Four Sony cameras in the top 20 of the most sold cameras this year in Japan.
In Japan (and in Japan only) you can get detailed reports about the camera sales. Bcnranking (via 1001noisyc) posted the top 20 of the most sold cameras between January 1st and December 20th. Four cameras are listed on it. The Sony NEX-5 (Pos 6), the Sony A55 (Pos 13), the Sony NEX-C3 (Pos 17) and the Sony NEX-3 (Pos 17). A wonder how that ranking would have looked if the NEX-7 and A77 wouldn’t have been stopped by the terrible Thai flood.
It’s still a mystery for me why we cannot have such detailed sales reports in other countries too. As you already know the only place I can check to see if a camera is popular or not is the very fluctuating Amazon ranking:
Amazon US ranking (Click here), Amazon DE ranking (Click here), Amazon UK ranking (Click here), Amazon FR ranking (Click here), Amazon IT ranking (Click here), Amazon ES ranking (Click here).
Overall it looks like European and American markets are more “conservative” and less subject to adopt new technologies. The mirrorless and SLT cameras aren’t popular as in Japan. But I think cameras like the NEX-7 and the future A99 can slowly change this in “western” countries too. It’s time to get rid of that Canon-Nikon duopoly!
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Comment from SonyA77: If you actually use the A77 instead of r...- Comment from SonyA77: Yeah it makes me wonder how we managed t...
Comment from pancanikonpus: sony alpha slt is big body dslr. sony ne...
Comment from D.Ortego: Out with the old and in with the new. Ki...
Troll
5 months ago |… apparently all Japanese cameras have over 1000 megapixels …
Doraemonboi
5 months ago |Long way to go before Sony reach first! Go Sony!
Cliff
5 months ago |Translucent mirrors are a “niche” technology. It’s only function is for AF and many people don’t care about phase detect AF. Is also hard for Sony to convince people that they NEED to shoot with phase detect AF. It’s only a “nice to have” technology over contrast detect AF.
Another problem is that Sony just can’t make incredable cameras and put them into the stores. That’s not enough! They have to crack an industry Canikon “culture”.
It’s like trying to convince an Apple fan to buy a great PC. Very hard to do.
Cliff
Vlad
5 months ago |Yes, they are a transitional technology, but then you have the whole NEX line also. Sony’s problem has never been the cameras and the issue isn’t about convincing people to shoot PDAF.
They need to fix their marketing AND battle against the convenience of owning a Canikon. That’s the only big advantage that Canikon have imho. And it’s a huge one.
john
5 months ago |To a lot of first time buyers/camera reviewers/camera salesman…….Sony is a “four letter word”
Vlad
5 months ago |I am sorry, I really didn’t get your point
Would you mind rephrasing, please?
SonyA77
5 months ago |Spot on. I CONSTANTLY see Nikon camera advertisements on TV in the UK, nothing for Sony. If they put the fantastic official Sony A77 video on TV, sales would roll in.
Every camera shop I go to has got a massive area for Nikon and Canon, tiny for Sony, it’s almost an after-thought.
Nikon have got the marketing nailed, Sony are clueless.
kinki
5 months ago |The mirror between the subject and the sensor is 1 hard thing to be accepted widely. Even i owned the A77, i don’t really like it anyway.
Vlad
5 months ago |Yes, as I see it, it isn’t widely accepted. The question is why?
SonyA77
5 months ago |I have no idea why, you lose practically no light to make any real-World difference. Loving my A77, selling my A700.
Vlad
5 months ago |Exactly my thoughts. I think it’s just some preconceived idea. Seen the same with musical instruments, where people just won’t give up their wooden guitars for the identically performing natural fiber composite ones. Same thing with the revival styles, haha.
Cliff
5 months ago |Well,..the phase detect sensor needs to steal “some” light so that it can function. Sony UK has stated that they recalibrate the image sensor and gain it up a bit to compensate for the loss. (prolly 2 or 3 db gain?)
Interesting. I played with a LA EA2 in a Sony Style Store. I did a naked eye test by holding it up to different colors in the store and comparing it to my eyes with various colors and different brightnesses. (hardly scientific, I know)
I did see a slight “ND” effect when looking through that mirror. I wasn’t major but it was noticeable when I looked very carefully.
I wish they made the A77 with the 16MP NEX5N sensor and only used the old contrast detect AF. I like the Sony EVF so I’d keep that and all the other A77 toys and body.
I just don’t care enough about AF to want that plastic (acrylic) sitting in between my sensor and my glass. (I have never complained about contrast detect AF in the past)
Cliff
SonyA77
5 months ago |If you actually use the A77 instead of reading crap on the forums, you’ll understand why people love it. The image quality is stunning. People who criticise it without having used one in anger really have not got a clue frankly.
I have it and am now laughing at all the idiots repeating the same crap that they read from other people who also haven’t got one…mirror this…ISO that…it’s all bollocks.
