TOKYO, JAPAN — Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., makers of Panasonic brand products, has announced plans to release its first digital single-lens reflex (SLR) camera sometime later this year, in an attempt to snare a share of the rapidly growing market sector for high-end digital cameras.Matsushita, the world’s largest consumer electronics maker, has been engaged in joint development of technologies for digital SLR cameras in conjunction with another Japanese company, Olympus Corp. Olympus has already introduced a digital SLR camera of its own, the E-330. The E-330 uses a mirror box and sensor that were developed jointly with Matsushita.
A representative for Matsushita said the company had not yet settled on a price range for the “LUMIX DMC-L1,” which is on display in prototype form, this week at the PMA (Photo Marketing Association) 2006 International Convention and Trade Show in Orlando, Florida.
Digital SLR cameras are usually more expensive and have a higher profit margin than their simple point-and-shoot peers, which are easily produced by lower-cost electronics manufacturers. Unlike simpler digital cameras, SLR cameras make use of interchangeable lenses, opening a market of high-cost “accessories” to sell to SLR users.
The market for digital SLR cameras has been expanding quickly and shipments of digital SLRs worldwide are expected to reach 5.62 million units by 2008, according to the Japan-based Camera and Imaging Products Association.
Other major camera makers have been looking into similar partnerships; Konica Minolta Holdings Inc., Sony Corp., Pentax Corp. and a division of Samsung Electronics Co. have all looked into the possibility of strategic alliances, seeking to combine efforts and reduce costs.
