Agreed.
Thay say, they are about to change that. But so far, yes.
Spot on. Canon can afford to do it right, they have a brand so strong that they do not need highlight a single feature to be recognized. Other manufacturers have to 'scream' up louder to achieve any consideration from the consumer.
I agree with you - the pros have the most gear and are the least likely users to switch. What I wonder about is how much of those industry leading profits were generated by the entry level segment. For every 5D that is sold, how many Rebels roll out the door?
will this detect your actual girlfriend and make her better-looking or you take a picture of a crowd and the camera highlights the possible candidates for girlfriends based on your profile and taste and some algorythm from match.com?
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I don't know what part of the world you're living in, but wedding and portrait are OVERWHELMINGLY in Canon's hands in the US. Why? Canon has full frame bodies, very low noise, and has been doing higher resolutions for a lot longer than Nikon has been doing. Keep in mind, Nikon didn't even offer a pro body with more than 5.4MP until Spring of 2005 when the D2X was introduced. And the D2X was still an APS camera, with only moderately good high ISO performance. Before then, while Nikon users were hustling aroung with D1X's at only 5.4mp, Canon was offering the 1D MKII at 8mp and the 1Ds at 11mp. And as the 1D MKII became overwhelming popular in the sports/pj markets, the same was going on in the wedding market. The introduction of the very affordable FF 5D recently has only solidified Canon's popularity in the wedding/portrait market, and has expanded its marketshare. Go to WPPI and you'll find the overwhelming majority of their members and show attendees are using Canon, by a considerable margin. And of course, we all know that, worldwide, Canon has the overwhelming majority of the sports/pj market, as evidenced by the overwhelming usage of Canon at the recent World Cup. So maybe "the last time you checked the pro market was still in Nikon's hands" was 1985?
Canon has historically been very responsive and used their very short product lifecycles to remain highly competitive in the market. That's one of the advantages of having enormous resources and profit-levels that eclipse the competition. While the competition plays its hand, Canon take quickly answer with products that meet or exceed the competition. The sheer momentum of the enormous pool of existing users that Canon currently has is enough to easily produce enormous revenues, just from repeat buyers and upgraders, than most brands are able to muster from any of their products. So even with the on-slaught of new competition, it's only like throwing rocks at a battleship. Canon will continue to plow ahead, and will answer back with whatever it needs to stay on top. Let's not forget that Canon didn't rise to its current level of success by being lazy. They know the market very well, and know what sells. Plus, they are kings of marketing. And they have one of the best and most savy CEO's that Japan (or the world) has ever produced. All these factors considered, to conclude that "Canon's golden years are over" will seem like foolish words this time next year. I would not bet money on Canon's decline.
The XTi is obviously not Canon's "answer" because the XTi was introduced before the Pentax. To see Canon's answer to the Pentax, you'll obviously have to wait until the next Canon introductions. I would expect that to be at PMA. But between now and then, I don't think that will be enough time for Pentax to sink Canon, nor even be enough time for Pentax to rise to Canon's level of marketshare. No doubt, future models that Canon will introduce will be with these most recent developments in mind. And the same goes for other companies, too. Competition acts, and you react. At least that's what responsive and successful companies will do in response to changes in the market. And the faster a company can respond, the better chance they will have of maintaining their level of competitiveness in the market. Keep in mind, Canon updates their consumer-prosumer models in 17-18 month cycles, and has done it in as short as 12 months (they introduced the D60 at PMA 2002, and replaced it with the 10D at PMA 2003, for example). Most other companies take twice as long to replace their models.
The diffrence between Canon and Nikon, is that Nikon doesn't call their slight makeovers "new models" (á la 20D -> 30D, or D60 -> 10D), but rather just add an "s". If we take a look at Nikon's update cycle, it's obvious that it's basically as short as Canon's nowadays.
Do a specifications comparison of the various Canon models (D60--> 10D--> 20D--> 30D, etc.) versus the various Nikon models (D2X--> D2Xs, D70--> D70s) and you will find that there are many more improvements and changes that come with the Canon models than the Nikon "s" models. These comparisons are pretty easy to do because the changes are covered in Phil's reviews. And, in fact, the Nikon "s" updates are so minimalistic that they don't even warrant a new review. They just get a press release. That's pretty much the case with all of Nikon's "s" models. The "s" models are more like their "second" try at releasing the original model.
Again, you show your limited knowledge in Nikon products...
If I am buying a compact camera, I will want a wide angle and tele camera. After looking at what's available, I will pick the Canon S70 and S3. Apart from H2/H5, there's nothing interesting in Sony. No Panasonic type of noise and watercolors at the lowest ISO. Fuji S6500 looks OK... but no IS for the tele end? Honestly, I do not know what else is interesting...
I have tried the SSS/SR, they don't seem attractive to me 'cos (i) they don't stabilize what you see in the viewfinder, making framing and focusing tricky (ii) not very effective for long tele. Have you tried one?
Agreed. Unlike others, I don't care too much about the slower lens. BUT, it does not offer wide-angle, RAW and flip-and-twist LCD. Sigh...
Unfortunately, there are very few alternatives. Most companies have decided to focus on DSLRs 'cos the revenue from compact cams is way too little. I think Fuji is the ONLY company that offers some interesting alternatives because of their high ISO sensors. Other than that, it's Canon. Perhaps that's why Canon can afford to design a stupid G7??? LOL.
