Sony claims they are now number one in the USA Full Frame market….will it last?


A chart summarizing Sony’s rapid growth in the Full-frame market

Seems like Sony is eager to counterattack the Nikon FF mirrorless launch press coverage. Today they announced that they are now number one in the USA Full Frame camera market. Based on dollar and unit sales between Jan. – June 2018 they lead ahead of Canon and Nikon.

But will it last? Both Canon and Nikon will answer soon. And as we have seen on the Japanese market even a not so perfect EOS-M50 was able to take over the mirrorless market lead pretty quickly!

This is the Sony press text:

Sony Celebrates No.1 Overall Position in U.S. Full-frame Cameras with Launch of Historic “Be Alpha” Campaign
— The Leader in Full-frame Empowers Creators of all Types to Continue to Innovate, to Lead, to Push the Limits, to “Be Alpha” —

SAN DIEGO, Aug. 15, 2018 – Sony Electronics, Inc. – a worldwide leader in digital imaging and the world’s largest image sensor manufacturer – today announced that it has overtaken and held the No. 1 overall position in the United States full-frame interchangeable lens camera market in the first half of 2018, in both dollars and units (1). In fact, four out of every 10 full-frame cameras sold during this time period have come from the Sony brand (1).

Additionally, Sony has announced that within the overall mirrorless market, it has held the No. 1 position in both dollars and units for more than six years (2). These strong results can be attributed to the company’s leadership in transitioning the market from older DSLR technology to next-generation mirrorless cameras.

Much of Sony’s recent success has been driven by sales of the acclaimed ?7R III and ?7 III models, as well as the rapid adoption of the ?9 camera amongst professional sports photographers and photojournalists. The brand’s extremely active community has played a major part as well, as evidenced by the strong engagement on key social platforms like Instagram, where the official @SonyAlpha page has just surpassed the coveted one million followers count.

As a celebration of these historic achievements, Sony has announced the launch of its extensive “Be Alpha” campaign that will connect creators of all types with the brand and its ever-growing roster of talented photographers and videographers.

“We’re extremely proud of achieving No. 1 overall share in Full-frame cameras in the US market, as well as holding a strong No. 1 share in the mirrorless market for six years running” said Neal Manowitz, vice president of Digital Imaging at Sony Electronics. “More than anything, we owe this to our community. It is our pleasure to create for you, the true creators. You pushed us to innovate, to change, to continually adapt, and your voice remains core to everything we do.”

Manowitz added, “To ‘Be Alpha’ is to be a leader, to be an innovator, to stand out amongst the crowd. It represents everything we stand for as a brand. Our campaign will celebrate the extended Sony community, while also shining a light on the topics that that we are most passionate about – diversity, conservation, equality and much more.”

Sony’s “Be Alpha” movement will be headlined by a series of community events in major markets throughout North America in 2018 and beyond, beginning with the official launch event on August 19, World Photography Day, in New York City. The campaign will encourage all creators to get involved by sharing their own “Be Alpha” content on all relevant social platforms while tagging #BeAlpha.

The “Be Alpha” campaign will also feature programs that are designed to foster growth in both the current and next generations of imaging professionals, the most notable of which being the flagship “Alpha Female” program. This multi-tiered, female exclusive program is Sony’s thoughtful response to the imaging industry’s well-documented diversity challenges. It will include a variety of grants and mentorship opportunities for female photographers and videographers, as well as the production of several large-scale industry events. Additional details to be released soon.

All key information regarding Sony’s “Be Alpha” movement, including the campaign launch video, will be hosted at www.alphauniverse.com/BeAlpha. This page will be continually updated with information on new events, content pieces and more.

A variety of additional stories and exciting new content shot with Sony products can be found at www.alphauniverse.com, Sony’s community site built to educate, inspire and showcase all fans and customers of the Sony ? brand.

1, Source: The NPD Group, Inc., U.S. Retail Tracking Service, Detachable Lens Camera, Sensor Size: Full Frame, Based on dollar and unit sales, Jan. – June 2018.

2, Source: Sony internal historical data sources.

3, Source: The NPD Group, Inc., U.S. Retail Tracking Service, Detachable Lens Camera, Sensor Size: Full Frame, Based on dollar sales, Jan.- Dec. 2017 vs. Jan.- Dec. 2016.

4, Source: The NPD Group, Inc., U.S. Retail Tracking Service, Detachable Lens Camera, Sensor Size: Full Frame, Based on adjusted dollar sales, Jan.- June 2018 vs. Jan.- June 2017. Sales are adjusted for 5wk Jan. 2018 vs. 4wk Jan. 2017.

To be released soon: 4 Nikon, 3 Canon, 2 Fuji, 1 Leica and 1 Ricoh camera

Nokishita unveiled a list of cameras registered in Asian countries. These camera will be announced soon. Note that Panasonic does not register their camera codes ahead of the announcement. And Sony does soemtimes register those codes only 1-2 weeks before the announcement. Here is the list:

Canon

  • DS 126721
    • Interchangeable lens camera
    • made in Japan
    • SKU: 3075C003AA, 3075C013AA, 3075C023AA
    • Wi-Fi · Bluetooth installed
    • Battery: LP-E6 / LP-E6N (or equivalent)
    • The same radio parts as KissM
  • PC 2357
    • Digital camera
    • Wi-Fi · Bluetooth installed
    • Battery: LP-E6 / LP-E6N (or equivalent)
    • The same radio parts as KissM
  • Interchangeable lens (5)
    • SKU: 2439C005AA, 2959C005AA, 2963C005AA, 2972C005AA, 3045C005AA
    • Production: Japan
  • Interchangeable lens (3)
    • SKU: 2965C005AA, 2973C005AA, 3329C005AA
    • Production: Taiwan or Japan
  • DS401221
    • Speedlight
    • SKU: 3249C003AA

