Canon overtakes Sony to become top-selling camera brand in Japan

BCN Retail pie chart showing October 2024 market share with Canon EOS R50.

The latest figures from Japanese electronics retail body BCN Retail report that Canon has overtaken its rival Sony in the Japanese mirrorless camera market for the first time in five months. It's the slenderest of leads, though, with Canon claiming 30.5% market share, while Sony has 30%, so there's just one-half of one percent in it.

Nikon is a distant third, with 14.5%, while Fujifilm comes in fourth place, with 10.7%. The remaining 14.3% is shared by all the other camera manufacturers, including Olympus and Panasonic.

The figures measure manufacturers' sales volume share during October 2024, and is based on point-of-sales data from electronics retailers and online stores throughout the land of the rising sun. It is the first time that Canon has topped the list since May 2024. As it's based on sales volume rather than sales value, it favors lower-end, high-volume products, typically with smaller APS-C sensors, rather than full-frame models.

Here's the top 10 list in full (with the numbers in brackets denoting last month's position).

1. Canon EOS R50 (1st place)
2. Sony ZV-E10II (2nd place)
3. Canon EOS R10 (5th place)
4. Sony ZV-E10 (3rd place)
5. Sony A6400 (4th place)
6. Nikon Z fc (7th place)
7. Panasonic Lumix G100D (6th place)
8. Nikon Z30 (16th place)
9. Olympus Pen E-P7 (8th place)
10. Sony A7 C II (9th place)

The models that led Canon's market share were the EOS R50 and EOS R10. Sony had no less than four cameras in the top 10, including the only full-frame model the Sony A7C II. While the figures show that Nikon was way behind, with less than half the market share of its main two rivals, it has since launched the Nikon Z50 II, so it will be interesting to the effect this new camera has in future BCN Retail rankings. Interestingly, although Fujifilm ranks fourth in terms of sales volume, no individual cameras make it into the top 10.

To pick up one of these cameras for yourself, see our guides to the best Canon cameras, best Sony cameras, best Nikon cameras, best FujiFilm cameras, best Olympus cameras and best Panasonic cameras.