Canon Sales Continue to Plummet

DLD said:
A few years ago, a Canon exec said, "From now on, we'll be making niche cameras". At the time it was understood as a "videocentric" model at a given price point, then a "photocentric" at the same price point, with a similar pattern from the low to the high tier.

The reality is that all the niches - let's assume there is about a dozen of them from the entry level P&S and bridge to the medium pro of the FS-7/C300 MKII category, not counting the fixed lens camcorders - is occupied by a different company with only a minor overlap between them. That is a prima facie evidence in the entire industry. Canon crops and 30p's on everyone. Sony is 8-bitten. Panasonic doesn't have an APS-C camera and Fuji only has APS-C cameras. And Medium Format. With the sensor made by Sony. Which doesn't have a Medium Format camera of its own. Nikon has neither the Medium Format nor a true video camera while Olympus is relegated to the MFT size period. A free market would have every one of these niches, with heavy overlap, filled by every manufacturer. With full sensor readout, 10-bit, HEVC, pixel shifting, Quad Bayer, AI AF and so on and a smartphone type refresh cycle of half a year per model.

In other words, there is no one's turn per se. It's everyone taking their turns at bat where they are given a relatively free reign.

Side note, Canon Rumors has a wondering article by the site's proprietor about 90D only having 4K 30P video while omitting 24P. Most of the replies are in the "Canon knows best. Who am I to judge them" category.
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Maybe it’s really just one big company and this is all a game.
 
jcs said:
Maybe it’s really just one big company and this is all a game.
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It's not one company because Sony doesn't get a free ride either. It's a cartel where each member is both a competitor and a partner.

The logic, from their point of views is simple - the overall market size is fairly well known, so you can compete against each other in every niche with dozens of models from the same manufacturers ... and still end up with the same market share but with far slimmer profit margins. And so you make deals. And it's all fully legal. Over there.
 
DLD said:
It's not one company because Sony doesn't get a free ride either. It's a cartel where each member is both a competitor and a partner.

The logic, from their point of views is simple - the overall market size is fairly well known, so you can compete against each other in every niche with dozens of models from the same manufacturers ... and still end up with the same market share but with far slimmer profit margins. And so you make deals. And it's all fully legal. Over there.
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It acts like one big company with multiple divisions?

Maybe this pattern applies to all top companies in all markets.
 
I was at BH and I saw a pro video salesman spend 10 minutes explaining to a customer why they shouldn't by a JVC camera. She kept insisting and he just gave up and sold it to her...
 
I shot this work of art 10 years ago on a JVC GY-HD100U. A broadcast style camera (more so than say a DVX100, Canon XL2, or Sony EX-1) with interchangeable servo lenses for a fraction of the cost of typical broadcast cameras. Used a Firestore recorder to record digitally instead of with tape.



GY_HD100.jpg
 
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So much art!



(BTW i loved the idea of that camera, and i still own the bigger little brother 500u)
 
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Eric Coughlin said:
I shot this work of art 10 years ago on a JVC GY-HD100U. A broadcast style camera (more so than say a DVX100, Canon XL2, or Sony EX-1) with interchangeable servo lenses for a fraction of the cost of typical broadcast cameras. Used a Firestore recorder to record digitally instead of with tape.

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I think you should've added a few more pans to that video Eric.
 
Apparently I liked camera movement back then as well but was limited due to my lack of camera movement devices that that university admissions job had access to. So, it was pans, tilts, and zooms. Blech. I remember when making that video I started dreaming and thinking about Steadicams and how awesome it would be to have one. And now all my dreams have come true.
 
Eric Coughlin said:
Apparently I liked camera movement back then as well but was limited due to my lack of camera movement devices that that university admissions job had access to. So, it was pans, tilts, and zooms. Blech. I remember when making that video I started dreaming and thinking about Steadicams and how awesome it would be to have one. And now all my dreams have come true.
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Haha nice. Maybe you could do an updated video for them using your current production gear.
 
DLD said:
It's not one company because Sony doesn't get a free ride either. It's a cartel where each member is both a competitor and a partner.

The logic, from their point of views is simple - the overall market size is fairly well known, so you can compete against each other in every niche with dozens of models from the same manufacturers ... and still end up with the same market share but with far slimmer profit margins. And so you make deals. And it's all fully legal. Over there.
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It’s all just so not true. Yes the laws and nature of doing business in Japan is different than in the US, but no there is no conspiring and no cartel. I can tell you that they are very competitive in Japan, in the US, and everywhere else.

Yes different divisions purchase parts and select items from their competitors. This is common practice in many industries including those exclusively in the US. Are you saying ARRI was part of this cartel when Sony’s media factory sold it SxS cards? Please.
 
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