Cliff
5 months ago |I hope that Sony doesn’t box themselves into a corner with SLT. If the rumor is true and Sony really is dropping the SLR design completely from future models, than I’m affraid they will definetely limit their market potential.
SLT is a great technology for some applications but its not for everybody. Sony should keep SLT AND SLR for the pro market. Give the pros a choice and they can grow on both sides of their lines. ( or flip up mirror)
I just hope that Sony doesn’t limit its market appeal. Dropping SLR is exactly what Canon and NIKON would hope for and the BEST thing for them. They do NOT want to continue completing with new Sony SLR models!
Vlad
5 months ago |They will limit their current market potential. The future market will be based on EVF and they are already there. Indeed, they might box themselves into a corner, but I think what they are doing now is taking a well calculated risk.
I highly doubt that Canikon have been scared of Sony’s DSLRs. They basically weren’t competing at all, hence the different direction taken with the SLT/mirrorless designs.
David
5 months ago |Yup. It would be stupid for Sony to try and beat Canon and Nikon at a game they already dominate. Better to create a new game. The whole SLT thing is AWESOME imo. (I’m talking about A-mount here btw)
Look at the a35.. by far the best entry level camera imo. The specs are great, handling is very user friendly for everybody, image quality is great. Sony can do really well at this stuff.
When we get the a99.. a full frame, professional camera. It will hopefully have a spec sheet that is incredible but at a sensible price, thanks to SLT. i.e. you have have crazy high FPS, amazing autofocus etc but not cost the same as a D3S.
Plus I actually love the idea of an EVF. Having a digital level, a live histogram, being able to preview white balance settings in camera. All of that stuff is amazingly useful. Things like focus peaking are just the icing on the cake!
Honestly, I’d be happy for the a99 to be an a900 with an EVF, a couple stops better high ISO, more AF points. Would be amazing.
SonyA77
5 months ago |Cliff you have to bear in mind that new users don’t know or care about the fixed mirror, they will be attracted by the feature list, fast live-view and EVF.
Sony is gunning for new users who don’t have hang-ups about a tiny loss of light and an EVF.
Lonnie Utah
5 months ago |When the AF issues get sorted out (PDAF “on the sensor”), I actually think that cameras with flipping mirrors are going to go away in our life times. What we will have is cameras that resemble “dslrs” (same size and feel), but the flipping mirror and the prism will cease to exist. The reason is simple. engineering and economics. The prisms in cameras can be up to 1/3 of the cost of manufacture. You realize how much cost is involved with engineering the mirror and the mirror box? There are also serious limitations that using a phase detect autofocus system that must be interrupted when you move the mirror out of the way to take a picture? And none of this even mentions the advantages for video recording, which is the real driver behind this movement. When we get a good phase detect AF “on the sensor”, then the whole camera game is going to change (my guess is we’ll see things like a PDAF module behind a semi transparent sensor.) What that looks like, I don’t know, but I’m willing to bet that within 10 years, you will have to work hard to find a camera with a prism and flipping mirror.
john
5 months ago |The market i would want to dominate is China/India
Maveric19
5 months ago |I guess the lack of a77 units does not help it’s cause.
Brian
5 months ago |These rankings don’t really mean a whole lot as a user. Seems like new cameras go to the top. I guess if it’s consistently having a lot of sales the mount should get more lenses though.
Kevin
5 months ago |The timeline matters here many of these cameras have been out much longer then the nex5N, A65/77 not only that Japan small market..
David
5 months ago |d90 still featuring highly. It’s a good camera but outdated now. The screen is old. Liveview is rubbish. Video useless. Image quality is good, but nowhere near the current generation. The a55, in the same price range, poops all over it.
So yes, longevity is a factor.
pancanikonpus
5 months ago |Wow! my name was pop up in the top 20 sales chart. that is amazing!
lol…
pancanikonpus = panasonic’pentax+canon+nikon+olympus; wth, samsung is missing lol…
by 2012, samsung come with body stabilizer, then we will see the game change.
name change again to pancanikonpusamy
lol…
JonasM
5 months ago |How’s that a game changer? Sony has had in-body stabilization since the A100.
pancanikonpus
5 months ago |sony alpha slt is big body dslr. sony nex so far is w/o stabilizer. and if samsung deliver it -game changer! forgot to mention cheap optic from samsung too
D.Ortego
5 months ago |Out with the old and in with the new. Kinda makes me wonder how we managed to take beautiful pictures before all this new wizardry. While the floodgates opened and many clamored for the A77, I threw in the towel and bought the A900. That either makes me stupid or just old. Then again I also lust over the Nikon F6.
SonyA77
5 months ago |Yeah it makes me wonder how we managed to take beautiful pictures when we had no auto-focus and film grain (sorry, I mean ISO noise, now apparently a big problem it seems).
The point is that if you don’t want “all this new wizardry” then don’t use the functions that you don’t want to, they have an “off” setting.
I bet you’ll be using that new fangled auto-focus thingy on your A900 though.