The Sony a7 V Tops Yet Another Sales Chart
There is now even more proof that the Sony a7 V, despite polarized reception, is selling very well.
Shortly after BCN+R’s December sales rankings showed the Sony a7 V debuting higher in the sales charts the Canon EOS R6 Mark III did the month prior, Japanese photo retailer Yodobashi Camera shared that the a7 V was its best-selling camera in the second of December. As Capa Camera Web reports, the a7 V was the best-selling model across all 24 Yodobashi Camera locations from December 16 through December 31. It is worth noting that the a7 V was released on December 19, near the beginning of the period under consideration.
It is an especially notable debut for the a7 V because it matches the R6 III’s debut in the second half of November. Both cameras rocketed to the top of Yodobashi’s sales charts during their arrival window. By the second half of December, when the a7 V took top spot, the R6 III dropped to number six on the list, which is still a very strong performance. It’ll be interesting to see how long the a7 V stays on top, or at least how far it falls after the initial launch hype wears off.
Another new release performed very well at Yodobashi’s retail locations in the second half of December: the Fujifilm X-T30 III. Although PetaPixel‘s X-T30 III Review arrived in October, the camera itself didn’t land on Japanese store shelves until mid-December.
Sony landed on the list again, this time in third place, with the a7C II zoom lens kit, which continues to sell well in Japan thanks in large part to promotional pricing. The a7C II body only option is in fifth, by the way.
In contrast to BCN+R’s sales data, which skews heavily toward more affordable, consumer-oriented camera models, data from dedicated photography retailers like Yodobashi shows what more enthusiastic, hardcore photographers are spending their money on. The Sony a7 V is not an exceptionally affordable camera. Neither is the number four camera on Yodobashi’s latest sales charts, the Canon EOS R5 II. Then, of course, there’s the new R6 III in sixth, the Nikon Z5 II in seventh, and the priciest camera on the list, the Hasselblad X2D II 100C in eighth.
It is worth discussing Hasselblad’s latest 100-megapixel camera in greater detail. The X2D II 100C had an exceptional launch in Japan, achieving unprecedented success for Hasselblad. For a camera like this, a premium, luxury medium-format camera, to be on a top-10 sales chart at all is extremely impressive. But not only did the X2D II 100C land on the sales charts in September, it has also remained in the mix for three more months. There is reason to believe the X2D II 100C can continue to move significant units in Japan, which is, quite frankly, incredible.
Rounding out Yodobashi’s top 10 sales for the second half of December are the Fujifilm X-M5 kit and the Canon EOS R50 double zoom kit, two cameras that have proven popular across the broader consumer landscape in Japan.
Although passionate photographers may have expected more from the Sony a7 V and Canon EOS R6 III cameras in terms of features and specs, they are both fantastic cameras. There’s a reason they finished first and second in PetaPixel‘s Camera of the Year Awards, with the Canon R6 III taking top spot by the slimmest of margins. Even though the online criticism of both cameras, especially the Sony a7 V, has been very loud, it is clear at this point that photographers are happy to shell out their hard-earned money for each. Although robust camera sales data for U.S. retailers is not available, PetaPixel‘s sources indicate that both the a7 V and R6 III are selling very well, especially Sony’s newest camera.
