Canon to introduce 20 new digital cameras in 2004
from
DP Review
bq. Canon has announced today that it plans to roll-out nearly 20 new compact digital cameras in 2004 in an aggressive product push to grab 25 percent of the global market and it seems that this is aimed squarely at Sony. Takashi Oshiyama, head of Canon's digital imaging business group, told Reuters in an interview "Those companies out there that have no experience producing film cameras have yet to create a camera that performs like a real camera should. I won't say who that is." Oshiyama said shipments of digital cameras by Japanese manufacturers would total between 40 and 44 million units in 2003. That compares to last year's 25 million units, according to Japan's Camera and Imaging Products Association (CIPA).
I've heard of aggressively entering the marketplace but this is ridiculous!
The bad news is that there will be some brand diffusion -- with so many models, people will dither over which to get and this may drive them to a different brand with fewer models (easier to understand)
On the other hand, talk about market presence. They may even do a model that I would like to see - stripped down simple but with 8:1 optical zoom and good 4MP sensor. This would be ideal for people who want to take pictures but who don't feel comfortable with all the technology. There are lots of people with old Pentaxs, Nikons and Canons stuffed on their closet shelves who are curious about digital photography but who consider all the controls and 'featuritis' a major turn-off...
Posted by DaveH at December 18, 2003 8:25 AM