Japan Camera Makers Jostle to Catch Digital Wave

TOKYO (Reuters) - The once-red-hot personal computer and cellphone markets may be mired in a slowdown, but digital cameras are holding firm at center stage as the world's fastest-growing sector in mainstream consumer electronics.

Japanese manufacturers, which make about 80 percent of the world's digital cameras, are scrambling to boost their stakes in the booming market, where falling prices and print-quality pictures are luring a rush of consumers while sales of traditional film cameras languish.

But analysts and industry executives say a shake-out looms in the crowded digital field and profit margins may soon come under pressure.

Japan's four best-selling brands -- Sony, Olympus, Fuji Film and Canon -- have each targeted a global market share of 20 to 25 percent, while Kodak and Hewlett-Packard are aggressively chasing share in the United States -- their home market and the world's largest.

"I think the industry map could end up with a big five, or a big four, or even a big three," said Kazuya Hosoi, a senior executive in digital imaging at Canon Inc, a powerhouse in film cameras but a latecomer to digital. "It'll get tough."

For now, however, Japanese industry executives expect robust growth, with a further 40 to 50 percent rise in global sales forecast for this year after a doubling last year to about 11 million units.

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