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Key trends spotted at the Photography & Video Show 2026

Length 9 min read

Sectors

Technology

I went to the Photography & Video Show 2026 with a fairly open mind. I wasn’t looking for anything specific, not chasing a particular piece of kit or announcement. It was more about getting a feel for where the industry is actually at and whether what I thought going in would hold up once I’d spoken to people properly. There’s always a difference between what you assume from the outside and what you hear when you’re actually in the room.

Having walked it, spoken to a range of brands, and caught up with a few familiar faces I’ve known for years, a number of things stood out. Not as isolated observations, but as a pattern that feels indicative of where the industry is heading.

Market Size: This isn’t a decline, it’s recalibration

The first thing that struck me was the scale of it. Or more accurately, the noticeable change in scale compared to what these shows used to be. I’m thinking back to earlier visits, and wider industry reference points that have since disappeared, like Photokina, where everything felt bigger, louder, more dominant.

This felt different. Smaller, more contained, less of that “industry showcase” presence.

But not in a negative way. It didn’t feel like a decline. It felt more like compression. The industry has become more focused on where it actually delivers value, retaining what is true to photography rather than trying to be everything at once, or fully “social-first”.

There was something quite fitting in that. Almost like the analogy of a compact camera, or even the humble JPEG. Smaller, more purposeful, still capable… but perhaps losing something along the way.

That same tone carried through into conversations. Almost everyone I spoke to alluded, in some way, that things are tighter at the moment. Not dramatically, and not negatively, just acknowledged. Consumer spending isn’t what it was, and when that happens, this category feels it quickly.

It feels like a recalibration that is still in motion.

Image Credit: www.digitalcameraworld.com

Technology: When good is good enough

From a product perspective, what stood out was how open some of the bigger brands were about where things are.

There isn’t a huge amount of meaningful technical progression happening right now, not in the way there has been previously. When mirrorless arrived alongside the jump in resolution and performance, you could feel that shift. It changed behaviour. It changed expectations.

Now, most systems are just very, very good.

To the point where the conversation around capability almost becomes redundant. The limiting factor isn’t the camera anymore, and I think everyone knows that, even if it isn’t always said outright.

That creates an interesting transition. The conversation has to move elsewhere.

Brands are now looking to occupy niches, using positioning and presence as the point of differentiation.

That, in itself, is telling.

Image Credit: www.digitalcameraworld.com

Second hand isn’t second rate; it’s the new way of doing ‘new’

One of the clearest signals of that shift is the strength of the second-hand market (Wex, LCE, etc.) — they were busy.

Stronger than I expected, actually. Not just as a cheaper alternative, but as a rational choice. A lot of kit from five, eight, even ten years ago still performs. Still delivers. Particularly the glass.

And when that’s the case, the question shifts from “what’s new?” to “what do I actually need?”

That’s a very different mindset, and you can see it playing out across the market.

Image Credit: www.digitalcameraworld.com

Back to basics, but with a twist

Alongside that, there’s a quieter shift happening back towards more intentional photography.

I noticed a resurgence in compact cameras (Ricoh’s GR range is doing particularly well here), which on the surface doesn’t make much sense given how capable phones are. But when you actually speak to people about it, it starts to click.

It’s not about capability. It’s about separation.

People want something that isn’t tied to everything else. Something that creates intent around the act of taking a photograph. A device you choose to use, rather than one that just happens to be there.

That shift felt subtle, but is likely more significant than it first appears (apparently influenced heavily by creator culture).

Image Credit: www.digitalcameraworld.com

The professional market is stable, but for different reasons

In talking with Canon, Nikon and Sony at the professional end, things felt more stable.

Not because everything is thriving, but because switching is difficult. Once you’re embedded in a system, the cost of change goes well beyond the camera itself. It’s workflows, retraining, muscle memory, everything that sits around it.

So even if something better exists, it often isn’t enough to justify the move, particularly at an organisational level.

That inertia holds things in place.

I’m very aware of that myself. I’m still shooting on a Nikon D850, which for me remains one of the best cameras ever made, even if I keep telling myself I should probably upgrade.

I’d love a D5 or even a D6, but ironically, because of that same market dynamic, they’ve held their value remarkably well. Even now, they’re still commanding prices I can’t quite sneak past the wife!

Image Credit: www.digitalcameraworld.com

AI is helping, but it hasn’t solved the hard part — conscious decision-making

AI came up, as expected, but not in the way it tends to online.

No one I spoke to was positioning it as a replacement. It was far more grounded than that. Workflow, efficiency, speed. Helping sort, select, and reduce the volume of work.

Which brings it back to something I said before going:

The hard part has never been taking the photo. It’s choosing the one that matters.

From a personal perspective, what I shoot is never just about the moment. It’s about intent. About knowing what I’m trying to achieve, often before I even press the shutter. I’m shooting for post-production. For an outcome.

AI doesn’t know that.

It doesn’t know why I underexposed something, or why I framed it the way I did, or what I plan to do with it afterwards. So you end up working with it, but also correcting it. Second-guessing it. Stepping back in.

Governance over decision-making is a recurring theme in my use of AI. I have every confidence this will be solved. It currently isn’t, which adds another layer of mental load when you’re simply trying to deliver great work.

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Trade shows are no longer about spectacle (as much as I’d like them to be!)

What I found most valuable wasn’t any one product or announcement.

It was the conversations.

Some of the people I spoke to yesterday I first met back in 2015, when I came to this same show to buy a camera for my wife, just before my twin boys were born. I’ve stayed in touch with a number of them since, and that continuity is revealing.

Over time, you start to see how people evolve, how businesses shift, and how industries adapt.

And those conversations are always more valuable than anything on a stand.

They reveal where the real pressure is, what’s working, what isn’t, and where the uncertainty lies. That’s the signal I’m looking for at these events.

In those conversations, I kept coming back to two questions:

What are your biggest upcoming challenges and opportunities?

And do you have what you need to respond to them?

That’s where we come in.

As strategists, creatives, and an external lens, we bring additional bandwidth, fresh thinking, and the space to explore and create what’s next.

Image Credit: www.digitalcameraworld.com

Wrapping it up

If you step back from all of this, the industry doesn’t feel like it has a technology problem.

Far from it. The tools are there, and there are more than enough of them.

What’s less clear is what to do with them. How to position. How to communicate. How to stand out when capability is no longer the differentiator.

And that’s where this becomes relevant to what I do.

The reason I go to events like this isn’t to see new cameras (although I love to). It’s to understand people. Because only by having those conversations do you start to see where the real challenges are, and where the real opportunity actually sits.

Not in pushing what you can do, but in understanding what’s needed and responding to it properly.

That’s where I see the role of WMP. Not just in delivering creative output, but in helping shape direction, bring clarity, and support the decisions that actually move things forward.

Dale Harper – The man behind the camera/ view

Interested is Interesting

By getting in front of people, understanding where they are, their brand, their role, their pressures and ambitions, and aligning ourselves to that, we position ourselves as a trusted partner in navigating what comes next.

To those I had the pleasure of meeting at the show, thank you.

Until next time.

 

Dale Harper

dale.harper@wmpcreative.com

01865 390 258