Canon in Trouble?

[benjikan]

Just an opinion. I think Canon has gone off track recently and are in the process of loosing clients due to their recent complacency. Nikon is now number one in Japan and Pentax have taken an even larger market share of 12.8 percent.

Just my take.

Ben

[zrfraser]

I wouldn't say Canon is in trouble by any stretch of the imagination. They are still the choice for sports shooters around the world, and most press photographers. I also don't understand where you get that they are being complacent. They are releasing cameras at a steady pace for every consumer. They have come out with I think 7 p&s's in the past 8 months or so. I new entry level SLR, just announced a new pro-model SLR that is amazing, and will probably announce a new mid-level at PMA. Nikon has more choices, but they are all the same in a wierd way. The D200, D80, and now the D40x all have the same sensors, the only difference is body construction, and more control. The image is going to look the same, it just easier to get that image on some cameras. I think Pentax and Sony both share about the same market share, but Nikon and Canon own the market. Canon is putting IS in many of their new compacts, and the only reason they aren't doing it in DSLR's is because they already have lenses available for that purpose, same goes for Nikon. I would hardly call Canon complacent. They still make their own sensors, as oppose to Nikon and other manufacters who all use Sony sensors. Canon is still on the cutting edge, its just they have been around so long, that people tend to forget about them, but Canon knows their audience and thats who they cater to.

Who else has a take on this? And Ben, I'm not attacking you, I actually admire you're work, and I use it insipire my own photography. Nothing wrong with a little debate.

Z

[Didache]

I can only speak of the UK market, but here Nikon and Canon pretty well have the market sewn up. For instance, Jessops is the biggest camera shop chain by some way, and they market Nikon and Canon very heavily. They are now selling the Pentax K10D, but even that is almost as an afterthought. My point here is that even if Canon is complacent (which is arguable) it isn't going to make a huge amount of difference in the consumer market so long as they continue to dominate the shelves.

Mike

[Franglais]

Just an opinion. I think Canon has gone off track recently and are in the process of loosing clients due to their recent complacency. Nikon is now number one in Japan and Pentax have taken an even larger market share of 12.8 percent.

Just my take.

Ben

Every time I go to an event I do a count of the number of DSLR's I see from each manufacturer. It looks like in the consumer market in France Nikon outsell Canon by 3 to 1 and in the professional market it's the other way round.

Why do you think that Canon have gone off-track? They have chosen a different strategy from the other manufacturers by having their own manufacturing plant and having multiple sensor sizes. I think that they have failed to take the APS-C market seriously and have fallen behind with their lens offering:

- mediocre entry-level lenses
- still no 18-200
- 2 years to produce the 18-55 f2.8 and they deny it the "L" designation
- Upgrade path to "L" lenses is ridiculously expensive (example: 17-40 f4)

I don't think Canon have to worry. There are lots of people around who are convinced that Canon is the greatest company in the world and that "full frame" is the way to go.

Charles

[Lionheart]

I really don't see Canon in any trouble for a few years. Here in California, everytime I see a dslr in someone's hands, 3 out of 4 times, it's a Canon. I see more Nikons than ever before in the stores, like Best Buy and Costco, but out in the field it's still Canon in the majority. As a dentist who utilizes photography to its maximum potential in practice, I'd say Canon also rules the roost. Interesting to note however, that at seminars and conventions, the "big guns" of our profession (the big name lecturers) tend to be Nikon shooters (and oddly enough also tend to be Mac users despite the fact that most dental managing software won't run on Macs), yet on the convention floor at dental conventions, the vendors sell more Canon dslr's than Nikon or Pentax. I'd wager that this is mostly due to the fact that there are more choices to pick from in the Canon lineup than Nikon and Pentax. At monthly study clubs, I've noticed that my colleagues are almost exclusively Canon shooters among the general dentists, but almost exclusively Nikon among the specialties (oral surgery, orthodontics, periodontics). Of course the general practitioners outnumber the specialists about 10 to 1, so do the math...
I would love to see a more competitive market however. Competition among companies is a healthy situation, better products at cheaper prices for the consumer, and wouldn't we all love to have that?
Leon

[Franglais]

I really don't see Canon in any trouble for a few years. Here in California, everytime I see a dslr in someone's hands, 3 out of 4 times, it's a Canon. I see more Nikons than ever before in the stores, like Best Buy and Costco, but out in the field it's still Canon in the majority. As a dentist who utilizes photography to its maximum potential in practice, I'd say Canon also rules the roost. Interesting to note however, that at seminars and conventions, the "big guns" of our profession (the big name lecturers) tend to be Nikon shooters (and oddly enough also tend to be Mac users despite the fact that most dental managing software won't run on Macs), yet on the convention floor at dental conventions, the vendors sell more Canon dslr's than Nikon or Pentax. I'd wager that this is mostly due to the fact that there are more choices to pick from in the Canon lineup than Nikon and Pentax. At monthly study clubs, I've noticed that my colleagues are almost exclusively Canon shooters among the general dentists, but almost exclusively Nikon among the specialties (oral surgery, orthodontics, periodontics). Of course the general practitioners outnumber the specialists about 10 to 1, so do the math...
I would love to see a more competitive market however. Competition among companies is a healthy situation, better products at cheaper prices for the consumer, and wouldn't we all love to have that?
Leon

That's interesting. Some people get so passionate about their manufacturer - it sounds like each manufacturer appeals to a certain psychological profile.

I have another piece to add to my Canon-is-not-taking-APS-C-seriously rant.

- Why was Canon not more daring with the 30D??

They had a better viewfinder and focussing system in the 5D. They had the 10Mpix sensor for the XTi almost ready for production. If they'd waited a few months and put the 10Mpix sensor in the 5D body then they would have had something close to the Nikon D200.

My guess is that it would have been too close to the 5D for half the price and shown the weakness of their full-frame strategy.

Charles

[danag42]

Canon is not in trouble. They make a lot more than cameras.

They have a thriving business in printers and copiers, which seems pretty solid. If they sell a few less cameras, it won't bother them in the least!

[Kevse1961]

Hi. I have a pentax K10D which in Spain is one of the lower or lowest sellers, why? I don't know. I think it is because they maybe are a little complicated to use. many DSLR's have presets on the top dials but the K10D has to used manualy in most cases. I have used canon before and found them to be great and the market leaders in Spain with the Press etc. I am thinking of getting the D5 but am still trying to see if the jump from the pentax K10D to the D5 is worth 6.000 Euros to buy it with 2 godd canon lenses. Regards to All

Kevin

[JSPhoto]

No, Canon is not in trouble, Canon is far ahead in photo technology and does more research than anyone in imaging, and not just photo imaging, but medical imaging as well. They are also heavily into video imaging now that is taking off in the journalism market. Newspapers such as the Indy Star are going away from still cameras and purchasing video cameras.
Canons lens section is always trying new technology to get sharper photos with lighter lenses.

Canon doesn't rely on other companies to do R&D on sensors or lenses, where other companies have to pay extra for these things, Canon does them inhouse. They will stay ahead in the curve, and will continue to support their customers, long after others vanish from the scene.

JS

[jgredline]

I can only speak for myself, but I do not own, nor ever plan to own a Canon for the simple fact that most folks have them...