Canon Says Digital Camera Market May Shrink In '09

Canon Says Digital Camera Market May Shrink In '09

The global digital camera market may contract next year, the president of industry leader Canon Inc warned, as sluggish economic conditions dampen consumer demand.
Tsuneji Uchida also told Reuters that Canon was aiming to cut $1 billion in costs with a new computer system to be completed by 2010.



The economic slowdown has started to hit sales of digital single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras -- high-end models that use interchangeable lenses - but overall Canon's camera sales are solid ahead of the year-end shopping season, Uchida said.



Global digital camera demand grew 24 percent to 130.7 million units in 2007, according to research firm IDC, and Canon and its top rivals, which include Sony Corp and Nikon Corp, are still forecasting sales growth this year.