Canon's EOS 450D
Canon hopes the new EOS 450D will help it reclaim the top spot in SLR camera market share in 2008 in Japan, according to a report Thursday.
Canon lost the top spot in Japan to Nikon, but the new entry-level EOS 450D (called the Rebel XSi in North America and the Kiss X2 in Asia) should help the company fight back this year, according to Canon director Masaya Maeda, quoted by Thomson after a Canon press conference.
Canon's ambitions are broader than just Japan and SLRs, though its lead isn't as threatened in other segments. "In 2008, we aim to capture the top market share in Japan as well as globally, in both the compact and SLR camera segments," Thomson quoted Canon president Tsuneji Uchida as saying.
SLR (single-lens reflex) cameras are costlier and bulkier than compact cameras, but they offer higher performance, interchangeable lenses, and other advantages. The market segment is growing faster than compact cameras, too, and once a customer is won, they're more likely to stay loyal because one camera maker's lenses don't work on another's camera bodies.
Canon announced the 450D Wednesday a week before the Photo Marketing Association trade show in Las Vegas. The camera competes with Nikon's D40 and D40x and, if rumours are anything to go by, an imminent successor called the D60.
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