Fuel for the fire: Amazon DSLR Rankings...and no REAL 2012-2013 market data?

jrista

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Dec 3, 2011
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http://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Electronics-DSLR-Cameras/zgbs/electronics/3017941/ref=zg_bs_nav_e_4_3109924011

I just found it interesting...this page used to be completely dominated by Canon DSLRs. Earlier in the year/late last year, there were only a couple Nikon cameras on the list, and all of them were below 10th place. Today, I just thought I'd take another gander:

Canon still holds the top spot, with the T3i...however (at the time of writing this...seems the report is updated hourly, so who knows what it will be by the time anyone reads this):

#2: D3300
#4: D5300 Kit Option
#7: D7100
#9: D810
#10: D3100
#15: D5300 Kit Option
#17: D5200

That is seven DSLRs on that list that are now Nikon. Plus a Pentax. Of the cameras on the list, all of the Nikon's except for one held their position or GAINED. ONE Nikon fell. Of the cameras on the list, it was split 50/50 between which FELL and which gained or held their position.

This has been a staple ranking for those who tout the market share argument. I think, in general, THIS page is one of the key pages that fuels the market share argument. In addition, so does this page:

http://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Electronics-DSLR-Camera-Bundles/zgbs/electronics/2476680011/ref=zg_bs_nav_e_4_3017941

Where the top two spots are held by Nikon kits now. It should also be pointed out that Nikon and Sony cameras hold the top spot on all the Digital Camera best sellers listings. I don't think that a page that updates hourly is honestly a good gauge of which specific camera is best...however I do believe that the consistency of brands on these pages over time is an indication of market trends. These pages used to be dominated by Canon on a regular basis...today, they seem to be much more diverse. Regardless of who has what rankings, the greater diversity is very intriguing to me.

I started looking at these pages to see what the current state of "the market", in this case, let's just say the whole damn digital camera market, really was. In my additional searches...I have actually not found any recent market share data that's been aggregated into something easily comparable between brands. There are lots of reports, up supposedly through 2012, and some reports published in 2013, however from an actual real data standpoint, most seem to reference data up through 2010 and maybe 2011. I have not actually found any global sales reports, for the DSLR market specifically, but even the digital camera market in general, that was completely through 2012, and nothing at all for 2013. I found some reports that speak about just the Japanese or Asian markets, however the demographics there, and the cameras sold, don't seem to jive with the rest of the world (more mirrorless, for example).

So...the whole market share argument...I'm just curious, honestly curious, where it comes from. When I look around, I see that market share up through 2010 was indeed dominated by Canon. It was still controlled by Canon in 2011, however Sony and Nikon apparently closed the gap. Since then...the most critical years...2012, 2013, 2014...there doesn't actually seem to be any concrete data about the real state of the market. Only bits and pieces of disparate data that aren't directly comparable. Who is dominant, who is selling the most...and of what kind of cameras? How has market share shifted, if it's shifted at all? Which camera types are most popular, and what alternatives are REALLY cutting into what markets and where?

Based on the current Amazon Digital Camera best sellers rankings...Canon, which I do remember held the top spots in pretty much every category...only seems to hold the top spot in ONE category now, and Nikon and Sony cameras are much more prevalent in those categories as well. Overall, those pages contain a greater diversity of brands, and the very strong dominance Canon cameras once held seems to have wavered.
 
Please register in NR & SR and let the trolling begins :)))

Otherwise the ranking should not be always considered as a good sign for good product: IMO in this ranking example Canon had a better model and features bundle segmentation as well as better communication to the customers.
 
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I don't have access to any search engine data, but I wouldn't be surprised if we could find a reasonably good correlation between used keywords from sites like Alexa, with how much a certain digital camera has been sold.
What I'm saying is that I think that for many potential buyers there are aspects far away from the technical development that makes them buy a certain something. Neither would I be surprised if influence from colleagues and friends, mentions in forums and magazines, and hits on Google would have an impact on sales figures.

In all I think that to explain the numbers we would end up with a fairly complex formula with many parameters in it, all sprinkled with a load of irrational behaviours on top. (Not all decisions that we make are sane - that includes buying gear and accessories.)
 
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Maybe Amazon DSLR rankings are too volatile a measure to tell for sure. Using the link jrista posted, I'm seeing a different story now. Though, to be fair, members of this forum have used this data before as evidence towards the dominance of Canon in the DLSR market. Is there any way to get the data over the course of a longer period of time?
 

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The problem with hourly stats is that they change too much to be of any real value. Right now, six of the top ten DSLRs in that first link are Canon, and 12 out of the top 20. Nikon has only 4 out of the top 10 and 6 out of the top 20. Pentax and Panasonic each have one camera on the list. Sony isn't listed at all.
 
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Another consideration is sample size.

