Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Kodak To Leave Entry-Level Digicam Market


Rumour has it that Kodak will leave the entry-level digital camera market: an odd decision given that this is the market for which the firm is probably most popular. This leads to the question: where will they go from here? The high-end digital SLR market is dominated by some very strong players like Canon and Olympus; while the mid-end is chocked-full of competition: everyone and their uncle is making a digital camera these days.

According to engadget, Kodak is developing its own five-megapixel CMOS sensor for use in a new digital camera model (of its own brand), as well as in upcoming Motorola mobile phones. Huh?! 5MP in phones??

This actually isn’t as surprising as it sounds. I discussed a few weeks back how cell phones are on their way to becoming the new entry-level digital cameras. This happening is likely far off in the horizon: there are still people who would rather use a phone as a phone, and a camera as a camera. Not to mention that built-in cell phone cameras are just beginning to scratch the surface of acceptable picture quality. But it looks like Kodak sees the writing on the wall, and is jumping out while it still can. It’s not a bad idea to start partnering with the cell phone guys now in an effort to be ahead of the game.

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