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*March 20, 2006 – *Nikon Corporation has held a decent showing in its last few quarters and the company expects profits to continue to climb, according to today’s Bloomberg report. Much of the manufacturer’s success is coming from its digital single lens reflex camera segment and the growing popularity among the masses. Experts agree the sub-$1,000 DSLR market is heating up and Nikon expects a large part of the market share.
According to the Bloomberg report, Nikon and Canon have 80 percent of the market share in the DSLR category. The two manufacturers were certainly the early leaders with Nikon’s D70 and Canon’s Digital Rebel hitting the market as some of the first affordable DSLR models. Since their releases, the DSLR market has expanded and almost every digital camera manufacturer has at least a few models with interchangeable lenses in the sub-$1,000 category.
Currently, Nikon ranks sixth in the world among camera manufacturers – mainly because of its DSLRs. The company expects its already popular segment to grow, as it predicts its sub-$1,000 DSLR shipments to rise 30 percent in the next year. Nikon Corporation sold 1.4 million units this fiscal year and forecasts 1.8 million next year.
According to InfoTrends, these optimistic forecasts could be true. In 2005, one million DSLRs were sold in North America. That number is expected to triple by 2010. These sales could be what save the $13 billion digital camera industry, which is experiencing falling prices and tough times.