this call it said it no longer expects that. Canon has already bought the memory it needs for 2026, and the price for the fourth quarter came in as expected. So nothing changes this year. For 2027 Canon expects to pay more, and its stated policy is to offset that with price increases. It did not say which cameras, which countries, or by how much. On the July call Canon said it had already raised some prices, again without naming them. Memory is not a small part in a modern camera. Fast burst shooting, pre-capture and subject tracking all lean on it. In the third quarter alone, higher memory prices cut 19.8 billion yen from Canon's profit across the whole company. Canon is not alone here. Sony raised Cinema Line prices in Japan in September, and Fujifilm raised Japan prices on the X-E5, X100VI and GFX. What Canon is betting on for the rest of the year. Canon cut its full-year interchangeable lens forecast from 2.80 million to 2.75 million cameras, 5% down on last year. It expects the whole market to be about 6.3 million. By my maths, that would give Canon roughly 44% of every interchangeable lens camera sold in 2026. That share is not new; Canon has been the clear number one for years, as its market share post showed. For the last three months of the year, Canon names one camera: the EOS R8 Mark II. It is the small entry-level full-frame body that went on sale this month at $1,899. Canon wants it to pull people up from APS-C and lift the share of full-frame in its sales. That fits everything above: fewer cameras, but more of them full frame. Should you buy now? I would not rush. Canon has not announced any price rise for any camera, and it gave no date. A warning about 2027 costs is not a price list. But if you were already planning to buy a Canon body or lens in the next few months, I would not wait for prices to drop either. Canon is telling investors it does not expect them to. Also check whether the camera you own already does the job. Less gear is cheaper gear, and that was true before memory got expensive. Are you buying your next camera before 2027 because of this, or holding on to what you have? Was this post useful? Not useful at all Exactly what I needed Follow Camera Decision on Facebook New cameras and lenses, rumors and firmware updates, in your feed. Gear mentioned in this post (4) Sign in to save any of these to your dashboard and get news and firmware updates for them. I have been shooting birds and wildlife in North Carolina since 2014, mostly with Sony bodies and long telephoto glass. 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