The Rivalry Between Canon and Nikon

CANON VS NIKON THE RIVALRY IS STRONG Originally published on (www.photographio.com) Both are the world's greatest camera companies. Both were founded nearly a century ago in Japan. So how is one of world's greatest rivalry doing today?(Using the latest public data available as of July 15, 2014) PHOTOGRAPH A SMALL HISTORY OF THE TWO COMPANIES Canon Nikon Canon is founded as Precicion Optical Instruments 1937 Loboratory, making cameras using Nikkor glass. 1917 Nikon Corporation is founded, making optical equipment for both cameras and military use. Canon makes its first own rangefinder camera, the 1961 Canon 7, with its own 50mm f/0.95 lens 1948 Nikon makes its first Nikon branded rangefinder camera, the Nikon 1, shortly after the end of WWII. 1987 Canon launches its EOS series of cameras and lenses, all of which are supporting autofocus. 1986 Nikon produces its first commercially successful autofocus SLR, the Nikon F-501 (N2020). Canon launches the EOS 300D (Digital Rebel), 2003 world's first mass-market consumer DSLR. Nikon launches the D90, being world's first DSLR 2008 that has video recording capabilities (720p). Canon makes the EOS M, being the company's first 2012 mirrorless camera ever since the rangefinder times. 2011 Nikon makes its entry into the digital mirrorless camera market with the Nikon 1 series. Canon RE-1 CANGN LENS Nikon NONY HOW ARE THEY DOING ECONOMICALLY? Canon vs Nikon : How much are these companies worth on the stock market? 4000 Market Capitalization (How much are they worth?) 3000 Sorry, Nikon. Canon is worth 3.78 trillion yen (or 37 billion SUSD) as of July 15, 2014, while Nikon is worth a mere 622 billion yen (or 6.2 billion $USD). 2000 1000 Both are huge and great companies, but the difference in value is staggering. Market Capitalization July 2014 (in billions of Yen) Canon Nikon Canon vs Nikon : How much do they sell each year? Other Net Sales (How much do they sell?) Imaging products Office equipment Once again, Canon sells a lot more products than Nikon, but it is surprising to see that printers, not cameras, are what drives their main sales! Other Imaging products In the imaging sector, Canon still sells more (1450 million yen vs 750 million yen), but it is explained by the fact that they sell broadcast and EOS cinema equipment, while Nikon only sells consumer cameras, as expected. 1000 2000 3000 4000 Net Sales 2012-2013 (in millions of yen) Canon vs Nikon : What are their DSLR market share? DSLR Market Share (Who has the largest part of the pie?) Here, the rivalry is much more stronger. Who cares who sells the most printers? As photographers, cameras are what matter, right? In the DSLR segment, Canon and Nikon have respectively 49% and 43% of the market, which is pretty close, but Canon still has a slight edge. Canon (49%) Nikon (43%) Other (8%) DSLR Market Share 2013 (measured by sales) WHAT ABOUT THEIR ACTUAL CAMERAS? Canon 5D Mark II Nikon D800 These are both companies' most popular high-end full frame models. How do they stack up ogainst each other? Nikon Canon 22.3 Megapixels 36.2 Megapixels 61 AF Points 51 AF Points 6 FPS Burst 4 FPS burst 25600 Highest ISO sensitivity 6400 Highest ISO sensitivity Highest ISO while 2293 maintaining quality Highest ISO while 2853 maintaining quality 11.7 Dynamic range (EV) 14.4 Dynamic range (EV) Nikon is the clear winner here. Canon might have some better technical specs concerning ISO limit, burst or autofocus, Nikon wins hands down in the all aspects of image quality, which the deciding factor. And this statement generally holds true in all of their camera lines as well. Buy Canon for its features and amazing video capabilities, buy Nikon for its sheer and unmatched image quality. THE BOTTOM LINE There is a reason why the rivalry continues. While Canon have a financial cushion with all their other products and sales, Nikon has to drive its revenue and income from its cameras. Since Nikon's income is directly tied to its camera business, it has more incentive than Canon to make better cameras to stay competitive, and that is why Nikon (in general) is making better DSLR's than Canon these times. But if an economic recession were to happen, Canon, due to its sheer company size, would probably be the one to survive. But for the average photographer, all of these shouldn't matter at all. Both are great cameras brands whether r you want to start photography or are an experienced photographer, and in the end, it really comes down to your personal choice. Sources: http://www.canon.com http://www.nikon.com https://www.google.ca/finance?q=TYO:7751 https://www.google.com/finance?q=TYO:7731 http://www.canon.com/ir/annual/2013/report2013.pdf http://www.nikon.com/about/ir/ir_library/ar/pdf/ar2013/13annual_e.pdf http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/japan-2013-overall-sales-numbers-sony-dslrslt- presence-shrinks-mirrorless-share-increases/ http://snapsort.com/compare/Canon-EOS-5D-Mark-IIl-vs-Nikon-D800 ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON: WWW.PHOTOGRAPHIO.COM Piktochart i make information beautiful Nikon LENS MADE