Yet another tidal wave of digitization has swept Japan's camera sector, forcing makers of conventional products to compete for a share of the burgeoning new market.
While the digital market grows, the conventional camera market is shrinking, forcing the five mainstay makers -- Nikon Corp., Canon Inc., Pentax Corp., Minolta Co. and Olympus Optical Co. -- to adapt for the sake of survival.
To date, the five major firms have dominated both the domestic and overseas film-camera markets. Only Canon and Olympus at present can be described as leaders in the digital sector, according to GfK Marketing Services Japan Ltd.