Sony Overtakes Canon in October Camera Sales Numbers Out of Japan

October sales ranking from the six leading dealers in Japan has been released by Phileweb showing the Sony a7S III outsold both the Canon EOS R5 and R6 last month, but Canon still beat out Nikon in the DSLR category.

The Sony a7S III sold better in Japan than either Canon mirrorless, though Phileweb notes this might not just be due to the popularity of the a7s III but just as likely that Canon is having trouble meeting demands for its two new cameras. In July, Canon published an apology for the shortage of its new cameras stating that demand had greatly exceeded the manufacturers’ expectations. Three months later, supply issues still persisted enough to give Sony the edge in sales numbers.

The Sony a7C took both fourth and fifth place on the sales list (both the body-only and kit lens variants), showing strong sales for Sony’s latest compact full-frame camera despite reports that the imaging performance is unchanged from the a7 III.

In the DSLR category, figures remained unchanged: Canon’s EOS 90D took the top sales spot, with the Nikon D5600, D6, and D780 coming in second, third, and fourth. The Canon EOS Kiss X10, known as the SL3 in the United States, came in fifth. It is somewhat curious to see the Nikon D6 coming in third, but no mention of Canon 1DX Mark III. It is possible that Nikon’s professional sports camera is more appealing to the Japanese audience than Canon’s professional DSLR offerings.

Ricoh took the top spot in the “luxury compact” category with the GR III, which is also unchanged from the previous month. Sony’s RX100 Mark III and RX100 Mark VII came in second and third, with Canon’s PowerShot G9X Mark II and the Sony ZV-1 taking fourth and fifth in that category.

The big takeaways here are that Sony and Canon continue to vie for top sales spots in most categories, namely in the larger-sensor segments. Nikon fans should not be discouraged, however, as the Z6 II and Z7 II are not yet calculated into sales figures as they weren’t available. The Z6 II should show itself starting with this next month as the camera becomes available to purchase.

(via Digicame Info)

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