Canon, King in SLR Cameras, Makes Inroads Into Mirrorless

[Canon Rumors]

It appears Canon will be shifting a lot of focus to the mirrorless segment in very near future, and claim the EOS M50 is a step in that direction according to a report from the Nikkei Asian Review.</p>
<blockquote><p>TOKYO — <a class="mwMoTrg" href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Company/05DZHY-E" target="_self">Canon</a> will shift more of its focus to mirrorless cameras, a change in strategy spurred by sharp growth in the market.</p>
<p>The company boasts a commanding share of the global single-lens reflex market but was reluctant to enter the mirrorless field over concerns about cannibalizing SLR sales.</p>
<p>Canon said Monday that it will release an entry-level mirrorless camera next month. The product is positioned as “a strategic model” for mirrorless cameras, according to Masahiro Sakata, president of Canon group member Canon Marketing Japan.</p>
<p>Canon hopes that the new product will attract demand from families, including mothers who enjoy taking pictures of their children.</p>
<p>A latecomer to the mirrorless market, Canon released its first model in 2012 under the EOS M brand. The company held 23% of the domestic market for these cameras in 2017, ranking second behind Olympus. It aims for the top spot with the new offering.</p>
<p>With mirrorless cameras rapidly gaining popularity and rivals like Sony breaking into SLRs, Canon decided it must “actively roll out products for a growth market even if there is some cannibalization,” Sakata said.</p>
<p>The Japanese market for interchangeable lens cameras recorded a 10.1% drop in sales for SLRs last year while mirrorless varieties soared 29.2%. Mirrorless cameras also account for half of the interchangeable lens market in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore. <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/Canon-king-in-SLR-cameras-makes-inroads-into-mirrorless">Read the full article</a></p></blockquote>
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[basisunus]

Add global shutter and dual-pixel HDR before SONY then.

 

[canonic]

Canon hopes that the new product will attract demand from families, including mothers who enjoy taking pictures of their children.

Now we know what the target is ...
Now, Canon, make at least variants with some shades of pink. Those mothers will appreciate it.

 

[IglooEater]

Seems that canon is acting very late if they're having to respond to a market that is already beginning to shift. And if their dslr lineup is to be cannibalized it would seem better that it would be so by a Canon product than that of a competitor. It's as if it took until recently to even recognize that mirrorless was going to be a thing.
To give them credit, they seem to have caught on, and I expect to seem a great FullFrame mirrorless sometime

 

[Diltiazem]

Canon surely is encouraged by double digit growth of it's mirrorless last year. There likely to be better/higher end M cameras in near future. They need more lenses soon. Canon probably thought they could be relaxed about new M lenses as people could use EF lenses with adapter. I think Canon will change this attitude now.

 

[3kramd5]

YAPOGrowthFC

 

[Talys]

Seems that canon is acting very late if they're having to respond to a market that is already beginning to shift. And if their dslr lineup is to be cannibalized it would seem better that it would be so by a Canon product than that of a competitor. It's as if it took until recently to even recognize that mirrorless was going to be a thing.
To give them credit, they seem to have caught on, and I expect to seem a great FullFrame mirrorless sometime

They definitely jumped on later than Sony -- which makes it all the more impressive that they're second behind Olympus.

 

[IglooEater]

Seems that canon is acting very late if they're having to respond to a market that is already beginning to shift. And if their dslr lineup is to be cannibalized it would seem better that it would be so by a Canon product than that of a competitor. It's as if it took until recently to even recognize that mirrorless was going to be a thing.
To give them credit, they seem to have caught on, and I expect to seem a great FullFrame mirrorless sometime

They definitely jumped on later than Sony -- which makes it all the more impressive that they're second behind Olympus.