Nikon

  • N1710
    • Digital camera
    • Wi-Fi · Bluetooth installed
      • Wi-Fi has been tested at 2.4 GHz / 5 GHz (11 a / b / g / n / ac) at China MIIT, but only at 2.4 GHz (11 b / g / n) at Taiwan NCC.
    • Battery: EN-EL 15a (or equivalent)
  • N1711
    • Digital camera
    • Wi-Fi · Bluetooth installed
    • Battery: EN-EL 15a (or equivalent)
    • The same radio part as N1710
  • N1718
    • Digital camera
    • Made in Thail
    • Bluetooth installed (Wi-Fi not installed)
    • The same radio part as D3400
  • N1721
    • Digital camera
    • Made in China (Ability)
    • Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz) · Bluetooth installed
    • AC adapter: EH – 73P
    • The same radio parts as A 300 and Key Mission 170
    • COOLPIX A1000

FUJIFILM Corporation

  • FF 180003
    • Digital camera
    • made in China
    • Wi-Fi · bluetooth 4.2 installed
    • X-T3
  • FF 180004
    • Digital camera
    • Wi-Fi · Bluetooth 4.1 installed
    • The same radio parts as X-H1 and X-E3

Leica

  • 4529
    • Digital camera
    • made in Germany
    • No wireless function (Wi-Fi or Bluetooth not installed)

Ricoh

  • BJ-11

What could possibly go wrong with the new Nikon FF mirrorless?

So far Nikon’s marketing department managed to make us very excited about the new Nikon FF mirrorless. Nikon also had some obivous advantage:

– They know their “enemy” Sony. They can target their cameras properly and attack Sonys weaks spot (like ergonomy)
– They can build a hype on the new mount
– They can grab some attention with their 58mm f/0,95 lens

But truth is we don’t know for sure what the camera specs are and what’s the pricing of cameras and lenses. We don’t have 100% reliable and final info about the new gear. So what could possibly still go wrong?

  1. Video might lags behind Sony’s offering
  2. Autofocus and Eye-AF might be behind Sony’s tech
  3. Building a new lens line up takes time and people may not have that patience
  4. Nikon might cripple the camera on some features and we still don’t know about this
  5. Nikon’s 58mm f/0,95 pricing might be $3,000+ making it a no-go for 99% of the future Nikon Z camera owners. And what’s the pint of having a huge mount for fast lenses if you can’t buy them?
  6. Nikon Z may fit a small crop MF sensor like the Fuji GFX, but that sensor is a) expensive b) lags behind the latest FF tech

Any other point you might want to add?

Nikon rumored to launch a new 58mm f/0.95 lens for the new Nikon Z6 and Nikon Z7 cameras

Speed lovers embrace for impact…Nikon might be developing a 58mmf /0,95 lens that will be launched shortly after the two new Full Frame mirrorless cameras:

On August 23 Nikon will announce this:
Nikon Z6: high speed, low light model (24MP)
Nikon Z7: high-resolution model (45MP)
Z-Nikkor 24-70mm f/4
Z-Nikkor 50mm f/1.8
Z-Nikkor 35mm f/1.8

A couple of months later Nikon will releases this:
Z-Noct-Nikkor 58mm f/0.95

I bet that 0,95 lens will not come for cheap…$3,000 or more???

Join our Nikon mirrorless facebook group

via Nikonrumors

The Nikon mess: Nikon 1 failed, Nikon DL born dead and Nikon Keymission killed

So let’s make a resumme of the latest Nikon projects:

– The Nikon 1 failed on the market
– The Nikon DL born dead
– Nikon Keymission failed miserably

I wonder if the Nikon managers who worked hard to convince nikon to make these projects are still working for Nikon. Nikon really tried hard to NO make a FF mirrorless for a long time :)

But I am sure their new Nikon FF mirrorless cameras will be good. After all they have to just copy the good from Sony (autofocus and sensor performance) and avoid the bad from Sony (no real weather sealing, horrible menu and stupid ergonomics).

via Dpreview

Rumors recap: Panasonic LX100II, Nikon mirrorless, Canon mirrorless, Sony A7sIII and A6700, Fuji X-T3 and GFX-50R

Silhouette of the new Nikon FF mirrorless

We are now getting closer ot a very busy announcement period. Here is the recap of what to expect:

August 23:
– Panasonic will announce the new LX100II
– Nikon will announce the new FF mirrorless
– DJI will announce the new Mavic PRO

September 4/5:
– Canon will announce a new mirrorless camera (maybe Full Frame?)

August-September (unknown date):
– Fuji will announce the X-T3 and the GFX-50R

September-October (unknown date):
– Sony is rumored to announce two cameras: A6700 and A7sIII
– Leica should announce a new SL camera

Olympus will not announce any new camera this year. Expect a high end Olympus MFT camera to be announced in February-March!

Thew new Fuji X-T3 will be priced lower(!!!) than the X-T2

Not only Canon and Nikon but also Fuji has some big announcements coming soon. They will announce the new GFX rangefinder styled camera and the new new X-T3. About the latter Fujrumors reports:

I have been told by a trusted source (thanks), that the Fujifilm X-T3 will cost less than the Fujifilm X-T2 at it’s current official price tag (without rebates), hence less than $1,599.

Well that’s a nice thing to hear!