While browsing, I found sales numbers from the last 11 days of 2004 a superstore chain in Japan at
Photoethnography.com.
The numbers were compiled by biccamera for the last 11 days of 2004 in Japan and were published by Nippon-Camera:
http://www.photoethnography.com/blog/archives/2005/02/news_recent_top_2.htmlGranted it was only 11 days at one large chain, but the DSLR numbers look quite interesting, with the Minolta 7D at #1, and the Pentax *istDS twice in the Top 5. The Nikon D70 was certainly not a surprise, and neither was the 20D. The surprise was not seeing the original D-Rebel. Granted it was towards the end of its "hotness" as a product after being "exposed" by the Nikon D70. But to Canon's defense, if it was available in both silver and black in similar quantities as well as body-only and kit-lens combinations, that's four different items, so that may [partially] explain why it is not in the top 5.
In the general digital camera market there are no surprises, as Japan-market-friendly models are in the Top 5. For example the Pentax Optio S50 combines the sleekness of the sliding lens technology while using AA batteries. The #1 was one of the Elphs (I don't remember which one model IXY 50 is, since Elph, IXUS and IXY use different generational numbers for the same model). Also in there the Minolta X50, Sony T3, and Panasonic FX-7 -
the best selling digital camera in Japan for Q4 2004.
In the film SLR segment, Nikon F6 was leading the way with two Canons, one Pentax and one Minolta closing the Top 5. The manufacturer names were not surprising, but seeing a camera as expensive as the F6 at #1 in the face of DSLRs galore was quite something to behold.
Mamiya ruled the top 3 spots in the Medium format with Contax and Bronica rounding the top 5.