Nikon to foray into mirrorless digital camera market

Nikon Corp will enter the market for lightweight, interchangeable-lens digital cameras and release its first product with a mirrorless design later this year, the Nikkei business daily reported.

The company will price the mirrorless camera plus lens at 70,000 yen-100,000 yen (USD 900-1,300), which is on a par with rivals' offerings, the paper said.

Despite dominating the global digital SLR market, Nikon and Canon Inc are yet to enter the category of mirrorless interchangeable-lens digital cameras, which was pioneered by Panasonic Corp in 2008, the daily reported.

The Nikkei said Canon has also reported researching the mechanism and other technologies to develop small, lightweight digital cameras and could enter this market in the future.

With compact digital camera prices falling, mirrorless SLR versions could be a boon to camera makers' bottom lines, the paper said.

(USD 1 = 77.365 Japanese Yen)