In an article published by the Nikkei news, Canon's president Fujio Mitarai talks about the future of the camera business and where it's heading over the next couple of years.
Canon thinks that the camera market will shrink another 50% over the next 2 years, which is changing some strategies at Canon on how to deal with the change in the marketplace.
- Canon's camera sales have declined 10% a year over the last few years.
- The global market for interchangeable lens cameras is about 10 million units a year.
- Mirrorless camera sales are not adding to the market, they're merely replacing DSLR sales. This is likely why Canon and Nikon waited so long to enter the full frame mirrorless segment. Putting forth the R&D to cannibalize yourself probably gets the bean counters in a tizzy.
- Canon will shift its business to more corporate sales than consumer retail sales
- Canon obviously recognizes what Smartphones have done to the sales of entry-level cameras, but Canon thinks they'll continue to sell 5-6 million prosumer and professional cameras once we've reached the bottom of the decline.
- Canon will focus more on industrial, surveillance and medical imaging.
All of this points to an amalgamation of DSLR lines to offset the additional EOS R system cameras that are coming. This also tells us that Canon isn't likely in any sort of rush to get 3-4 EOS R cameras to the marketplace, especially when the market is still declining.
I believe this is a worst-case scenario that Canon is strategizing for and that innovation and great new products are still coming over the next few years.
Maybe some consequences of the intransparent camera market today - what's missing are some less feature laden cameras with excellent IQ. I bought 200D and M50 for their great sensors and DPAF capability but they are full of features while lacking some ergonomics. While the 200D has no safety shift (a really interesting feature for emergencies in Av and Tv) the M50 has it while they omitted the cable release in the M50 but it's existing in the 200D. Both lack the possibility to set a Image stabilizer limit e.g. 1...5EV for shutter speed - instead it cranks up the ISO.
Hopefully they will release a good FF mirrorless which is on the slow side (not AF wise!) but sports great IQ. The existing EOS R is too expensive for my application and at that price (or 300 EUR more) I would expect a FF 4k mode in a 2018 camera.
Should Canon try to increase their market share with additional and competitive models instead of slamming the brakes on? Anyway, apart from Canon, nobody knows what their real strategy will be. Unlike most youtubers, they are market -experienced. We can only wait and see...and remain confident!
surprising?
we have not reached bottom yet. every chart i have seen indicates that the downward trend will keep on for a while.
Many contradictory statements, yours... you want a camera with less features, but then complain about the missing ones. Great IQ and fast AF but at a cheap price point. Have the cake and eat it...
I will make a prediction for Mr Mitarai. You sir, bet heavily on the cinemaEOS system . That's why your EOS line had laughable video offerings compared to the competition. Now watch as Indie filmmakers and journalists move away from clunky cinemaEOS type video cameras to mirrorless. The coming Panasonic S1/S1R is just the beginning.
additional models? no way...their lineup is already very complicated...
it depends.... as long as hardcore canon fanboys buy cameras that miss features.
i guess it is cheaper to produce cameras with the same old sensors (no BSI, not stacked) and without 4K features that would need a beefier processor.
reusing old stuff sure creates higher profits than developing like crazy in a shrinking market.... when the customers buy your stuff anyway.
but you have to be a canon fanboy or shareholder to appreciated this strategy....
Not really, they are justifying investments in other areas in order to meet their growth goals. If they just claimed a 50% drop was coming, and left it at that, investors would dump their stock. There might be some sand bagging in that estimate, but I don't think anyone really knows what the right number is, just that the direction is clear and it seems irreversible. A corporation must grow exponentially forever, when a market-wide contraction comes, you either find new markets (like Fujifilm in the dying days of film) or perish.
There's not much you can do. You can choose Canon who is more conservative and has after many decades proven that it can survive and be the best in photography, or you can choose Sony which has over the years shown itself to be fickle in which products it holds or drops. Among others, Sony dropped personal stereos and TV when they once held a dominating lead. I wouldn't trust Sony to continue selling cameras in the future just as I wouldn't trust Samsung to continue selling cameras.
agree. Now that people seem to have stopped replacing their compacts with DSLRs (and mirrorless alternatives) and instead use their smartphones maybe we will see manufacturers return to simpler lineups where each step up the ladder is obvious and motivated.
Or someone who likes taking good pictures.
YKNJS.