Unlike all the subjective opinions spewed across the internet and elsewhere, yours and mine included, it is an objective fact that more people have decided that Canon dSLRs and lenses are the best, for them…and have done so consistently for >10 years.
The only fact is the sales number, the reason (best for them) is speculation on your part unless you mean that whatever people buys is always the best for them at that moment, but in that case I smell a petitio principii.
You don’t have to universally define “best” to understand that “best selling” is not equal to “best product” in the same way that “best dynamic range” is not equal to “best product”.
We buy what we buy for a whole bunch of reasons. Wants, needs, budget, knowledge (or the lack of it), ego, status, indoctrination, propaganda, reviews, expectations, dreams, beliefs, even facts sometimes.
Excluding the small number of people extorted or otherwise coerced to purchase a 'luxury' product not of their choosing, I'd say it's a pretty reasonably assumption that people but what they believe is best for them at that moment. All of the factors you list, and the myriad of unmentioned factors, are consistent with that assumption.
You're right that the only real facts are that Canon has led the dSLR market for the past 10 years, and has sold more dSLRs and lenses than their competitors during that period. Latin logic aside, I'm sure there are reasons for their success.
I don’t dispute your “pretty reasonably assumption”, I just pointed out it’s not the “objective fact” you tried to sell it for in your previous reaction.
It’s also a reasonable assumption that there are reason for Canons success.
Canon doesn’t specify sales numbers per product as far as I know, but I guess Rebels and kit lenses outsell FF camera’s and L-glass by a substantial margin and it’s safe to assume most buyers in that segment of the market don’t let things like dynamic range of the sensor or corner resolution of their lens influence their buying decision.
Pricing, performance, design, innovation, marketing, advertising, reliability, competition, brand loyalty, word of mouth, after sales… They all contribute to the result.
Just to give an example: I bought a 5D3 in April 2012. Soon after that the light leak problem appeared and I received an e-mail from Canon (I’m a cps member); they admitted their mistake, and asked me to send it to them so they could fix it.
Nikon had the left focus problem with the D800 and after that the oil spatter problem with the D600. They refused to admit there was a problem which resulted in a lot of bad press. Their D600 sales suffered to the point they had to bring out a D610.
It’s just one of many things other than camera specs that determine the rate of success
