Canon and Nikon are taking the mirrorless market share from Sony in Japan

Before this summer, Sony was the leader of the mirrorless market. In Japan it had 99.5% of the market. However, times changing changed.

Now Sony holds just 67% percent of the market. What happened? Canon and Nikon happened. Both companies released their first attempts at full-frame mirrorless cameras this summer and it’s taken a huge bite out of Sony’s hold on the market. Between the two companies, Canon and Nikon now own 32.5% of the mirrorless market in Japan (Canon 22.1%, Nikon 10.4%).

While Sony still leads the mirrorless market in Japan, it still took a huge hit this year
While Sony still leads the mirrorless market in Japan, it still took a huge hit this year

What does this mean?

Sony still owns half of the market thanks too it’s Alpha series, plus it hasn’t released a new mirrorless camera this year. But it could mean that Canon and Nikon are on the right track to dethroning Sony from the mirrorless camera market throne. After all, Nikon has already taken 10.4 % of the market with just the Z7. They just started shipping the Z6

Looking forward

Don’t get us wrong. 67% of the market for Sony is a lot. It’s twice as large of a share than Canon and Nikon put together. But the important fact to take into consideration is Sony used to still at 99.5% of the market before. The company experienced a sharp drop and as other companies develop their mirrorless cameras, it’s likely Sony’s lead could lower even further.

But again, it’s going to take time. Canon and Nikon are both still in their first generations of mirrorless cameras. Sony however is working with a mature camera line. Regardless, it’s a great time for mirrorless cameras. As competition heats up, the war of the mirrorless market will undoubtedly produce some great cameras.

Sean Berry
Sean Berry
Sean Berry is Videomaker's managing editor.

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