Faced with competition like that Canon must be worried that its once dominant market position isn’t looking as unassailable as it used to.Įarlier this year Canon announced the launch of a new consumer digital SLR, the EOS 450D. Pentax has the weather-sealed K200D at around £450 while Olympus is also after the bargain hunters with its excellent E-420 at around £360. Sony is continuing to carve itself a bigger share of the market with the Alpha A200, a bit of a bargain at £270 including lens, and the A350 with its advanced live view AF system and tilting monitor at around £450. Nikon meanwhile has launched a three-pronged assault on the entry-level sector, with the 6.1MP D40 still available at around £280, the new 10.2MP D60 at around £380 and the superb D80 at around £600. However the 400D costs around £400 with an 18-55mm kit lens, which is starting to look like a lot of money for an aging model. In the crucial entry-level area of the market Canon has been relying on the continued popularity of the EOS 400D, a 10.1-megapixel model launched nearly two years ago and still selling well. It’s not so much that the rivals are making better cameras than Canon, but more that they are offering the right products at the right prices. However holding on to a lead in such a fast-moving game is as much about marketing and strategy as about making quality products, and over the past year Canon has seen its lead eaten away by its main rivals Pentax, Olympus, Sony and especially Nikon. Up until very recently Canon, the first company to break the sub-£1,000 barrier with its popular EOS 300D model in 2003, had a commanding lead in DSLR sales with a market share approaching 50 percent, following up the success of the 300D with the EOS 350D and 400D. The digital SLR market is fiercely competitive, with the biggest sales and fattest profits in the hotly-contested consumer/entry-level area.