Sony overtakes Nikon for the #2 position in the U.S. full-frame interchangeable lens camera market

 

 

Sony announced today that they have overtaken Nikon at the number two spot in the United States in the full-frame interchangeable lens camera market according to the NPD Group's Retail Tracking Service (based on dollars) in January through February 2017. Sony says that in just the first two months of 2017, Sony's interchangeable lens cameras and lenses have seen record sales across the board, in particular within the U.S. full-frame camera market. There, Sony reports that they have experienced double-digit growth (+23%) compared to the same period last year. Sony is citing the popularity of the a7RII and a7SII as the main reason for this success. 

Additionally, NPD Group's data shows that without Sony, the entire interchangeable lens camera market would be down 2%. With Sony, the market is actually up 5%. 

 

 

Basically, what this data is trying to say is that without Sony's continued innovation in this space, things don't look particularly bright. That's not entirely fair and is a bit misleading, as you can probably do a similar calculation for either Canon or Nikon and come up with either similar or more dramatic data showing one company's overall impact on the market (for example, if Canon were to take itself out of the calculation of interchangeable lens camera success, you would probably expect to see a huge drop in the market success rate). That said, this is a huge win for Sony, who has been clawing its way up the ladder in popularity and success in the camera market for the past several years, and overtaking Nikon in sales dollars is proof that their efforts are working.