[JimC1101]

Japan Has Spoken: Canon Dominates, Sony Dethrones Olympus And Nikon Stutters - DIY Photography


Pentax is # 3, Sony has moved below Pentax.


Interesting read.....not bad for a doomed camera company.

[LFLee]

Japan Has Spoken: Canon Dominates, Sony Dethrones Olympus And Nikon Stutters - DIY Photography


Pentax is # 3, Sony has moved below Pentax.


Interesting read.....not bad for a doomed camera company.

there is another data at SonyAlpharumor site: Japanese sales in 2014: Sony leads the mirrorless ranking. Looses on the DSLR market. | sonyalpharumors
This is the DSLR sale in Japan:


Pentax market share actually drop, from 7.5% in 2012 to 5.2% in 2014, and to 4.5% in 2015....after Ricoh took over.

I guess a lot of people is waiting to see what Ricoh in their sleeve when it took over during that period? not sure.

[bobmaxja]

Ricoh still lost market share from 5,2 % to 4,5%. Canon is so strong
OUps, I am late

[Tesla]

Good news that Sony didn't take 3rd, but bad news that market share went down from 5.2% to 4.5%.

Me late too... lol

[Steve.Ledger]

Winners are determined based on sales volume

Quantity has never directly translated to quality.
Canon might sell more DLSRs than the others, but there's a reason for this which has nothing to do with Canon cameras being better.

[JPT]

Ricoh hasn't done bad in 2014 considering they had a relatively quiet year in terms of product releases and didn't advertise Pentax on TV. In 2012 they advertised the Q10 and K-30. In 2013 they advertised the Q7 and K-50. But they only did a few Theta commercials in 2014. Also consider that Ricoh's real hit product this year has been the 645z, which is never going to register on these charts. Some portion of that Ricoh figure is 645z cameras. That would be something significant in terms of revenue even if the unit number is low, and most users are probably going to buy a couple of expensive lenses as well.

The company I'd really be worried for is Nikon. They lost share to Canon, and I'm willing to bet that it has something to do with Canon having a stronger APS-C lineup. They were selling so many 7D mark 2 cameras in the run up to Xmas that they ran out of stock. They also advertised the 70D heavily on TV throughout 2014 and I think that was a big seller too. I do think that the Japanese take APS-C DSLRs more seriously that the English-language web community does. It accounts for a lot of those sales.

On the other hand, Nikon has continued to neglect DX, so they are left reliant on their popular FX lineup. However, in 2015 they are going to get a new competitor. FX is Nikon's only clear area of strength at the moment, so the new Pentax will hit Nikon where it hurts. Whether it will hit them hard remains to be seen. I think Nikon stands to lose quite a lot from the new competition with Ricoh and the refreshed FF models from Canon.

[fuent104]

Sony doesn't sell slrs, so there is no news here.

[MadMathMind]

Quantity has never directly translated to quality.
Canon might sell more DLSRs than the others, but there's a reason for this which has nothing to do with Canon cameras being better.

What's interesting is that their share of the lens market is far, far, far behind their camera share. What that says is that most of their camera sales are to people who never move beyond the kit.

Whenever you see someone using an SLR as a fancy point and shoot, it's always a Canon. Not all Canon users are like that, of course, but the ones who are are overwhelmingly buying Canon it seems. It gives gaudy market share numbers, but it's like saying that GM is doing better than BMW because they sell more cars. But BMW has more than double the operating income of GM.

---------- Post added 02-20-15 at 10:03 PM ----------

Also consider that Ricoh's real hit product this year has been the 645z, which is never going to register on these charts. Some portion of that Ricoh figure is 645z cameras. That would be something significant in terms of revenue even if the unit number is low, and most users are probably going to buy a couple of expensive lenses as well.

Right. There's more money in one 645Z and a lens than in a few hundred T3i, I would bet.

[Adam]

It's surprising to see Pentax dropping to close to half the share that they had in 2012. It's true that 2011/2012/most of 2013 were boring years product-wise, but I still would have expected an improvement in the home market given Ricoh's involvement. Perhaps we'll see some real results by the end of this year.

It looks like Nikon has managed to stay around 40% despite considerable QC issues last year and Canon has taken over Sony's SLT share.

[fuent104]

It's surprising to see Pentax dropping to close to half the share that they had in 2012. It's true that 2011/2012/most of 2013 were boring years product-wise, but I still would have expected an improvement in the home market given Ricoh's involvement. Perhaps we'll see some real results by the end of this year.

It looks like Nikon has managed to stay around 40% despite considerable QC issues last year and Canon has taken over Sony's SLT share.

Wasn't there some point during this period at which they only had two aps-c slrs on the market? I'm not too surprised by this, unfortunately.

[Rondec]

I think there are a couple of things to keep in mind. First of all, it looks like this year is shaping up to be a lot better year than last year, in that Pentax is releasing at least two new APS-C models and (hopefully) a full frame model. Last year was the year of the 645z and while it was a sweet camera and sold really well, selling well for a medium format camera is not the same with regard to units as selling well for a camera like the K50 or KS-2. It isn't surprising that their numbers slipped a little.

The other thing to keep in mind is that market share isn't really important in the whole scheme of things. The question is whether or not you are producing the right number of units for your market. Over producing camera bodies and then selling them for a loss or, even at cost at the end of a product's life cycle is a losing proposition. It feels like Canon and Nikon still have cameras from a couple of generations ago on store shelves, even as they release the newest 5300D or T6i camera. It ends up confusing customers and even if market share is maintained, revenue will sink as a result.

Ricoh's goal has to be to slowly increase market share, but also to be conservative in their market predictions and not take a loss on the gear they sell. It feels like they've done pretty well so far and as I said before, I do think this year is going to be pretty good for them (although probably not in the US, where their presence is abysmal).

[Spodeworld]

Declining market share in their most important market calls into question profitability over the long term unless something turns in their favor

[MPrince]

Declining market share in their most important market calls into question profitability over the long term unless something turns in their favor

I don't think digital cameras is Ricoh's most important market. Ricoh operates in three business segments: "Imaging & Solutions" (printers, copiers, other office equipment), "Industrial", and "Other".

"Imaging & Solutions" is by far their largest segment. Sales in the other two segments aren't even close.

Digital cameras is part of their "Other" segment.

[Rondec]

Declining market share in their most important market calls into question profitability over the long term unless something turns in their favor

I guess. But a camera like the 645z is probably a big money maker, even though in absolute numbers, the sales probably don't make a blip in the overall market. Cameras like the Canon T5 on the other hand, are probably big sellers, but are not big money makers at all. Low end APS-C is a big market with little actual revenue. Pentax's goal is not to out sell entry level APS-C cameras from other makers, but rather to grow their base in such a way that they sell more higher end gear, where real money can be made.

[monochrome]

Low end APS-C is a big market with little actual revenue.

Small technical clarification - very large Revenue with little to no Profit (but the revenue Cash Flow can offset certain system-wide fixed costs, making other, smaller-Revenue activities profitable).