For all the internet hate Canon gets, they continue to do what you're supposed to do as a company, sell more things than anyone else, and according to the latest numbers, Canon has done just that. In 2018, Canon increased its market share globally by 3.9%.
Now, it's not all positive, as the digital camera market fell 22% in 2018. Which means Canon has a bigger piece of a smaller pie.
The top 5 camera companies control 85.2% of the global camera market.
Top 5 camera manufacturers by market share globally:
- Canon 40.5% (+ 3.9)
- Nikon 19.1% (- 2.7)
- Sony 17.7% (- 0.7)
- Fujifilm: 5.1% (+ 1.3)
- Olympus: 2.8% (+ 0.1)
It looks like Sony continues to eat into Nikon's market share, and I imagine is a second system for a lot of Canon shooters.
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And the EOS R pro hasn't even been released!
I want to know names, surnames and addresses of the few crazy people still buying Canon products.
The Nekkei report is behind a paywall - are they reporting sales value or number of units sold? Just to put it all in context.
I think Canon, despite the average bodies, going full on with pro grade RF lenses has been wise, it's a clear statement.
Nikon I think is struggling because their message isn't clear. Their Z cameras are quite good but a step below their SLRs but they are still more expensive. The lenses released are not the sort of legendary lenses the F-mount traded on especially when it comes to things like build quality. Even the 24-70/2.8S while optically superior is apparently, according to reviews anyway, a notch below their F-mount 24-70/2.8 in terms of build quality. So for Nikon the messaging is very muddled - is Z mount just for smaller system but heavy duty pros need to stick to F mount? With Canon there's no confusion either way - both systems are going to be complete. You can only make one first impression.
At the end of the day, while ever the internet obsesses about dynamic range at ISO 2 million, most people instinctively know that it's lenses that make a system. That's why the Leica M mount survives. That is why even Pentax K mount survives. It has been the magic behind the EF mount. Canon is using it to push the RF mount. It's fascinating to me to see Nikon, having for decades understood this fact and leveraged it to sell cameras with F-mount, seems to have forgotten this right at the moment a new mount is released, their first full frame one since the 1950s. I really wonder about the management of that company. While I love Canon I do admire Nikon and many of their lenses from the 80s and 90s are incredibly well built tanks, their ergonomics are great and they are a good competitor we should be happy to have them keep pushing Canon but they seem really all over the place at the moment.
Also, lately, reviewers on Youtube, like the slanted lens, noted leaning toward purchasing the EOS R. And even if Jared Polin hasn't bought an R, he's certainly using one, and it's evident he's enthralled with new RF lenses like the RF 85mm 1.2 he just released a video for this summer. I seem to recall the guy at the SLR Lounge just saying the RF 28-70mm is his new favorite lens.
but really, Sony has been pretty much all by themselves for a long time with mirrorless. Most of that time mirrorless wasn’t selling very well, and was supported by Sony. Then mirrorless seemed to be doing better, because the much better selling DSLR’s (not Sony’s, as they were always selling poorly) started to decline at a rapid rate, making mirrorless look much better, even though mirrorless sales themselves weren’t growing rapidly.
that gave Sony a better marketshare. But, with both Canon and Nikon out of the game for years in mirrorless, Sony had almost no competition. When Canon finally entered with the M series, it shook everything up, because sales of those shot up, and became a major rival to Sony there.
but still no full frame until now. Canon has great lenses there, but good, but not exciting bodies. Nikon has excellent bodies, but good, but not great lenses.
it don’t think we can tell how this is going to play out until the end of 2020 is here.
I'm not even sure what they are measuring. The story reads as though they are measuring the overall camera market, which would include both DSLRs and Mirrorless and maybe even point and shoots and analog cameras.
If that's the case, remember that one of the top selling cameras worldwide is the Fuji Instax.
Remember too that among digital cameras, APS-C sensor cameras far outsell full frame so don't put too much weight on the sales of Sony, Canon or Nikon full frame mirrorless.
And, in terms of Nikon, keep in mind that they don't even have an APS-C mirrorless line.
Finally, it represents sales in 2018.
So, yeah, this shows Canon is gaining overall market share, but don't be getting all excited about the R system vs. Sony, because we don't even know if that's a factor in this report.