Canon has exceeded its sales projections for fiscal 2020

Mt Spokane Photography · Jan 15, 2021

As I recall, they mentioned in the last quarter that sales were improving and they boosted expectations. Canon does have cash and can afford to put out new products but they are also being careful and keeping costs to a minimum.

Unfortunately, not all camera makers have the cash to invest in new products.

gatabo · Jan 15, 2021

R5 & R6 sell like hot cakes

Hector1970 · Jan 15, 2021

Dead cat bounce perhaps. The R5 and R6 were long awaited cameras. I'd say the glory days are over.
Canon will still sell alot of cameras but less and less every year.
Other than unreliability it will be hard to justify replacing them. The margin of improvement is getting thinner and thinner.
More intelligent auto focus perhaps, better battery life, its really hard to improve from now on.
IBIS might prove to be built in obsolescence and speed up the replacement cycle.
The path of improvement since my first digital camera in 2000 has been phenomenal.
I never thought they'd be so good at this point this quickly.
Even the lens have reached near perfection.
It just shows what humans can do when their brainpower is used in a positive manner.

marathonman · Jan 15, 2021

Canon Rumors has exceeded its rumors projections for fiscal 2020

It looks like there is some good news coming out of the rumor industry now that the pandemic is over. Canon Rumors is reporting that in spite of the impact of Covid 19, it exceeded rumor projections for the 2020 fiscal year on the backs of such great rumors as "Canon R5 will do 24K 120fps without melting" and "Canon to double-down on the EOS M range in 2050". Rumors for firmware updates for already released cameras also exceeded expectations.

According to an angry EOS-SD article, Canon Rumors is is a shill and any success that has been achieved by the Rumor Mongrel is purely off the backs of the hard-working and magnificent people at EOS-SD and their superior intellect.

In the rumor industry, rumor posts have been increasing in frequency as the impact of poor SEO has been noticed and also due to the decline in advertising income. Canon Rumors announced on the 32nd December that it will raise its rate of rumor posting for the fiscal year ending December 2021 due to a need to initiate litigation for plagiarism against another Canon News site.

Canon Rumor’s consolidated net income for the fiscal year ending December 2020 will decrease 36% from the previous fiscal year due to higher anticipated expenditure on cigars, mice for baiting owls and investments made in outdoor igloos. New full-frame mirrorless cameras are performing well in the rumor market and imaginary articles about future firmware updates will provide a steady income stream through 2021 and beyond.

esspy2 · Jan 15, 2021

I love my EOS R6. I got it in January!

unfocused · Jan 15, 2021

marathonman said:
Canon Rumors has exceeded its rumors projections for fiscal 2020...

What's your point?

bbasiaga · Jan 15, 2021

Hector1970 said:
Dead cat bounce perhaps. The R5 and R6 were long awaited cameras. I'd say the glory days are over.
Canon will still sell alot of cameras but less and less every year.
Other than unreliability it will be hard to justify replacing them. The margin of improvement is getting thinner and thinner.
More intelligent auto focus perhaps, better battery life, its really hard to improve from now on.
IBIS might prove to be built in obsolescence and speed up the replacement cycle.
The path of improvement since my first digital camera in 2000 has been phenomenal.
I never thought they'd be so good at this point this quickly.
Even the lens have reached near perfection.
It just shows what humans can do when their brainpower is used in a positive manner.

The cat is not dead. Think back to about 10 years ago when PC sales dropped precipitously and every article was about how smartphones were obsoleting PCs and Laptops (and Macs). There were going to be no more needs for them for most people, the game was over for Dell, HP, IBM, etc. Well, years on and there are still tons of laptops and PCs sold - though the demographics of who buys them may not be the same - and those companies are continuing to exist quite happily. Some have diversified in to other things in larger or smaller amounts, some have not. Canon and others will follow the same path.

The Costco entry level DSLR or point and shoot may be dying now. Most casual moms are going to use their phone etc. But there is a professional and enthusiast market that is still very strong as we see in the posts here and on other photography forums daily. Content creation is increasing every day on multiple platforms. Innovation will continue and provide functionality that today's R5/6 don't offer, and upgrade cycles will continue. Camera companies' offerings will morph to follow the size and need of their user base. The landscape will change, the end does not appear to be in 2021.

-Brian

BirdDudeJosh · Jan 15, 2021

I feel like I have done my part in supporting Canon this year. Mostly because they released gear that I swear was targeted at me personally for what and the way I shoot.

I picked up an R5, 800mm f11 + hood, 600mm f11 + hood, RF 2x TC, RF 1.,4X TC, RF 100-500, RF 24-105 f4, RF 85L, RF 50 f1.8, RF Control ring adapter, R5 Battery Grip and an extra LPE-6NH all in the second half of 2020.

I still see a lot of DSLR's out there but I have seen what I would say was a good number of R5's in the wild and so far everyone I have seen with one loves it. As far as I can tell I don't think a single one of those R5's was in the hands of someone who was paying their bills with it. I know some of them are also looking forward to the high megapixel body someday too. Keep up the good work Canon.

John Wilde · Jan 16, 2021

Canon's press release on the subject: p2021jan14e.pdf (global.canon)

Reuters states that Canon's operating profit "... is nearly double analysts’ consensus..."

Canon raises outlook as buyers scoop up new models of cameras, printers | Reuters

privatebydesign · Jan 16, 2021

John Wilde said:
Canon's press release on the subject: p2021jan14e.pdf (global.canon)

Reuters states that Canon's operating profit "... is nearly double analysts’ consensus..."

