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Wednesday June 21, 6:40 PMMatsushita to launch first digital SLR in JulyTOKYO, June 21 (Reuters) - Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. said on Wednesday it would launch its first digital SLR camera in Japan next month, intensifying competition in the high-end segment of the camera market now dominated by Canon Inc. and Nikon Corp. .Digital single lens reflex (SLR) cameras use interchangeable lenses and are generally more expensive and offer better performance than simple point-and-shoot compact models. Electronics makers are keen to get into the SLR market because demand is growing rapidly and such cameras yield fatter profit margins than compact models, which are much easier to produce but whose prices are falling due to an influx of low-cost makers. Matsushita, the world's largest consumer electronics maker known for its Panasonic brand, said it would start selling its first digital SLR in Japan on July 22, one day after rival electronics maker Sony Corp. introduces its first SLR. Although their launch timings are close, their target customers are quite different, with Matsushita going after advanced amateur users, while Sony is looking more towards the volume segment of the digital SLR market. Matsushita expects its digital SLR camera kit, which includes the body of the camera and a lens -- the first Leica lens for digital SLR cameras -- to sell for about 250,000 yen ($2,184), roughly double the price of Sony's product. "We are targeting high-level amateurs with this camera. We don't expect to get a large share of the market," Matsushita Senior Managing Executive Officer Shunzo Ushimaru said on the sidelines of a news conference. Matsushita was the world's 10th-largest digital camera maker in 2005, with a market share of 3.2 percent, trailing far behind industry leader Canon and second-largest Sony, according to research firm IDC. Canon and Nikon control more than 80 percent of the digital SLR market combined. Sony and Matsushita hope to leverage their strength in production of image sensor chips and electronics technology to reduce Canon and Nikon's lead. CANON CONFIDENT Canon remains confident about its position in the market however. "There is an argument for electronics makers because they are strong in integrated circuits or strong in image sensors. But I am completely confident that we will not lose in SLRs," Tomonori Iwashita, head of Canon's camera unit, told Reuters this week. Matsushita's Ushimaru would not say whether the firm would expand its line-up to include more affordable models. "Be on the look-out for what's coming next," he said. Canon, Nikon, Pentax Corp. and Olympus Corp. all have digital SLRs on the market selling for under 100,000 yen. Hiroshi Takada, senior analyst at J.P. Morgan, said Sony and Matsushita had similar reasons for entering the digital SLR camera market but that the two companies were eyeing different groups of consumers in the initial stage. "They share a common strategy to improve their image in the camera industry by showing consumers they can enter the digital SLR market, which requires advanced technology," he said, adding that a better image could improve their compact camera sales. Following the Japan launch in July, Matsushita, which aims to double its global digital camera sales to 8 million units in the year to March 2007, plans to start offering the camera, called the LUMIX DMC-L1, in overseas markets by the end of August. Matsushita expects the body and the lens to sell for around $2,000 outside Japan. The Osaka-based company, which has been developing technologies and devices for digital SLR cameras jointly with Japanese precision equipment maker Olympus, targets global sales of 5,000 to 6,000 units a month. The two companies have said that jointly developed devices would be based on the "Four Thirds System", an open standard that specifies the size of the image sensor and lens mount, ensuring compatibility of lenses between products. Matsushita's new digital SLR camera will have a total of 23 interchangeable lenses -- 14 from Olympus and eight from Sigma Corp beside its own Leica lens -- at the time of the launch. A wide range of lenses is important for attracting potential buyers. Shares of Matsushita closed down 0.4 percent at 2,295 yen after the mid-afternoon announcement, in line with Tokyo's electrical machinery index . ($1=114.46 Yen) (Additional reporting by Nathan Layne) |
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