The counter to that is ...
1
Lisa Horton wrote:
My #.02
Sales of interchangeable lens cameras have dropped precipitously since their peak. Camera makers have no choice but to adapt to that reality. In the past the pie was big enough that the camera makers could "let" the third party lens makers have a piece of it and there was still enough for the camera maker to be healthy and profitable.
The pie is so much smaller now. Even taking more of the pie, it's still a lot less than their share of the larger pie was. I think that they 'need' those lens sales more now than they did in the not so distant past.
The counter to that is that the end user has even less of a selection of lenses to choose from since they are not only being limited by lack of 3rd party lenses, but Canon itself will now put out even less in the way of lenses due to the shrinking market.
I'm not saying your statements are wrong, but if they are correct, the end user is getting hit twice. That will make it hard to stay in a brand with such limited options.
Although I prefer Canon's bodies over Sony's I think it would be hard to recommend Canon over Sony to most amateurs. Sony's own lens lineup is impressive and if you add the 3rd party lenses their users have a very nice selection with some truly unique lenses like the recent 20-70 4. Hard not be be impressed.
If you're a pro shooting only top tier glass Canon has you covered fairly good. It's the middle ground that is lacking. There are some nice lower/middle level Canon lenses but compared to other brands the selection is limited. Every other manufacturer is letting 3rd party manufacturers fill the voids in their lineup and that seems like a win for everyone.