Is Amazon selling enough cameras to make an inference about sales in general? Should we also include sales figures from B&H, and others? What about seasonality- numbers will absolutely change between now and Christmas (Black Thursday, Cyber Monday, Christmas, etc.), so likely, it is most prudent to just compare year over year sales figures.

It is fun to speculate however, and hope that the boys at Canon are feeling the flames licking at their heels and adding more goodness to cameras.

sek
 
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There are a lot of factors in play here, so many that you can't draw a meaningful conclusion.

These are HOURLY best sellers?? How about over 3 months or over 6 months?

Also amazon is a mass market retailer and will be heavily skewed towards the low end of the market. Lots of t5i and T5, but are you going to. Uy a high end pro camera from amazon? i likely wouldn't.

Just two examples of how variable this "data" actually is.
 
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Ridiculously confusing model numbers. I guess most just tossed a coin and picked one up without reading the specs because they would not go wrong or right with any those xxxx models. They are not bad, but none is great. When a manufacturer does that, they are intentionally playing the customers. Nikon's most glorious days were the legendary F3 to F5 era. Long gone.
 
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jrista said:
Based on the current Amazon Digital Camera best sellers rankings...

If you really want to follow US Amazon rankings, you need to CONSTANTLY monitor the charts. Those charts are updated very frequently. I have looked at them and Canon dominates the DSLR list about 60% of the time. The same goes for BCNRanking.

As for global sales numbers, I should have the data. Can furnish later.
 
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omg who cares which multi billion dollar multinational corporation is selling more widgets

Did medieval peasants sit around wondering which of the lords won more horse races and get into weird arguments about it? Actually, they probably did. Humanity is terrible.
 
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jrista said:
http://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Electronics-DSLR-Cameras/zgbs/electronics/3017941/ref=zg_bs_nav_e_4_3109924011

I just found it interesting...this page used to be completely dominated by Canon DSLRs. Earlier in the year/late last year, there were only a couple Nikon cameras on the list, and all of them were below 10th place. Today, I just thought I'd take another gander:

Canon still holds the top spot, with the T3i...however (at the time of writing this...seems the report is updated hourly, so who knows what it will be by the time anyone reads this):

Don't confuse Amazon with the overall market. I for instance only buy at Amazon if their offer is the best, otherwise I buy somewhere else. So that data you're providing only shows that Amazon has competitive Nikon offers and not so competitive Canon offers. Look for instance at the top 10 list at this page (in german, I know, but you'll get the list never the less) http://www.heise.de/preisvergleich/?o=35 it shows a completely different trend.
 
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At post time, in at #19 comes the venerable Pentax K1000.

I've no idea, nor concern regarding what that might mean about 'the' market, I'm just delighted to see that old classic, venerable, iconic and basic camera is still being actively traded enough to list with modern marvels.
 
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DominoDude said:
I don't have access to any search engine data
Yeah you do. We all do:

http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=canon%20camera%2C%20nikon%20camera&cmpt=q
http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=canon%20used%2C%20nikon%20used&cmpt=q

I'm not sure what the point of this thread is beyond stirring up mud but we do have some access to search engine data at least. Just more fuel. Fantasy football for camera geeks. Take photos!
 
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I noticed this last week. I was surprised because when I looked the 5DIII wasn't even in the top 10, which is unusual, because for months the 6D and 5DIII have been the only full frame DSLRs in the top 20 or so.

The Nikon D810 was in the top 10 then, which was a surprise because the D800 had fallen way down shortly after it's release. (I think it was hovering around 40-50th place most of the year)

I see that the 5DIII is now back in the top 10 and slightly above the D810.

I think it's too early to tell if the D810 ranking reflects an initial surge due to its introduction.

This is a good source, but only for general trends, rather than a specific placement on any one day or week – Although the T3i seems to always be the Number 1 seller and has been that way for probably a year or more.

Since Amazon is the world's largest retailer, I don't think anyone should dismiss their sales numbers. But, like anything of this nature, each data point simply represents a snapshot in time and isn't meaningful until you see long range numbers. I certainly wouldn't get caught up in individual ranking spots (Camera X is in 8th place and Camera Y is in 10th place), as those slots shift over time, but still the general trends are enlightening.

Unfortunately, Amazon no longer seems to include the number of weeks a camera has been in the top 100 (at least I don't see it anymore). That was an important data point, because it helped give a better picture of the overall popularity of a camera body.
 
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dswtan said:
DominoDude said:
I don't have access to any search engine data
Yeah you do. We all do:

http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=canon%20camera%2C%20nikon%20camera&cmpt=q
http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=canon%20used%2C%20nikon%20used&cmpt=q

I'm not sure what the point of this thread is beyond stirring up mud but we do have some access to search engine data at least. Just more fuel. Fantasy football for camera geeks. Take photos!

Very interesting. Thanks for the link.
 
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