Canon steals the mirrorless crown from Olympus, keeps its DSLR throne for another year
After being a distant third just a few years ago, Canon has spectacularly routed its rivals and now dominates the mirrorless camera market in Japan, thanks to the Canon EOS R.
BCN Award published the market share data for the region, based on point of sale information, with Canon finishing 2018 holding a 31.6% share – ousting the longtime market leader Olympus, at 23.5%, and Sony, at 22.7%.
Olympus has traditionally had a stranglehold on the category, but gave up significant ground to both its rivals. The previous year saw Olympus hold a 27.7% stronghold, with Canon at 21.3% and Sony at 20.2%.
Based on point of sale data, Canon now rules the Japanese mirrorless market
It's a very different story from 2015, when Canon entered with just a 13.6% slice of the pie, compared to Olympus' 34.5% and Sony's 24.8%.
It should come as no surprise that Canon also continued its usual dominance over the DSLR market. The company holds a 57.4% share, with Nikon at 39.3% and Pentax at 3.1%, maintaining the order that has existed for the past six years.
Both Canon and Pentax's share was down slightly from the previous year, at 61.1% and 4.2% respectively, while Nikon gained from its previous 34.4%.
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The editor of Digital Camera World, James has 21 years experience as a journalist and started working in the photographic industry in 2014 (as an assistant to Damian McGillicuddy, who succeeded David Bailey as Principal Photographer for Olympus). In this time he shot for clients like Aston Martin Racing, Elinchrom and L'Oréal, in addition to shooting campaigns and product testing for Olympus, and providing training for professionals. This has led him to being a go-to expert for camera and lens reviews, photo and lighting tutorials, as well as industry news, rumors and analysis for publications like Digital Camera Magazine, PhotoPlus: The Canon Magazine, N-Photo: The Nikon Magazine, Digital Photographer and Professional Imagemaker, as well as hosting workshops and talks at The Photography Show. He also serves as a judge for the Red Bull Illume Photo Contest. An Olympus and Canon shooter, he has a wealth of knowledge on cameras of all makes – and a fondness for vintage lenses and instant cameras.
