BCN Lens Sale Rankings for the First Half of 2023

[Richard CR]

BCN has released its lens rankings for the first half of 2023. Just in case you don’t know, BCN is a sales tracking company in Japan. They track well over 50% of all sales in Japan and assemble the results for us. So this data is quite indicative of the Japanese camera market. You can

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[EricN]

I thought I had read everyone wants f1.4 and f/5.6-8 is too slow.

 

[EOS 4 Life]

Interesting list.
* The EF nifty fifty still outsells the RF one.
For both Canon and Nikon, SLR lenses are higher on the list but both have 2 mirrorless ones.
* Tamron has 2 f/2.8 lenses.
* Nikon has an S lens.
* OM is still popular on the list.

 

[Marphoto]

What fascinating information from the Japanese market.

 

[neuroanatomist]

I thought I had read everyone wants f1.4 and f/5.6-8 is too slow.

Yeah, kinda pours cold water on those claiming that Canon *must* release f/1.4 lenses and *must* stop making slow, cheap zooms and then implying an 'or else' that never seems to materialize. I do find it amusing that for all those bashing the 100-400 for being 'slow and dark' it's Canon's best-selling RF lens. Proving once again that Canon understands the ILC market far better than the armchair 'experts' here.

The two Nikon Z lenses at the bottom of the list is probably good news for Nikon. Probably, because like the sales rankings on Amazon the rank order from BCN here says nothing about the actual number of units sold, so the #1 Tamron 28-200 could have sold 50 or 100 times as many copies as the #10 Nikon 24-120.

The other important thing to keep in mind (stating the obvious) is that for most people these are lenses bought to supplement the kit lens(es) that came with their MILC.

 

[masterpix]

BCN has released its lens rankings for the first half of 2023. Just in case you don’t know, BCN is a sales tracking company in Japan. They track well over 50% of all sales in Japan and assemble the results for us. So this data is quite indicative of the Japanese camera market. You can

See full article...

The 50mm f1.8 is a good lens, regardless to the mount. The RF is about 50$ more expensive, and most R users have already the converter, so?

 

[neuroanatomist]

The 50mm f1.8 is a good lens, regardless to the mount. The RF is about 50$ more expensive, and most R users have already the converter, so?

Here in the US, the RF version is $55 more. That doesn't sound like much in absolute terms, but in relative terms the RF version is 44% more expensive.

 

[blackcoffee17]

I thought I had read everyone wants f1.4 and f/5.6-8 is too slow.

I knew someone who had multiple Canon APS-C DSLRs and lenses, and used them regularly but was not sure what sensor size the cameras have.

 

[John Wilde]

Factoid: "for every interchangeable-lens digital camera, 1.6 units of interchangeable lenses were shipped in 2022" - CIPA

And that includes kit lenses.

 

[Jethro]

The other important thing to keep in mind (stating the obvious) is that for most people these are lenses bought to supplement the kit lens(es) that came with their MILC.

Good point - that this does not include kit lenses.

Very interesting that the EF 50mm f/1.8 outsells the RF version (or any other non-kit RF lens) - price obviously matters - and most people realise quickly that such a lens can be easily and effectively adapted on an R series body.

 

[David - Sydney]

The list is unsurprising in that the top lenses sold are the cheapest ones (after kit lenses).
That said, the general impression is that Asian market has tended to buy smaller bodies and EF-M lenses aren't included - even though there are only a couple left. They also tend to buy newer tech so Canon must still be selling a lot of lower end EF bodies within Japan.

 

[DhlcadR6]

I thought I had read everyone wants f1.4 and f/5.6-8 is too slow.

As a proud RF 100-400 owner. This lens is a perfect balance of a daily use telephoto that is not an m43 lens. Only specwhxxes and Anti-Canon fanboys just look at the f-number and talks shxt. This lens on my R6 and R50 performs so well on plane-spotting and landscapes. And with a good hand, you can handheld this 1/10 @ 400mm

Most people use this lens under reasonable daylight, so even f8 is bright enough. Only on the internet(dpreview & YouTube) that there's absurd amount of people claiming they need a f2.8 tele zoom and demands sub 1000USD MSRP

 

[JohnC]

Unfortunately I think I'm responsible for about .2 of that 1.6 average

 

[EricN]

I've seen other people here say great things about the rf 100-400 f5.6-8 and the 600 and 800 f/11s. I didn't try yet, because I already have the ef mkii and although it's heavy and I have chronic back pain, I'm happy enough with it. I do occasionally want to make 100% crops with it, so maybe the 800 could be useful.

 

[DhlcadR6]

I've seen other people here say great things about the rf 100-400 f5.6-8 and the 600 and 800 f/11s. I didn't try yet, because I already have the ef mkii and although it's heavy and I have chronic back pain, I'm happy enough with it. I do occasionally want to make 100% crops with it, so maybe the 800 could be useful.

600/800 f11 is a niche toy, it won't be everyone's favorite but it's cheap enough to give everyone to try out if needed.

I understand you want to stick with the EF100-400L mk2, that lens is still holding up well against the RF100-500L, FE100-400GM and Z100-400. But RF100-400 will handle 80% of EF100-400L mk2's roles while being much lighter. The 'dark-side' is always tempting.

 

[neuroanatomist]

Wow! RF lenses are so desirable that the best selling Canon lens is an EF one. Not a surprise.

Wow! Canon’s cheapest lens is their best-selling lens in a country where a Canon DSLR (the Kiss X10 aka 250D, also one of the cheapest) remains in the top-10 best seller list.

Not a surprise. Nor is your continued trolling.

 

[mxwphoto]

600/800 f11 is a niche toy, it won't be everyone's favorite but it's cheap enough to give everyone to try out if needed.

I understand you want to stick with the EF100-400L mk2, that lens is still holding up well against the RF100-500L, FE100-400GM and Z100-400. But RF100-400 will handle 80% of EF100-400L mk2's roles while being much lighter. The 'dark-side' is always tempting.

I just came back from the zoo last weekend. Carrying the RF 100-400 was a breeze and easy to handle with 2 kids in tow. The animal pictures, even through cages, can have the wires blurred out enough to not matter. There were times when I did want a brighter aperture due to the animals being in the dense tree and leaf shades and/or to blur out fence background, but I doubt 1 stop to f5.6 would have done much. To really make enough impact I probably would have needed a f4 or 2.8, which the weight would have made the 5 hour trekking around the zoo unbearable.

I have attached straight out of camera jpg shot at s1 quality, so please excuse the lower resolution.

 

[EricN]

I just came back from the zoo last weekend. Carrying the RF 100-400 was a breeze and easy to handle with 2 kids in tow. The animal pictures, even through cages, can have the wires blurred out enough to not matter. There were times when I did want a brighter aperture due to the animals being in the dense tree and leaf shades and/or to blur out fence background, but I doubt 1 stop to f5.6 would have done much. To really make enough impact I probably would have needed a f4 or 2.8, which the weight would have made the 5 hour trekking around the zoo unbearable.

I have attached straight out of camera jpg shot at s1 quality, so please excuse the lower resolution.

They do look good and the price and weight are great!

 

[SnowMiku]

It doesn't surprise me that the EF 50mm f/1.8 STM is 2nd. It's cheap and can take professional quality shots if you know how to use it. Does the RF version have the same optics as the EF version?

 

[EricN]

It doesn't surprise me that the EF 50mm f/1.8 STM is 2nd. It's cheap and can take professional quality shots if you know how to use it. Does the RF version have the same optics as the EF version?

They have different qualities, but I think they produce similar images.