The market for digital still cameras appears to be flattening out at $18 billion a year, according to the latest 2007 IC Market Drivers report of IC Insights, which forecasts trends in the semiconductor industry.
The report indicates that worldwide camera sales for 2007 will reach 81.9 million units of stand-alone digital cameras, a 7% increase over the 76.6 million figure for 2006. Revenues in 2006 will post a mere 5% growth at a plateau of $18.1 billion compared with $17.2 billion in 2005. IC Insights forecasts no substantial revenue growth in 2007 due to the lower average selling prices digital still cameras.
The next growth area that camera makers are eyeing is the so-called “hybrid models,†cameras that can capture high-resolution still pictures while also recording high-definition full-motion movies.
[Via: PhotoshopNews.com]