Mike Worswick (president of the Photographic Research Organization) said at USA TODAY that with the shortages in cameras, due to the crisis, “The opportunity for Sony, Olympus and even Samsung to grow a little market share in the next few months is clearly out there“. At a time when many Canon SLRs are hard to find, due to production issues, the Sony models are not only in amply supply, but discounted to sell with special promotions.
Thom Hogan commented that statement on his website: “USAToday speculates that the shortage of Canon and Nikon cameras caused by the Japanese earthquake and tsunami will benefit Sony’s DSLR market share. Maybe, but not for any of the reasons USAToday suggests. First, Canon has already announced that it doesn’t expect any drop in DSLR sales, so USAToday would essentially be saying the Sony share increases would come at the expense of Nikon. That’s probably true, but it isn’t really the earthquake and tsunami that is the root cause here.“..:”Sony’s inventory problems had been somewhat the opposite of Nikon’s: most items have been in plentiful stock, partly because they’re not as efficient as Nikon in getting a customer in a store asking for something. So, yes, USAToday’s basic premise is correct: if sales shift away from Nikon, Sony should gain.”
My two cent on that: I learned via my sources that Sony has quite a problem with the CMOS sensor production. I have my doubts that what Mike Worswick is telling us is true.
P.S.: The deals we are talking about are only running in US (didn’t find any deals in european countries:
-$50 on the A580 at Amazon, Adorama, B&H and J&R.
-$50 on the A55 at Amazon, Adorama, B&H, J&R, eBay.
-$50 on the A33 at Amazon, Adorama, B&H, J&R, eBay.
-$50 on the NEX-5 at Amazon, Adorama, B&H, J&R, eBay.
-$50 on the NEX-3 at Amazon, Adorama, B&H, J&R, eBay.
20 Responses
If Sony has quite a problem with the CMOS sensor production, and nikon use sony sensors… nikon probably has a greater problem.
nah, it doesn’t work this way. If Sony got a contract to deliver sensor to Nikon than they have to do this or they’ll pay – so more likely Sony will cut down production of it’s own DSLRs than break deal with Nikon and pay several millions repercussions.
I doubt very much that Sony will pay anything to anybody, they will have a natural disaster clause in their contract. Standard thing in T&Cs.
Hilarious. I remember when Mike Worswick spoke vehemently against Sony at PRO meetings, claiming Sony’s tactics were in effect attempts to buy the associates’ loyalties (never mind the aggressive back end programs offered by Nikon)… Now, of course, he has to be eating those words as Sony emerged as a powerhouse before the unfortunate events in Japan. Even organizations as devoted to Canon and Nikon as PRO have been in the past are going to have to see past the years-old prejudices and move with availability. It is interesting to see him publicly announcing as such. I have to wonder if PRO will partner with Sony to allow even greater product access to PRO’s members… Now THAT would be an opportunity!
Oh and Thom Hogan has not, at least, been in our market. We can’t keep Sony DSLR product in stock, have been working ever harder on more levels, because Sony has been eating into both Nikon AND Canon’s marketshare here for some time.
Tsunami and earthquake or no, the market is shifting and, much like the compact point and shoot cameras, the strengths are going to be in the CE brands due to their ability to have more innovation in a shorter timeline. The glass is there, the cameras are coming. Canon and Nikon are more than aware of the paradigm.
The market in Japan may be shifting, but on consumer models. Call me when Sony arrives at something more than the 12% share they have been stuck at for years. Not to mention that while everybody is so excited on market share, there are other much more relevant numbers for a company’s well-being. Canon is still doing very well.
Canon is doing well, for now. But people are blind if they can not see that we are at the beginning of change. Sony’s past share of the old dSLR market is irrelevant, this is a NEW market with NEW consumers. These consumers want video, they want electronic viewfinders, they want fancy features on their camera.
The market *is* shifting away from traditional dSLRs. Canon is in danger of being left behind and I don’t see anything from Nikon other than the same tired dSLRs.
Nikon and Canon can not trade on their brand name forever, which in the consumer dSLR market, they are doing right now.
New market with new consumers? What do you even mean? It is the same camera market.
The DSLR share is not irrelevant, because it is the most representative data we have of the pro market. This is the market where the big profits are made, where the brand recognition comes from, etc. Also these 12% are data for 2010 from IDC. That would normally include the NEX and SLT sales from that year. Which I consider as consumer, not pro.
The big change you are talking about is just an EVF. Nothing more. You are giving it too much credit. There are still shortcomings to that design, although I do think that the upcoming A77 will address most of them. I am all for EVFs, but if you think that it will somehow be the triumph for Sony, imho you are very wrong. Canon has the biggest chunk of the pro market, so they can wait and their customers will wait. They will just introduce the EVF later and it won’t hurt them at all. Unless! Sony steps up its whole line and brings innovation like the EVFs and SLTs to maturity very quickly. One A77 won’t do much. Look even at video, which you consider important – Canon introduced the 5DmkII in 2008, while Sony’s first video-enabled DSLR came in 2010 and that’s just APS-C for now. Add to that those really low prices Sony are pushing. They are getting some consumer market share, but at what expense?
