Canon Cameras and Lenses Most Widely Used at Super Bowl Games

No secret here, really. Canon sales are head and shoulder over the rest of the pack and their Super Telephoto lens and cameras once again dominated at this year's Super Bowl game. They just had a good 2017 and poised to do even better in the years ahead, leading to the finale of the Summer Olympics in 2020 in Tokyo, Japan.


MELVILLE, N.Y., February 6, 2018 – In 2017, Canon U.S.A., a leader in digital imaging, was the number one selling Full-Frame Interchangeable Lens Camera (ILC)1 brand and APS-C ILC2 brand in the U.S., according to The NPD Group. Canon has been number one worldwide in these camera segments for the last 14 years, based on a global Canon survey3. February 4thshowed that 2018 is off to a great start for Canon, as top sports photographers from across the country gathered in Minnesota to cover the big game between the teams from Philadelphia and New England. An estimated 80 percent4 of the photographers in the stadium used Canon EOS DSLR cameras and EF lenses, and Canon’s iconic white lenses filled the sidelines from the opening kickoff to the final whistle. In addition to the photographers on the sidelines, Canon’s line of HD broadcast lenses were also used extensively to help deliver the game to nearly 110 million television viewers.

“Canon understands there are many equipment options for photographers and we are honored to be the primary choice for both the pros capturing the nail-biting moments of the big game and for people capturing the important moments of their lives,” said Yuichi Ishizuka, president and COO, Canon U.S.A., Inc. “As an industry leader, we also recognize the important role that service and support plays in keeping our customers satisfied, whether at our award-winning service centers throughout the country or on-site at major global events.”

A full complement of friendly and knowledgeable staff from the Canon Professional Services (CPS) team, a fixture at major sporting events throughout the year, were on site at the stadium for most of the week leading up to game day providing comprehensive equipment maintenance, extensive equipment loans and expert technical support to the major photo agencies and individual professional (or media) photographers covering the game.

For veteran sports photographer and Canon Explorer of Light Peter Read Miller, this was his 40th time covering the big game as a professional, and he was well stocked with Canon cameras and lenses.

“CPS has been a great support to me throughout the years, especially at a game like this where I get real time technical and equipment support. They’ve been instrumental in my success over the years.”,” said Miller. “40 years of shooting the big game is an amazing experience. Photographers are just as competitive as the athletes, and it’s great to know that I can count on Canon equipment and support to help me get the winning shot.”

In 2018, CPS will be proudly attending to professional photographers at over 22 locations, including major sporting, auto racing, Hollywood and political events.

For more information about CPS, please visit http://www.cps.usa.canon.com/

Canon Inc. Announced Robust 2017 Financial Results

Canon Inc. has announced their 2017 financial results. Despite all the hype in the last few years about mirrorless cameras and how smartphone photography may eventually replace the DSLR cameras, etc., one big takeaway is the following.

Canon is doing well and will continue to do so, staying heads and shoulders over its photographic competitors. Their overall market share in equipment sales reached a low of about 40% in 2012 and has steadily climbed since then to almost 50% in 2017.

Canon’s looking back to 2017

Looking back at the global economy in 2017, the U.S. economy continued to grow steadily as employment conditions and corporate earnings improved. In Europe, the economy remained stable as unemployment rates decreased and capital investment increased due to strong exports. The Chinese economy rallied due to public investments while the economies of emerging countries realized moderate recovery as the economies of Russia and Brazil bottomed out owing to the rising price of natural resources. In Japan, corporate earnings improved and consumer spending showed signs of recovery. As a result, the global economy overall continued to recover more robustly than was expected at the beginning of the year.

As for the markets in which Canon operates amid these conditions, demand for office multifunction devices (MFDs) and laser printers remained at around the same level as the previous year. While demand for cameras shrank moderately, demand for inkjet printers increased from the previous year with the economies recovering in emerging countries. Additionally, there was solid demand for medical equipment, mainly outside of Japan. Within the Industry and Others sector, demand for flat panel display (FPD) lithography equipment and manufacturing equipment for organic LED (OLED) panels enjoyed strong growth and the demand for network camera also enjoyed solid growth.

Performance by market segments

Looking at Canon’s full-year performance by business unit, beginning with the Office Business Unit, unit sales of office MFDs increased from the previous year and achieved higher growth than the market average, supported by steady sales of next-generation color models designed to strengthen the product lineup such as the newly launched color A3 (12”x18”) imageRUNNER ADVANCE C3500 series for small- and medium-size offices. Among high-speed continuous-feed printers, unit sales of the Océ-produced VarioPrint i300, a high-speed sheet-fed color inkjet press that offers superior low-running-cost performance, increased.

As for laser printers, sales of both hardware and consumables increased from the previous year, supported by steady sales of new models that achieve low power consumption and compact body designs. These factors resulted in total sales for the business unit of ¥1,865.9 billion, a year-on-year increase of 3.2%, while operating profit totaled ¥180.6 billion, a year-on-year increase of 6.6%. Adjusted operating profit, which excludes impairment losses on goodwill from operating profit, increased by 26.6% to ¥214.6 billion.

Within the Imaging System Business Unit, while the pace of decline in demand for interchangeable-lens digital cameras is gradually decelerating, the sales of the advanced-amateur-models —including the EOS 6D Mark II—enjoyed solid demand, allowing Canon to maintain the top share, mainly in the United States, Europe, and Japan. As for compact-system cameras, the advanced-amateur-model EOS M6 and the entry-level EOS M100 enjoyed strong demand. As for digital compact cameras, amid the shrinking market, unit sales remained at the same level as the previous year, supported by the increased sales of such high-value-added models as the newly launched G9 X Mark II—part of the high-image-quality PowerShot G-series lineup.

As for inkjet printers, the newly designed home-use TS-series, refillable ink tank models targeting emerging countries and the imagePROGRAF PRO series of large format inkjet printer targeting the professional photo and graphic art markets enjoyed strong demand, resulting in unit sales increasing from the previous year. As a result, sales for the business unit increased by 3.7% year on year to ¥1,136.2 billion, while operating profit totaled ¥175.9 billion, a year-on-year increase of 21.8%.

Canon’s outlook for 2018

As for the outlook for 2018, the U.S. economy is expected to recover stronger as corporate earnings and capital investments steadily improve thanks to tax reform. The European economy is expected to recover slowly due to increasing uncertainty surrounding the U.K.’s decision to leave the EU, although consumer spending is expected to remain stable due to solid employment conditions. Looking at China, the economy is expected to stabilize through public investments and solid consumer spending. Emerging economies, including Southeast Asia, are expected to continue to grow due to strong exports.

With regard to the Japanese economy, the outlook indicates a trend of gradual recovery supported by improved employment conditions and consumer spending. Overall, the global economy is expected to continue achieving moderate growth, despite such concerns as increasing geopolitical risks.