Originally posted by Aristophanes Nikon's mirrorless 1 series hit #1 in sales in Japan over all other brands.
Frankly, mirrorless has not done all that well outside of Asia, even the NEX. Their traction has been slow for a few reasons:
- Value. Prices have been too high for what you get and what you lose (OVF).
-Size. Not everyone wants a small form factor.
- Sensor size. Fuji and Sony get it right, but m43 is increasingly looking like the middle child. Nikon 1 at least makes a serious case do the smaller sensor.
- ILC. Guess what? Maybe more people want a bridge camera?
- Less "pro". No doubt this has been a factor.
It may be true that the J1 was the best-selling individual model in Japan last year, but that was because almost all Nikon 1 sales were consolidated into the one body. The best selling manufacturer overall was Olympus (shared between many new and old models on the market), with Sony second. As a system m4/3 was the biggest seller in Japan by some margin. You can still find plenty of J1s, V1s and J2s on sale in Japan, so I don't think Nikon will be happy with its performance.
People in Asia appear to want smaller cameras with large sensors. Asia accounts of 4bn of the 7bn people on this earth, has the second largest nominal GDP of any continent after Europe and the highest by purchasing power parity. So, saying they aren't very popular outside Asia is a strange way of dismissing the attraction of smaller cameras. Especially since Ricoh makes most of its money in Japan, the thought of being left out of a big chunk of the home market must be a cause for concern.
But I used the phrase "smaller cameras", because I think the way this discussion is being framed as "mirrorless vs. reflex" is kind of false and typical of the way internet discussions go these days - tech websites hype a new technology, and then commenters pick their side and start arguing over it. In reality, users want certain benefits and it's up to manufacturers to decide how to deliver them. If you want a small camera with a big sensor, a mirror won't fit, so manufacturers don't have a choice there. If you are making a large camera, there is a choice and so far most companies have decided that the reflex design will work best. If the technology develops, they will of course reconsider.
My current ideal camera would be the size and shape of the MZ-3 to use with the Limited lenses. This seems to be on the border where either reflex or mirrorless or reflex technology would make most sense. The camera could probably be smaller overall and have a bigger viewfinder with mirrorless but on the other hand the OVF would be more pleasant to use in sunlight. If Ricoh made such a camera, I would respect their design decisions and at least look at it with an open mind, regardless of what technological solution they chose. Ultimately, I want the camera to do something for me and I don't care how it does it.