Archive for March 31st, 2006
Konica Minolta exits camera market
Pocket-Link.co.uk
30 March 2006 – Konica Minolta, has we previously reported in January will withdraw from the photographic market tomorrow.
The company has cited its inability to keep up with the demands and changing speed of digital photography for the move.
The company has said that from tomorrow customers with any servicing requests of Konica, Minolta and Konica Minolta branded products either within or outside of warranty, including Digital Still Cameras, DSLR cameras, Analogue SLR cameras, Analogue LS, Flashguns, lenses and accessories, Film Scanners is to be handled by the sole appointed servicing agent need to contact JP Service Solutions in Newcastle under Lyme.
Konica Minolta, which was created last year from the merger of Konica and Minolta announced that it was withdrawing from the digital camera by tomorrow and the photo business by 31 March 2007 to concentrate on other areas of its business.
In a statement issued in January the company said, “In today’s era of digital cameras, where image sensor technologies such as CCD is indispensable, it became difficult to timely provide competitive products even with our top optical, mechanical and electronics technologies.â€
March 31st, 2006
Nikon says brisk digital camera sales to lift profits
Channel NewsAsia
TOKYO : Japan’s Nikon said that rising sales of high-end digital cameras were expected to boost its operating profits by 70 percent over the next three years.
Nikon, which has decided to stop selling most of its film cameras in favour of hot-selling digital models, said it would invest 265 billion yen (2.25 billion dollars) over the same period to strengthen its core business.
Under its three-year business plan, the company is aiming to post operating profit of 90 billion yen, current profit of 80 billion and revenue of 900 billion by the fiscal year to March 31 2009.
“The new business plan should allow us to enhance our leadership position in the high-end single-lens reflex (SLR) digital cameras market, while permitting us to grow even in a highly competitive market,” president Michio Kariya said Wednesday.
In the current year Nikon, which also makes ‘steppers’, or etching machines used in the production of semiconductors, expects operating profit of 53 billion yen, current profit of 34 billion and revenue of 710 billion.
To enhance its position in the SLR digital camera and stepper markets, Nikon said it will spend some 165 billion yen on research and development alone to speed up the development of new products.
Nikon aims to boost its share of the SLR digital camera market to 42 percent by the third year of its business plan, from 32 percent now, Kariya said.
Nikon, along with Japanese rival Canon, is increasingly focusing on high-end digital SLR cameras which are more profitable than cheaper digital compacts where competition is fierce and demand peaking.
The Camera and Imaging Products Association of Japan sees low-end compact digital camera demand rising just four percent in 2006.
However shipments of high-end SLR digital cameras are seen expanding 23.4 percent this year. – AFP/de
March 31st, 2006
Camera in booths
OUR BUREAU/Calcutta Telegraph, India
Calcutta, March 30: The Election Commission has decided to use digital cameras for the first time in polling booths of the state to prevent false voting.
During the previous elections, EC-appointed observers would go from booth to booth with photographers on polling day to record the proceedings.
Chief electoral officer Debashis Sen said today that 3,000 digital cameras would be installed in polling booths to keep a record of voters without electronic photo-identity cards and prevent impersonation.
“Installation of cameras will help identify false voters and prevent booth capturing as election authorities will be able to identify irregularities at a booth,’’ said Sen.
The EC has informed the state government about its decision and the process of procuring the cameras has begun.
With polling to be conducted at 50,000 booths in five phases, about 10,000 booths would be set up for each phase on an average. The 3,000 cameras will be pressed into service in each phase.
According to poll panel directives, district magistrates and superintendents of police, in consultation with election observers, will identify the booths to be placed under camera surveillance.
Booths in areas where electronic photo-identity card coverage has been the lowest and those declared sensitive are likely to be brought under such surveillance. The EC is also contemplating use of cameras in booths where an extremely high percentage of polling took place in the 2001 Assembly elections.
Photographers from the media will not be allowed inside the booths.
The poll panel will also decide on the deployment of central paramilitary forces and state armed forces outside polling booths. The extent of their deployment is being worked out. The forces will be under the EC’s command.
Sen said both central forces and state forces would work in tandem at the booths. “It is not as if only central forces would be used and state armed personnel kept idle. Both will work hand in hand.’’
March 31st, 2006
Digital sales focus for Jessops
IT-Analysis.com
Camera and photographic goods retailer Jessops has reported a steady increase in sales, fuelled by buoyant demand for digital cameras.
Like-for-like sales – which strip out new store openings – in the 25 weeks to 26 March were up by 2.6% on a year ago, the company reported.
Profit margins were improved by exclusive merchandising deals together with developing and printing, it said.However, Jessops warned that conditions remained tough on the High Street.
New boss
Digital camera sales remained strong, it said, as consumers were eager to replace their old digital cameras with state-of-the-art cameras.
Demand was also fuelled by an advertising campaign showing the merits of new cameras with better features such as bigger screens, better lenses and longer battery life.
Sales of high-performance SLR cameras were up 52%, while sales growth for digital cameras overall was 15%.
Jessops said it expected its interim results to be in line with expectations.
Meanwhile, the company is preparing to welcome a new chief executive, Chris Langley, who will succeed Derek Hine when he retires on 17 May.
Mr Hine has been at the helm for eight years and steered the company towards its flotation in 2004.
March 31st, 2006
Lyra Says Nearly Half a Trillion Digital Pictures Will Be Captured in 2009
March 30, 2006/Tekrati Industry Analyst Reporter, CA
According to Lyra Research, the number of digital images captured worldwide will grow from under 40 billion in 2002, to almost half a trillion in 2009. A key concern in the digital camera industry is the growing importance of camera phones, rocketing from virtually nowhere in 2002 to nearly 60 percent of digital images captured in 2009. Lyra expects that many of these camera phone images will be short-lived, never making it to print.
March 31st, 2006