Canon Camera Sales Down in Q2, Imaging Revenue Up

[Canon Rumors]

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Smartphones to blame?

Canon sold 19% fewer digital cameras worldwide in the second quarter of 2013, compared to the same period last year – with demand for interchangeable-lens cameras falling 4%. However, Canon’s global imaging division sales revenue climbed 4.4%….

Sales of Canon compact cameras fell 26% worldwide from April-June 2013 in volume terms (year-on-year) but demand for the EOS 5D Mark III and EOS 6D DSLRs continued to grow and the EOS 700D ‘proved popular’ in Japan over the three months.

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[Ellen Schmidtee]

Canon sold 19% fewer digital cameras worldwide in the second quarter of 2013, compared to the same period last year – with demand for interchangeable-lens cameras falling 4%. However, Canon’s global imaging division sales revenue climbed 4.4%….

Sales plummet, While revenue climbs. I'd wager high prices explain both.

[docsmith]

Not necessarily higher prices on the same unit...but higher priced units had their sales grow.  The 5DIII and 6D grew.  You can make up the loss of a lot of $150 P&S cameras by selling a $2,000 6D or a $3,100 5DIII.  Total revenue from cameras only rose 0.8%.  Revenue from inkjet printers rose 17%. 

Article says they are blaming economic slow downs in Europe and China. 

[whothafunk]

their sales went down because they dont have anything smart to offer to consumers. 100d, 700d, 60d? same old technology, nothing new. 70d will probably change that, but 2-3 months before it gets to store? absolute bollocks

canon, nikon, sony,.. most profit comes from entry level dslrs.

[jrista]

their sales went down because they dont have anything smart to offer to consumers. 100d, 700d, 60d? same old technology, nothing new. 70d will probably change that, but 2-3 months before it gets to store? absolute bollocks

canon, nikon, sony,.. most profit comes from entry level dslrs.

Everyone I know recently has purchased a Canon entry level camera. A lot particularly like the small-ish size of the 100D, one purchased the 60Da for astrophotography. Not a single one purchased a Nikon or a Sony. The one guy I do know who purchased a Nikon in the last year bought a D800 for his professional portraiture.

I agree that a significant portion of profit generally comes from the higher volume items that sell like hotcakes to the massive consumer sector...however I don't believe that primarily means Canon is not selling entry-level products.

I do believe the economy factors in here. It may seem like we have "recovered", but the fundamental issues that caused financial markets to crash five years ago are still in place. They are just glossed over, hidden, ignored, or otherwise skirted around by any and all parties who have the power to actually change something. Until that underlying fact changes *for real*, I think people are going to keep a tight watch on their pocket books. That doesn't mean people in general (and I don't just mean the US, but in general for any moderately large or larger economy) will stop spending entirely...just that they will continue to be more careful with their purchases.

Just look at the PC market...it used to race...people would upgrade their computers every couple of years. Now? People are content to save $1000, $1500, $2500 and keep using their current PC, and augment it with a tablet or a phone that only costs $400, $600, $800 instead. People on a mass scale won't regularly start buying PCs to replace their existing ones, or buy more expensive cameras, or more expensive lenses, etc. on a regular basis again until the underlying economic force that is subtly telling them to save their money truly changes for the better.

[David Hull]

now let us wait for nikon and sony numbers......

In the past when Canon coughed, it was a sign that the whole industry had a cold.  You will probably see similar results from the others, particularly Sony whose entire consumer electronics business seems to be in the financial “hurt locker” anyway.

[Jon Gilchrist]

Maybe if they had something I wanted to buy. There hasn't been anything new and available in the higher end crop body market in 3 years. I have two 60Ds that need replacing, but there's nothing to replace them with.

[unfocused]

Quite a bit of news coverage on this is available. General consensus is that sales in China and Europe are not hitting their marks. Europe due to ongoing sluggish economy. China do to a tightening of monetary policies.

Canon upped their projections earlier in the year when the Yen was devalued. So, this may just be another correction due to international economic conditions. Canon was apparently counting on stronger high-end DSLR sales in China, that aren't going to materialize due to China's tightening the money supply.

All in all, not good, but apparently not entirely unexpected and Canon is still outperforming its competitors according to several stories.

[Zv]

Well no wonder, this time last year the 5DIII was still new and hot on the market. What do we have now? Cut price EOS M? Still waiting for 70D, no sign of 7DII and some speculation about a 80MP camera. Obviously their digital camera sales are lower this quarter!

[blacksap]

Keep adding no significant upgrades to your cameras and this is what happens canon, the evolution from t4i to t5i is inexistent.

[David Hull]

Keep adding no significant upgrades to your cameras and this is what happens canon, the evolution from t4i to t5i is inexistent.

What "significant" upgrades could they add?
 
It seems like they have done quite a bit.  The AF in the 5DIII was a pretty significant upgrade over that of the 5DII.  The new sensor in the 70D is pretty innovative.
 

[Etienne]

Eventhough I have a 5DIII and a EOS-M, I'm pretty excited to see the new 70D, and hopefully a mirrorless with the same sensor. If this new sensor lives up to the marketing claims, it could push up sales quite a bit.

Canon .... Please put a swivel screen in the next mirrorless

[David Hull]

Keep adding no significant upgrades to your cameras and this is what happens canon, the evolution from t4i to t5i is inexistent.

What "significant" upgrades could they add?
 
It seems like they have done quite a bit.  The AF in the 5DIII was a pretty significant upgrade over that of the 5DII.  The new sensor in the 70D is pretty innovative.

let use what it means pictures wise, innovative AF yes  but how accurate, f-2,8 ?

Works fine for me at 2.8 on the lenses I have.  However (as we should ALL know):  1. the DOF is shorter at 2.8 so issues are more pronounced.  2. The AF is a machine which is not necessarily perfect (and probably should not be expected to be so).

And… lastly, my previous experience was the 5DII over which the 5DIII represents a pretty dramatic improvement (in almost all areas).

What I see in the last few years is that the DSLR has become a commodity product at each level with the two main competitors (Nikon / Canon) struggling to differentiate themselves from one another in any way possible and the third one, Sony is struggling to get their foot in the door.  I don’t think that the market share has shifted too much in the last few years.

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Point and shoot camera sales have dropped almost 50% over last year, and they also dropped a lot last year, and DSLR's have dropped 15%.  These are industry wide numbers, so it sounds like Canon may be doing better than the industry overall.
 
Imaging covers a lot more than cameras and lenses, so industrial products may be selling well.
 
Here is a link to the overall camera sales.(all CIPA members)
 
http://www.cipa.jp/english/data/pdf/d-201305_e.pdf

[distant.star]

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Too bad we can't get these kinds of numbers weekly. That would really keep up the chatter!