It’s no secret that Nikon’s been struggling. Ever since Sony went full-on into their Alpha mirrorless system, both Nikon and Canon saw some serious competition. It hit Nikon a lot more than it hit Canon, but that might be changing.
According to a new report from BCN Retail on lens sales covering the first six months of 2023, Nikon Z mount takes the number two spot and finally escaping its single-digit market share. Not surprisingly, Sony still has a massive lead.
Nikon Z Mount rises to Number 2
According to the report, Nikon finally moved into a double-figure market share in March, with Nikon Z mount seeing a significant climb, rising to 11.9%. Skip forward to May, and Nikon Z mount takes the number 2 spot, with 13.8% of sales, dipping slightly in June to 13.3%.
Nikon F mount, on the other hand, is clearly dying, with a strong downward trend. Interestingly, Canon doesn’t appear to be seeing the same disparity with its RF and EF lens mounts, with RF slightly taking the lead for a couple of months and then dipping back below EF in June.
But why?
Nikon’s initial boost appears to coincide with the release of the NIKKOR Z DX 12-28mm f/3.5-5.6 PZ VR (buy here) in May. The final 13.3% figure in June is attributed to the release of the NIKKOR Z DX 24mm f/1.7 (buy here). Pre-orders have opened up for the NIKKOR Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR (buy here), and BCN expects we may see another bump when it starts to ship in August.
What about the rest of the year?
It will be interesting to see how and if the trend continues during the rest of the year. Despite the 180-600mm due to ship in August, other companes may (and likely will) announced other new lenses between now and the end of the year. These releases could potentially take some of that market share back from Z mount.
What I really find interesting, though, is that Canon EF mount is still performing so well. Of course, it does make some sense. With Canon RF and Nikon Z mounts offering limited options when it comes to third party lenses – not to mention the easy adaptability of Canon EF to other systems – many third party manufacturers still see Canon EF as the best choice overall. Cinema lenses, for example, are almost exclusively available in only EF and PL mounts. We are starting to see more native Sony E and Canon RF mount cinema lenses coming, but they’re not coming thick and fast.
Whatever happens, it’s nice to see Z mount on the rise, even if it only turns out to be temporary.
[via BCNRetail]
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