BCN has released their sales numbers for the last 12 months in Japan for the full frame camera segment, and it looks like Canon continues to be #1 in market share.
We noticed a couple of stories last week claiming that Sony had taken over the crown as the best selling full frame camera manufacturer based on BCNs numbers, but that's not the case whatsoever.
Canon News brown down the numbers for the rolling year, the total market share in full frame for the big 3 over the last 12 months is:
- Canon 39%
- Nikon 30%
- Sony 29%
We're not sure how these numbers have been skewed in Sony's favour over both Canon and Nikon.
If we further examine the full frame space over the last 12 months, we know that Canon has only released one new full frame camera, and that would be the EOS R. At the time of these numbers being calculated, the EOS R had only been shipping for a week and the Nikon Z6 had not begun shipping. These numbers are based on receipts, so preorders do not count until the camera has shipped.
Sony released two new full frame cameras in 2018, the A7R III and the A7 III, both of which have been well received. New cameras will also provide a bump to sales numbers and these BCN rankings will likely show a bigger trend towards both Canon and Nikon for 2018 more of the EOS R and Z series camera numbers are in.
If I go onto any camera website or YouTube channel, I would assume Sony has conquered the world and everyone has switched. But, unlike those journalists, I actually make my living as a photographer traveling the world to take photos...and I only see Sony cameras every now and then. Everyone I'm working with is shooting Canon/Nikon and Canon is the clear favorite. I have one friend shooting Sony, but I have several friends that switched to Sony and then switched back. LOL
Granted, this is primarily motorsports and editorial photography and they seem like the last group of shooters to switch. But the video guys for Discovery Channel and the production companies I'm working with are using C100s and our staff video guy just switched to Canon (thanks in part to me) and he's rocking a C200 and a pair of M50s and a slew of Canon camcorders.
As our Commander in Chief so famously coined, "fake news". I have seen a vocal minority loudly switching to Sony. But the silent majority has remained with the brand they use to make their living...because familiarity and history are more important for most people. I don't for a second believe Canon makes the best cameras on the market. But they have the best Professional Services and lenses...and all cameras today are overall incredible.
Couldn't have said it better. So much measure-bating on youtube and forums, you'd think my 5DIV's were note capable of amazing photos but somehow I still keep wow'ing clients and making money. I don't care that base ISO only has 14 stops of DR while Sony has 16 (or whatever the heck the numbers are, who cares). Cameras today are INSANELY good! Just because the Nikon sensor has a slight edge in the DPreview lab or what have you means nothing to me. 99.8 % perfect vs 99.7 percent perfect. Whatever. Certainly not a reason to just sell all my lenses and start over with a new ecosystem and learn a whole new camera interface instead of the one I've been using for over a decade.
In the October CIPA report, for japan, there were 90,163 cameras shipped and over half, 50,611 were mirrorless, but of those, a small number were full frame. Canon sells more DSLR's and more Mirrorless than Sony in Japan, the figures we see were for FF mirrorless markets which Canon and Nikon have just entered, so we need several months to see what the trend is. However, I doubt that Sony will lead in any of the categories, they are 3rd overall as of now, and they predict lower sales as Canon and Nikon sales ramp up. They will be 4th in mirrorless sales by early next year.
I think that at some point, people who just throw money at cameras will realize that whether they own a Sony or a Nikon or a Canon, no piece of equipment can make a boring photograph spectacular, and that buying the next product that reviewers ramble on about doesn't make anyone a better photographer, unless you really enjoy shooting test patterns mounted on a wall.
I've given each of the big 3 systems -- and Olympus MFT -- a fair shake, and at the end of the day, I just enjoy shooting with Canon more, plus, they have a better mix of tools for the stuff I like to shoot.
Well, they have been in the digital camera business since 1996 and the system camera business since 2006 (when they bought what was left of Minolta). Granted, professional FF camera market is a league of its own.
So, while you are not comparing apples and oranges, you have managed to pluck a single apple from the apple tree and come to a sweeping conclusion.
I hope this provides a little clarity into what is apparently a very murky, and for some reason, emotional issue.
They've also been making cameras for around 30 years now, so it's not like Sony started from scratch with the Alphas.
They have made a lot of camera in there years, they had their AXX0, which a some of them had ok spec but I never knew anyone who used them. Then there was the A77 or A99 ish camera what looked really on paper but did people use them? I don't know. It wasn't until the NEX that I started seeing people use them, I felt like there were pretty popular as second camera (small kits) or didn't want the weight of DSLR. Then they seem to get better and better with the A3500 model and so on. So that is 2006 to 2013 that they didn't gain much in they way of market share. But from 2014-2018 they grew a lot in term of market share and people using their camera.
BCNRanking data is probably highly indicative of the overall sales figures within Japan. 40% is nothing to snort at.
I am sure if BCNRanking results had shown Sony in the lead by a wide margin, you'll be singing a different tune. Pffffft...
I was also referring to their video cameras (both high-end professional and consumer), which are of course mirrorless, making them somewhat similar to the Alphas. And if you check out a site like B&H, you'll be amazed at how many different models Sony still sells. They've been churning out products with sensors and lenses for a long time, and know what they're doing.
But is this also the case with their marketing? Are they avoiding edgy, splashy social media campaigns?
No matter, they keep marching ahead despite the fireworks and clowns.
Averaging over a year or longer window and analyzing the trend there would be a sensible choice, I guess.