Nikon speaks out about compact system camera

The success of compact system camera sales is taking away from the compact camera market, not from digital SLRs, according to Simon Iddon, Product Manager for DX DSLR at Nikon UK, and has not had an impact on the company?s DSLR sales.

In an interview with AP Iddon said that Nikon currently has a complete line-up and does not need to fill any gaps in its product range with a compact system offering. ?We have all points covered? Iddon told AP ?with a complete range of cameras from entry level to professional, and plenty of great compact cameras too.? Iddon says that the compact system camera market will not divert sales from the DSLRs, because ?if you want a DSLR you want what a DSLR stands for? and that isn?t a compact system camera.

James Banfield, also of Nikon UK, commented that some of the companies that have been particularly successful in the compact system market have had to spend a lot of money to achieve that success. ‘I think in some cases marketing spend has out-stripped sales revenue,’ he remarked.

These comments come at a time of heightened speculation about Nikon?s intensions in the CSC market and the size of sensor the company might use. While Iddon?s remarks certainly do not rule Nikon in or out of the compact system camera arena, they might suggest that an announcement is not as imminent as some believe and others would like.