The global digital still camera (DSC) market began to recover in 2010 after a significant downturn in 2009, primarily caused by worldwide economic conditions and the increased strength of the Japanese Yen.
DSC unit sales are expected to rise faster between 2011 and 2012, and then continue a steady growth rate over the forecast period -- fueling worldwide revenue to approximately $43.5 billion by 2015, according to the latest market study by In-Stat.
"The DSC market will continue to evolve over the next five years. Semiconductor vendors have a renewed opportunity to address these new demands by supplying solutions to DSC manufacturers looking to differentiate from the competition," says Stephanie Ethier, Senior Analyst at In-Stat.
There's been new progress on the following features: sensitivity, image quality, and video functions.
Compact DSC revenue will remain relatively flat over the forecast period. However, the technology will continue to improve due to the additions of back-side illumination (BSI) sensors that increase small optical format CMOS sensitivity, some all-glass lenses, auxiliaries like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS, and the beginning of stereoscopic and stereoscopic-like imaging.
In-Stat's latest market research findings include:
- During the period forecast, revenue growth in interchangeable lens digital still cameras surpasses that of compact fixed lens cameras as sensor pixel sizes become less important than image quality.
- Semiconductor vendors will continue to take advantage of opportunities in sensors, image processors, inertial (MEMS) components and micro-controllers.
- By 2015, interchangeable lens DSLR and various implementations of mirror-less cameras will account for 40 percent of worldwide DSC revenues.
- Compact camera ASPs are expected to see minor reductions as the decreasing cost of most electronics and camera bodies is offset by introductions of area-larger sensors and higher quality lenses.
