Nikon’s President Makoto Kimura did an interview with Reuters a couple days ago in which he stated that Nikon is trying to develop a camera that creates a new camera market.

A lot of companies make bold claims about their upcoming products “changing photography forever”, but the products usually don’t deliver much beyond increased megapixels, improvements in quality, and flashier specs. Sony actually succeeded in changing the landscape of DSLRs recently with their new pellicle mirror cameras.

In addition to Nikon, Pentax is also rumored to be developing a camera that is unlike any existing camera on the market.

Here’s the specific quote made by Kimura,

We want to propose another type of photography. I don’t think there is any need to limit it to two categories. We want to create a new market.

Let’s put on our thinking caps. What do you think these companies might have up their sleeves? Can you think of anything they might be building that might actually change the digital camera industry?

Nikon says preparing camera to create ‘new market’ (via Nikon Rumors)

It looks like Nikon Corp. might just beat Canon to the EVIL punch after all. In an interview with Bloomberg, Nikon President Makoto Kimura said Nikon has plans to improve video and may adopt the mirrorless structure of electronic viewfinder, interchangeable lens (EVIL) cameras.

While Nikon is still playing catch-up with Canon’s HD video quality, it seems that they are pushing to get ahead on the EVIL system. Interestingly, less than two weeks ago, Nikon Imaging Company President Yasuyuki Okamoto hinted that Nikon wouldn’t be dipping into EVIL just yet. Okamoto had said:

Although we considered a variety of so-called mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras for the digital SLR camera market, we discern the appropriate timing for the launch of our new-generation digital cameras based on the direction of the market demand.

However, it seems that the market demand in Japan has indeed been trending in favor of new EVIL model cameras produced by Sony and Panasonic. Bloomberg cites:

Sales in Japan of cameras with interchangeable lenses rose 35 percent in unit terms and 26 percent by value in May, partly because of the introduction of the news models, according to electronics research firm BCN Inc. in Tokyo.

Nikon President Kimura was reluctant to say when the “new concept” camera would be available, only that it could be this fiscal year, which ends in March 2011, or the next.

(via Nikon Rumors)

Nikon’s new president Makoto Kimura believes that the explosive growth of the digital camera market is ending, and that the market is near its saturation point.

Kimura was previously the head of Nikon’s imaging business and instrumental in leading the company from its film photography business to the new world of digital.

At a news conference in Tokyo today, Kimura stated,

Nikon’s imaging business has been expanding quite steadily over the past 10 years. ‘But can it enjoy the same stable growth for the next 10 years? The answer is no,’ Growth for existing digital camera products will inevitably slow and they are set to move into a phase of saturation. I intend to keep dialogue open for everyone to decide what we should do to achieve further growth despite this trend.

Digital photography exploded between 2000 and 2010, with compact cameras being widely adopted and DSLRs becoming more and more accessible to ordinary consumers. Kimura believes that camera companies will now need to look for new directions to grow besides introducing digital cameras to new users.

What do you think will characterize this next decade in digital photography?