07 Sept 2006
Dubai: Sony on Wednesday unveiled an upper range digital camera in the Middle East to rival the likes of Canon and Nikon.
After three years in development, the Alpha 100 is Sony's first digital single lens reflex (SLR) camera. It has already done well in Japan, at one point gaining a 58 per cent market share.
A year ago, the company advanced its entry into the SLR market by acquiring the lens division of Konica Minolta. Sony estimates SLR sales make up 30 per cent of worldwide digital camera sales by value and 10 per cent by volume.
As a late entrant in the SLR market, Sony will not campaign to convince customers to switch over from Nikon and Canon as Apple once did in the PC market, according to its executives.
Instead, said Masaru Tamagawa, managing director of Sony Gulf, it will leverage its brand awareness and attract loyal customers and camera hobbyists to upgrade from compact digital cameras to the more sophisticated and pricey SLR cameras.
Geared for high-level amateurs and families, the 10.2 megapixel Alpha 100 will be priced at about Dh4,000, lower than cameras of comparable quality such as the Nikon 70D and Canon 20D said Taiji Ishikawa, marketing manager for Sony Gulf.
Tamagawa said the camera features anti-blur and anti-dust mechanisms and is interoperable with Konica Minolta lenses. Sony will soon launch an Alpha 100 advertising campaign in the Gulf and Iran worth $500,000.
Among compact digital cameras, Sony Cyber-shot cameras hold a 30 per cent market share in the Middle East. The company hopes to sell 1.2 million cameras regionwide through the introduction of nine new cameras throughout all price points.
By Ivan Gale
Gulf News 2006. All rights reserved.