Canon raises outlook as buyers scoop up new models of cameras, printers | Reuters

Don’t tell Dolina

ReflexVE · Jan 16, 2021

bbasiaga said:
The cat is not dead. Think back to about 10 years ago when PC sales dropped precipitously and every article was about how smartphones were obsoleting PCs and Laptops (and Macs). There were going to be no more needs for them for most people, the game was over for Dell, HP, IBM, etc. Well, years on and there are still tons of laptops and PCs sold - though the demographics of who buys them may not be the same - and those companies are continuing to exist quite happily. Some have diversified in to other things in larger or smaller amounts, some have not. Canon and others will follow the same path.

The Costco entry level DSLR or point and shoot may be dying now. Most casual moms are going to use their phone etc. But there is a professional and enthusiast market that is still very strong as we see in the posts here and on other photography forums daily. Content creation is increasing every day on multiple platforms. Innovation will continue and provide functionality that today's R5/6 don't offer, and upgrade cycles will continue. Camera companies' offerings will morph to follow the size and need of their user base. The landscape will change, the end does not appear to be in 2021.

-Brian

I don't really think this is the best comparison. PC sales have been dropping year over year for a decade. 2020 is the exception due to COVID resulting in many people needing a home office suddenly.

PC sales finally saw big growth in 2020 after years of steady decline | Ars Technica

Joules · Jan 16, 2021

ReflexVE said:
I don't really think this is the best comparison. PC sales have been dropping year over year for a decade. 2020 is the exception due to COVID resulting in many people needing a home office suddenly.

PC sales finally saw big growth in 2020 after years of steady decline | Ars Technica

I think the point was just that only because smartphones can do a lot of what dedicated tools (cameras, laptops, desktops) do pretty well, they can't fully replace them under all workloads. And so dedicated tools will remain relevant, although for different and likely smaller niches of the overall market.

GMCPhotographics · Jan 16, 2021

gatabo said:
R5 & R6 sell like hot cakes

Here in the UK under the current lock down rules...no one is allowed out except for essential supplies and minimum of exercise. Photography outside of your home is effectively banned. So I can't imagine many sane photographers thinking...aww I NEED that new camera body. In fact I think it's highly unethical if photographers are out shooting in the current lock down. Sure, that'll all change by Summer...we hope!

degos · Jan 16, 2021

ReflexVE said:
PC sales have been dropping year over year for a decade. 2020 is the exception due to COVID resulting in many people needing a home office suddenly.

The increase started in 2019.

"For the full year, PC shipments came to 261.2 million units, showing 0.6 percent growth from 2018. "

So you can say that roughly one in thirty people get a new PC each year. That's pretty impressive.

EOS 4 Life · Jan 16, 2021

privatebydesign said:
Don’t tell Dolina

or EOSHD

Antono Refa · Jan 16, 2021

Joules said:
I think the point was just that only because smartphones can do a lot of what dedicated tools (cameras, laptops, desktops) do pretty well, they can't fully replace them under all workloads. And so dedicated tools will remain relevant, although for different and likely smaller niches of the overall market.

Nowadays, a smartphone with a lapdock goes a long way, especially with cloud services like Google Docs.

lexptr · Jan 16, 2021

That is what happen, when they finally release great and long awaited cameras! The availability is still horrible, I waited several months to get the R5. Eventually got it just about a week before the New Year and than in few days managed to catch couple of RF lenses in deferent stores. So my support is there too. And this year, if things will go well, I'll replace my second 5D and other EF lenses with another R5 and RFs. Very happy with the new system! It is in fact much better than I theoretically expected it will be. Compared to DSLR, it is a huge jump. I hope Canon won't drag their feet again and fall behind the competition.

Fischer · Jan 17, 2021

Hector1970 said:
Dead cat bounce perhaps. The R5 and R6 were long awaited cameras. I'd say the glory days are over.
Canon will still sell alot of cameras but less and less every year.
Other than unreliability it will be hard to justify replacing them. The margin of improvement is getting thinner and thinner.
More intelligent auto focus perhaps, better battery life, its really hard to improve from now on.
IBIS might prove to be built in obsolescence and speed up the replacement cycle.
The path of improvement since my first digital camera in 2000 has been phenomenal.
I never thought they'd be so good at this point this quickly.
Even the lens have reached near perfection.
It just shows what humans can do when their brainpower is used in a positive manner.

Sounds like when Olympus in 2012 announced the MPIX race was over with 12 MPIX. Today people are lambasting the R6 for its "ridiculously" low MPIX count. And in fact the only practical reason to get a R5 over the R6 for photography is the pixel count imho. Who would buy a camera today without eye-AF? Many, many more improvements and innovations are coming to our cameras the next years - with mobile camera systems leading the way in software assisted photography where they are light years ahead..

ReflexVE · Jan 17, 2021

degos said:
The increase started in 2019.

"For the full year, PC shipments came to 261.2 million units, showing 0.6 percent growth from 2018. "

So you can say that roughly one in thirty people get a new PC each year. That's pretty impressive.

Fair enough, I should have said market penetration. 0.6% YoY is not a drop in sales, but it is at best negligible which the article points out. Regardless, 2020 is a massive anomaly as the article also points out, and whenever we come out of pandemic times, or reach a level of market penetration that satisfies the needs of work from home, there is little reason to expect this trend to change.