Canon has officially returned to the compact camera game – and with dramatic results. After re-opening orders for the popular Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III in Japan, the six-year-old camera has climbed to the top of sales charts according to one retail data tracker.
According to BCN+R, the Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III was the top-selling compact camera in Japan for the month of August, taking Canon from a 5.3% market share in July to 27.1% in August.
The G7 X Mark III launched in 2019, but social media trends have recently propelled the compact camera back into the spotlight. That resurgence in trends happened after the camera fell out of favor, however, and Canon’s manufacturing of compacts couldn’t keep up with demand, leading to used prices that surpassed the original list price.
Canon announced that it would ramp up the production of compact cameras in July, and then in August, the company reopened orders for the G7 X Mark III in Japan. Data from BCN+ illustrates just how in-demand the compact camera is, with the G7 X Mark III taking 15.6 percent of the market share for compact cameras sold in Japan in for the month of August.
Canon Japan also resumed orders of the PowerShot SX740 HS in August, which jumped up to the third-place spot. Between the two models, the change led to a fivefold increase in Canon’s Japan market share for compact cameras in just one month.
The data puts numbers to the buzz around the G7 X Mark III, yet it leaves many unanswered questions. How much of the jump in sales is due to pent-up demand and buyers unwilling to pay inflated used prices, eager to finally get their hands on the camera? Is the demand for the camera in Japan indicative of other markets?
Perhaps the bigger question is this: Is the resurgence in compact camera trends a short-term trend or is the industry on the throes of a long-term revitalization of small form cameras? The appetite for retro tech and digital minimalism likely plays a role, and the desire for more nostalgic images as smartphone photography becomes increasingly processed could also be another key factor.
But the G7 X Mark III went viral on social media as influencers realized the difference a camera with a larger sensor, a longer zoom lens and a more powerful flash can make over a smartphone – something that was also true in 2019 when the camera launched. Among the camera's key features are a 1-inch sensor and a bright 4.2x optical zoom lens.
The G7X Mark III isn’t the only camera Canon has recently increased production of. The company recently launched the Canon PowerShot Elph 360 A / Ixus 285 HS A, a “new” camera that simply swaps out the SD slot for a microSD and drops some Wi-Fi features on Canon’s more budget-priced camera.
The revitalization of the G7X Mark III, the SX740 HS and the affordable Elph / Ixus model joins the Canon PowerShot V1 (a video-focused compact camera that launched earlier this year) and the PowerShot V10 (a beginner vlogging camera) in the brand’s compact camera lineup.
While Canon Japan has reopened orders for the G7X Mark III, other markets are still facing limited availability of the popular compact camera, although a vlogger kit briefly popped up as in stock in the UK.
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Don't want to wait for the stock to return for the G7 X Mark III? As a photographer, I recommend looking at the Leica D-Lux 8 as an alternative. Or, browse the best compact cameras.
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