As I see it, Sony is doing better, but for the moment it’s just one small step forward.
Vlad, Sony, for the fiscal year ending March 31, was at 15% market share wordwide. That number would be even better were it to be calculated for the year ending June 30–even extrapolated from pre-tsunami sales. If the supply issues for both Canon & Nikon are as reported, that couuld shft even more.
These 15% come from here:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-23/sony-expects-15-market-share-in-high-end-cameras-on-new-models.html
“Sony may control about 15 percent of the global market for single-lens-reflex cameras by the end of March, Masashi Imamura, president of the Personal Imaging & Sound Business Group, said in an interview in Tokyo yesterday.”
Rather than to rely on a claim, I prefer the IDC data, which shows 11.9% for 2010:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-15/sony-nikon-narrow-gap-to-canon-with-new-digital-camera-models.html
I really don’t see how they’ll get to 15% that quickly. And even if they somehow do, it’ll be with NEX and SLT included. Good cameras that sell well, but in the end consumer stuff at lower prices. So they’ll eat irrelevant market share while cutting their profits ( that’s an assumption I make, but I do have reasons for it).
Where is your market, dyns?
I’m praying that they can get their other reactors back on line and get the right help with the problems at Fukushima.
I believe Canon has a better chance of gaining market. Because they can keep doing what they have been good at doing. Sell cameras made outside of japan with the same old sensor designs. No surprises, no shortages, business as usual.
I need to buy a Sony NEX 18-200mm
Why does USA get all the cheap discounts? 🙁 any particular reason? Even the street price is cheaper than my place’s.
They have lower taxes than most of the other places in the world. That’s especially true comparing to EU?
Canon is manufacturing every DSLR in Japan, except the 1100D which is made in Taiwan (and using anyway a lot of components made in Japan). I cannot see how Canon will gain a lot of market share based only on this entry level DSLR.
are you sure? you mean US street price cheaper than penang?
If Sony raise the price Nikon and Pentax pay for sensors, then things will work in their favour. Otherwise, probably not.
Either way, I don’t see Canon losing out.
Apparently, Mike Worswick, President of PRO, a company that buys cameras for 500 independent camera stores, sees CURRENT (not speculative) shortages of both Nikon AND Canon cameras in the pipeline, but not shortages of Sony cameras, at least not shortages of the key Sony cameras, the A33/55 & the NEX-3/5. Thom Hogan is reporting drastic shortages & drastically lower sales for Nikon. Pop Photo & Gary Pageau of the Photo Marketing Association are also noting the same supply situation, and Sony’s opportunity if they can deliver the products, which currently seem to be in ample supply. Pageau is also quoted as saying that “Sony has ample shelf space in prominent stores.” And I personally saw that Sony’s NEX-3/5 display at a local Best Buy is more prominent than all of the rest of the system cameras put together. There was a strong coop flyer at the display. And the clerk I was talking to owns an Alpha 33.
Sony may be in a better supply situation than Canikon because they had been experienceing sensor-production issues in the Fall & winter, but were coming out of that by the time the earthquake hit. And Sony’s sensors are made in Kyushu, far from the center of the earthquake, which is where Canon’s cameras are also made. And Sony’s cameras made in Japan are also made far from the center. Furthermore, it appears that Sony is having fewer parts-supply issues than Canikon.
The upshot, I really suspect, is that, while Sony may be slowed down by the Japanese crisis, it may be that Canon & especially Nikon may be slowed down even more, with a resultant gain in market share by Sony & perhaps Olympus.
Dulaney, I’ll narrow it down to west of the Mississippi for you simply because I know full well PRO’s policies concerning public discussion and I don’t wish to risk any backlash to myself or the company I work for. I mean no disrespect.
It suffices to say that Sony has become the solid number 3 (depending on the month even a number 2) player for us. The only things holding them back are a.) Their own issues with product availability, specifically lenses and b.) The well known fact that they don’t have a true D7000/EOS 7D competitor. If they did… at this point the market would absolutely be theirs for the taking.
I’m pleased that Mr. Worswick has at least publicly stated his apparent change of mind, regardless of the pragmatism likely to be involved . I’ve no doubt he recognises that the SURE program is also a serious weapon in the arsenal of the brick and mortar retailer when competing against the lower overhead of the online agencies. Anyone NOT supporting it is seriously short sighted.
PRO has under their umbrella most of the best camera store chains remaining in the US and can therefore be a true agent of change in the industry should they wish to be. It will be interesting to see what side of the fence they end up on.
/rant. Lol