Japan’s top selling cameras in 2021, and not a DSLR or Nikon in sight!
Jan 11, 2022
Alex Baker
Alex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe
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The end of year report for Japanese camera sales in 2021 has been published, and it’s a little surprising, to say the least! No DSLRs, Nikon or Full Frame camera reached the top 10 in sales. While we hear the most noise about the biggest, newest and most expensive cameras, it’s worth noting that often those are not the most popular in terms of what people actually buy.
The list itself was compiled by Japanese body BCN Retail and the data accounts for around 40% of Japan’s sales market including the nation’s major camera retailers.
- Sony A6400 – Double Zoom Lens Kit, Black
- Canon EOS Kiss M2 (Canon EOS M50 Mark II) – Double Zoom Kit, White
- Canon EOS Kiss M (Canon EOS M50) – Double Zoom Kit, White
- Sony A6400 – Double Zoom Lens Kit, Silver
- Sony ZV-E10 – Power Zoom Lens Kit, Black
- Canon EOS Kiss M2 (Canon EOS M50 Mark II) – Double Zoom Kit, Black
- Canon EOS Kiss M (Canon EOS M50) – Double Zoom Kit, Black
- Fujifilm X-A5 – Lens Kit, Silver
- Olympus PEN E-PL10 – EZ Double Zoom Kit, White
- Fujifilm X-A5 – Lens Kit, Brown
As you can see from the list above it is largely dominated by APS-C and four-thirds cameras, many of which are three or four years old. The only new camera to make the list is the Sony ZV-E10 which is again a smaller mirrorless APS-C camera.
The other interesting feature is the distinct lack of any Nikon brand cameras appearing in the top 10. Could it be that (in Japan at least) people are preferring smaller, lighter, more casual cameras that fit a content-creator lifestyle as opposed to a “serious professional photographer” outlook, whatever that is?
Perhaps the one thing that we shouldn’t be so surprised about is the price point of these cameras. Most are between $600-$800, which for the majority of enthusiasts and people wanting to take good photos but not wanting to invest in a fully pro-level camera seems like a decent balance of price to value.
Along with the declaration from Canon recently that it will be leaving DSLRs behind in the next few years, I think the writing is firmly on the wall that the days of big chunky DSLRs are numbered, at least for the average photographer.
Are you new to photography? Still trying to figure out what camera you want to buy? Check out our beginner camera buying guide here.
Alex Baker
Alex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe
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12 responses to “Japan’s top selling cameras in 2021, and not a DSLR or Nikon in sight!”
Wow! Wait, ummmmm…..you also wont find a bicycle in an F1 race.
Make that ” Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Cameras”, as in:
1 – Sony A/ZV E-Mount Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera
2 – Canon EOS Kiss M/M50/II EOS-M-mount Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera
3 – Fujifilm X-A5 Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera
4 – Olympus u4/3rds Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera
Yeah, no DSLR, no Sony SLT, no Nikon, Panasonic, Pentax, Leica, Hasselblad …
Olympus/Panasonic u4/3rds and Sony E-mount saw this coming.
I’ve reduced to SLT (DSLR ) with super-zoom, and integrated-lens compact with super-zoom, both with Eye Level Electronic View-Finder.
To each their own.
Thanks for exploring this and sharing.
.
Obviously they are shooting videos with these…
Compacts tend to do better there
Please go to fishing…
DSLRs are irrelevant now, nobody wants to look stupid with their bulky and ugly looking full frames and DSLRs
I don’t mind carry around my Canon 6D and 70-200mm F4…it’s bulky but worthwhile to get photos I like.
But the newer and smaller cameras are an attractive option.
Yes, because we buy cameras to look cool ?????
Or everyone with a Nikon is happy with it and it still works?
Googling “ top selling camera brand in Japan “ gave several different results. Eg Pentax/Ricoh, then Nikon at 19.7%, Canon at 13.3%. Another gave Canon 34%, Nikon 22%, Casio13%, Sony9%. So, like politicians who do you believe??
Oh hum, statistics is so boring. Next.
If you are going to quote Canon and link to your own article, at least be accurate…. Canon only said that the flagship (1DXiii) DLSR would be the last. Nothing was said about “leaving DSLRs behind in the next few years”!
Canon may focus on mirrorless/RF development in the future but DSLRs will be made and sold for a long time to come with probably newer versions released as well