I think that it is/was fair to say that Canon was late to FF mirrorless. Of course their EF-M system was in place for a long time but Sony was the dominant FF mirrorless OEM for some time.
I disagree.
late /lāt/
adjective
(1) coming or remaining after the due, usual, or proper time
(2) of, relating to, or imposed because of tardiness
‘Late’ means after they should have, and the market data do not support that contention.
Consider the MILC timeline…
- 2008
- Panasonic launches LUMIX (m4/3 sensor)
- 2009
- Olympus launches PEN (m4/3 sensor)
- 2010
- Samsung launches NX (APS-C sensor)
- Sony launches NEX (APS-C sensor)
- 2011
- Nikon launches 1 (1” sensor)
- 2012
- Canon launches EOS M (APS-C sensor)
- Sony launches alpha (FF sensor)
- CIPA begins tracking MILCs and DSLRs separately
- 2017
- Canon M series becomes best-selling MILC line
- 2018
- Canon launches EOS R (FF sensor)
- Nikon launches Z6/7 (FF sensor)
- 2019
- Nikon launches Z50 (APS-C sensor)
- 2020
- Total MILC shipments first exceed total DSLR shipments (CIPA data)
- 2022
- Canon takes #1 mirrorless title from Sony
Canon was the #1 ILC brand, and more importantly they were the dominant DSLR brand. Why prioritize mirrorless when DLSRs remained far more popular? As DSLR sales dropped, Canon grew to have the most popular APS-C line, and they shifted emphasis to FF MILCs when it was clear the downward trend of DSLR sales would cross the flat line of MILC sales.
Two years after MILCs became more popular than DSLRs, Canon became the #1 MILC brand. All the while, they maintained a stable dominance of the ILC market as a whole.
While I don’t believe mirrorless is a paradigm shift (unlike, for example, film to digital), it is a significant transition for the camera industry, and one occurring against the even more significant backdrop of the rise of smartphones driving camera sales down hard. For Canon to lead with ~45% of the ILC market (±3%) at its peak early last decade, and to still have that same commanding lead through the dramatic drop in camera sales (nearly 90%) and the transition from DSLR to MILC, speaks to a very well designed and executed strategy. Not to being late.
To paraphrase Orson Wells advertising a volume wine producer’s product, “We will sell no MILCs before their time.” Better yet, to paraphrase one of the Maiar who was fond of wearing a gray, pointy hat, “Canon is never late, nor are they early, they arrive precisely when they mean to.”