Worldwide Shipments of Digital Cameras to Rise 71 Pct. to 18.5 Mln. in 2001
January 2, 2001 (TOKYO) -- Worldwide shipments of digital still cameras increased by 109.5 percent over the previous year to 10.82 million units in 2000, according to a survey by Nikkei Market Access.
The growth rate will slow in 2001, but will likely rise by 71 percent over the shipments for 2000 to reach 18.54 million units, the survey said.
In addition to Japan and United States, which have led the global digital camera market, digital cameras will be purchased on a full scale in Europe and Asia in 2001, the survey said.
From 1999 to 2000, digital cameras witnessed a market polarization of those with mega-pixel quality and multi-functional features, and low-priced ones.
The numbers of pixels for consumer-use digital still cameras have been increasing by one million each year, but the mega-pixel trend has slowed lately, according to the survey.
Also, when portability and costs for image sensors are considered, large image sensors are technically difficult to be adopted. Makers will likely use CCDs of 1/2 in. to 1/2.7 in., rather than large image sensors. The light reception area for each pixel on the CCD of that size will be so small that it may cause a drop in picture quality. Thus, the mega-pixel trend won't be pursued, and cameras of about two million pixels will be the main items in 2001, the survey said.
Sony, Olympus Share Lead in Share of Shipments in 2000
Sony Corp., which has a major share of the U.S. market for digital still cameras that use floppy disks as the recording medium, also had a good performance in Japan in 2000. The Cyber-shot S series, which can record for a long time, had brisk sales, leading to worldwide shipments of 2.33 million units. It ranked top and enabled Sony to share the lead with Olympus Optical Co., Ltd., which occupied the lead in 1999.
Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd., which ranked third, increased its share to 15.2 percent but remained third, because of its weak presence in the U.S. market.
Of those ranking below fourth, Canon Inc. is worth mentioning because it moved from seventh place in 1999 to fifth in 2000 by increasing its share by four percentage points on the strength of a popular item, the credit-card size IXY DIGITA.
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