Minolta Halts Development of APS Cameras

TOKYO, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Japan's Minolta Co Ltd said on Wednesday it had halted new product development for APS (advanced photo system) cameras and would focus its resources on the fast-growing market for digital cameras.

The shift in business strategy is part of the camera and copier maker's effort to right itself by cutting costs and jobs after forecasting a group net loss of 21 billion yen (.4 million) for the year through March.

APS standards were jointly developed by five camera makers -- Minolta, Nikon Corp , Canon Inc , Fuji Photo Film Co Ltd and Eastman Kodak Co. APS cameras were introduced in 1996 but the market for such products has been shrinking because of stiff competition from digital cameras.

A spokesman for Minolta said the firm, which entered the digital camera market in July, planned to expand its market share by assigning its APS researchers to digital cameras.