+1. Very impressive indeed

 

[BillB]

Seems that canon is acting very late if they're having to respond to a market that is already beginning to shift. And if their dslr lineup is to be cannibalized it would seem better that it would be so by a Canon product than that of a competitor. It's as if it took until recently to even recognize that mirrorless was going to be a thing.
To give them credit, they seem to have caught on, and I expect to seem a great FullFrame mirrorless sometime

They definitely jumped on later than Sony -- which makes it all the more impressive that they're second behind Olympus.

Between dual pixel technology and developing the Liveview interface with touchscreen focussing, Canon hasn't exactly been ignoring mirrorless related technologies, even if they haven't put out that many cameras with EVFs.

 

[3kramd5]

Seems that canon is acting very late if they're having to respond to a market that is already beginning to shift. And if their dslr lineup is to be cannibalized it would seem better that it would be so by a Canon product than that of a competitor. It's as if it took until recently to even recognize that mirrorless was going to be a thing.
To give them credit, they seem to have caught on, and I expect to seem a great FullFrame mirrorless sometime

They definitely jumped on later than Sony -- which makes it all the more impressive that they're second behind Olympus.

+1. Very impressive indeed

Canon is playing a long game, most everyone else is playing short term. The canon technology portfolio all plays well together, and they make leaps when multiple things are fielded/proven and they know they can amalgamate them in a working system out of the gate rather than releasing systems with drastic shortcomings, cleaned up over subsequent releases.

 

[bf]

In touch screen interface canon is arguably the best. Their dual pixel is pretty decent in video recording. About M50, I think the most impressive thing is price and the way Canon named it (as their mid-level product). Not too far ago, canon would not place some of these features in their flagship mirror-less.

 

[vangelismm]

Canon is second without any effort.
And will be number one by the end of the year without a FF mirrorless because what really sells is entry level cameras.

 

[snappy604]

Yeah the M50 got me thinking while its painful waiting, maybe finally they'd do something.. good to see.

wonder if there will be any EF variants on mirrorless. Would hate to adapter all the lenses I have or buy new ones.

 

[mistaspeedy]

"The Japanese market for interchangeable lens cameras recorded a 10.1% drop in sales for SLRs last year while mirrorless varieties soared 29.2%"

That's the only way you can get Canon to move.... they smelled the money and want their share of it... totally understandable.

 

[alienman]

Wow canon behind Olympus, I understand this is my opinion but i think sony makes better mirrorless cameras than both the a9 and riii are tough to deny. How soon will it be before we see a Full Frame mirrorless from canon?

 

[unfocused]

Canon hopes that the new product will attract demand from families, including mothers who enjoy taking pictures of their children.

Now we know what the target is ...
Now, Canon, make at least variants with some shades of pink. Those mothers will appreciate it.

Yeah, poor Mary Ellen Mark, Diane Arbus, Joyce Tenneson, Margaret Bourke White and Susan Meiselas, all they ever wanted was a pink camera.

You should have taken Lincoln's advice: Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt.

 

[sanj]

Now where are the mirrorless haters?? : : :

 

[CanoKnight]

Canon hopes that the new product will attract demand from families, including mothers who enjoy taking pictures of their children.

..now we know why they feel safe putting 4k in their toy cameras.. not to mention with disabled autofocus. Canon's paranoia of losing sales !

 

[ahsanford]

More talk of entry level stuff here -- so, yawn for me -- but words like 'even if there is cannibalization' leaves me room to believe that FF mirrorless is just a breath away.

- A

 

[transpo1]

"The Japanese market for interchangeable lens cameras recorded a 10.1% drop in sales for SLRs last year while mirrorless varieties soared 29.2%"

That's the only way you can get Canon to move.... they smelled the money and want their share of it... totally understandable.

Yup.

“Canon decided it must ‘actively roll out products for a growth market even if there is some cannibalization.’”

And this article proves for anyone who ever doubted how much they fear cannibalizing their own lines...until of course, they fear other people cannibalizing them more. Which is why they had to change strategy and release a camera with the 4K moniker as a defensive move. I say moniker because once people realize it has a 2.5x crop, they won’t be using it for 4K much.