Digital Camcorders Find Broad New Uses; Market Devides

摘要

With the development of the digital network, applications for digital camcorders have expanded. In the Japanese market, more than 90 percent of video-combined cameras (camcorders) are already digital camcorders. Of 1.35 million camcorders shipped in Japan in 2001, digital models accounted for 94.8 percent of shipments. Camcorder shipments in 2001 declined 7.2 percent from 2000 because of the economic slowdown. But shipments of digital camcorders from January to December last year hit 1.376 million units, up 7.8 percent from the corresponding period of the previous year. Shipments of digital camcorders in December 2002 alone climbed 15.7 percent. The market for digital camcorders is sharply polarized: popularly-priced models feature simple operation and are targeted at housewives and high-end models come with high picture quality. This trend is expected to become even more pronounced in the future. Annual shipments of camcorders in Japan have stablilized at around 1.3 to 1.5 million units. However, the product mix has shifted dramatically from analog to digital products in the past several years. Digitization of camcorders has prompted advances in picture quality and hardware miniaturization. This has stimulated the widespread use of camcorders. Families with babies make up a large part of the demand, but the travel boom and hobbyists also have helped to revitalize the market. Furthermore, the proliferation of personal computers and increased use of the Internet have boosted demand for electronic still and moving images, stimulating use of digital camcorders among a wider market.