Comparison of Nikon and Canon

Introduction

Seldom does it happen that a single product dominates the market, and it enjoys the monopoly. Specially, a product whose customer base is huge and industry is lucrative. In this paper, the products that are under discussion belong to a technology oriented industry. It is highly imperative that the players in this industry keep up with the latest technology, as lagging behind can be detrimental in the long term. Both Nikon and Canon are Japan based companies; however, they have been growing successfully globally for the past almost a century now.

Industry and Product Description

Nikon and Canon predominantly operate in a technology oriented industry. The product portfolio of Nikon and Canon is quite broad, as they cater to and operate in different sub-industries under the broad category of technology. The broad product portfolio of Nikon encompasses film cameras, digital imaging equipment, and others, ophthalmic lenses and sports optics. Stepper and scanners; measuring and inspection instruments, micro scope and various surveying instruments and much more. Canon too deals in more or less the same product line. However, the most prominent products of Canon are digital cameras, lenses for digital and LSR cameras, camcorders, printers, photo printers, projectors, scanners and broadcast equipment.

Most of the products that Nikon and Canon offer are industrial based products, and mainly used by different offices or other industries. However, one main product, which is renowned in the consumer market and some industries (photography, filming and others), is the digital camera's product line (DSLR). Nikon and Canon cover huge global market in DSLR (Busch, P.31).

Targeted Market Segment

A person who is connected to technology and various consumer electronics tend to go for the DSLR cameras (Nikon and Canon) for photographic purposes. These consumers are extremely well-informed regarding the products they tend to purchased. Mainly they conduct an extensive product research via various means before making a sizeable purchase. The main chunk of their DSLR consumer market belongs to upper-middle class, well educated and technological astute. Mostly it is the photographic professionals who make the vast majority of purchases of the Nikon and Canon SLR cameras and hence, fall in the category of primary consumers/target market; as they require high quality images for a professional environment. This may include both men and women aging from 28 years to 50 plus and usually have a good annul income.

The consumers Nikon and Canon ...