Kodak tops compact camera charts, Canon reigns for DSLR sales, and Sony dominates mirrorless market in Japan H1 2025

BCN has published its latest market share report for the Japanese market, covering January to June 2025, including figures for compact cameras, DSLRs, mirrorless systems, action cams, and lenses.

These numbers provide us with an early snapshot of the BCN Award 2026 interim results, analyzing sales across 105 categories (90 hardware and 15 software categories). And this time we're seeing a notable shift in brand dominance: no Nikon, and no GoPro in the leading posts.

Let's dive into the results of camera and lens manufacturers and put them into perspective. You can find BCN's official statement here.

Best-selling brands January - July 2025 in Japan according to BCN (% of market share)

Compact cameras

Fixed lens digital cameras: Kodak with 21.7%
Kodak is on top in the compact camera market, claiming a 21.7% share. That's a surprise since Canon dominated this category last year. But this category might be shaken up in the second half of the year.

Kodak's affordable and accessible Pixpro C1 just entered the market this April. And, on the other end of the price spectrum is Sony's RX1R III, a full-frame compact camera available from this month. It costs $5,098 / £4,199 and the camera will go on sale in August in Australia at a price of AU$7,999. There are also rumors that Canon will launch a new PowerShot G series model later this year, with a photography-first approach...

DSLRs

DSLR cameras: Canon with 46.8%
Just like last year, Canon remains the leader in DSLR sales – but the numbers tell a different story. Canon's market share dropped significantly to 46.8%, down from a dominant 69.4% in 2024 – a loss of 22.6 percentage points.

Canon continues to offer a solid lineup of DSLRs, including the EOS 5D Mark IV, 6D Mark II, and the 90D. As many know, its focus has clearly shifted to mirrorless development, and it looks unlikely that we'll see another flagship DSLR like the EOS-1D X Mark III.

Mirrorless systems

Mirrorless cameras: Sony with 30.4%
Sony continues to lead in mirrorless camera sales, holding 30.4% of the market. However, that's a slight drop of over 5% compared to the previous year. In BCN's June best-selling camera charts, Sony dominated with its vlogging device, the ZV-E10 and ZV-E10 II (especially in kit lens bundles). The Sony A6400 also made it into the top 10 last month.

In BCN+R's May 2025 report, Nikon's monthly share was at 33.4%, being just 1.3% ahead of Sony. These numbers were down to Nikon's new full-frame entry model, with Nikon releasing the Nikon Z5 II in April 2025. Despite costing significantly more than the original Nikon Z5's release price, BCN+R has pointed out that in today's market, the Z5 II is simply good value.

Action cameras

Action cameras: DJI with 35.3%
In the first half of 2025, DJI beat GoPro to become Japan's top-selling action camera brand, securing 35.3% market share. It's no secret that GoPro has been losing steam, and DJI's strong lineup and competitive pricing helped push it into the lead. Interestingly, Insta360 couldn't quite catch up, but it was an exciting first half of 2025 for the manufacturer. After a 5-year-long partnership with GoPro, Insta360 became the official partner of Darkfest 2025, delivering 360° views, POV onboard footage, and even drone-like footage with its Insta360 X4 and Ace Pro 2.

Lenses

Interchangeable lenses: Tamron with 21.8%
Tamron continues to dominate the interchangeable lens market, holding a 21.8% market share, up from 17.5% in 2024 – an increase of 4.3%. With a broad lineup of Sony E, Canon EF or RF, Nikon Z, and Fujifilm X mount lenses, Tamron remains a favorite among photographers who want high-quality third-party lenses at competitive prices.

You might like...

If you're keeping tabs on the camera market, then you'll want to check out the best mirrorless cameras, or dive into more sales numbers, to gain insights into the modern camera market:

- No compact cameras in Japan's top 10 best sellers
- Compact camera reclaims top spot in Map Camera's best-seller list for May
- Canon EOS R10 tops the BCN Ranking once again