Web-surfers snapping up digital cameras: study

SAN FRANCISCO: Digital cameras could belong to up to 60 per cent of US

households connected to the Internet by the end of this year, compared with a

third of such households last year, a market study released on Tuesday forecast.

An InfoTrends Research Group study of 1,850 US households connected to the

Internet found that consumers in such households are very aware of digital

cameras, a situation, which the firm cited, for its bullish outlook on their

potential adoption.

Only 20 per cent of Web-surfing households have not yet considered buying a

digital camera and only 3 per cent have not heard of digital cameras, the

Boston-based research firm said. "The growth in market penetration will

have a noticeable impact on the entire photo industry," according to

Michelle Slaughter, an InfoTrends analyst.

"Increasingly, digital camera users are using their digital camera as

their primary camera," Slaughter said. "Already, 19 per cent of

digital camera users say that they no longer use film as a result of owning a

digital camera, up from 10 per cent of digital camera users in 2000."

Photography giant Eastman Kodak Co. is preparing for widespread consumer use

of digital cameras -- and not only in the home. Kodak plans to expand its

do-it-yourself Picture Maker kiosk family to places such as hotels, resorts, and

Internet cafes, enabling users in remote locations to print pictures snapped

with digital cameras.

Kodak's new Picture Maker Digital Print Station is a low-cost booth where

consumers may also order prints of new photos or enlarge older ones. A machine

in the station can generate a print from a digital memory card, CD, or floppy

disks in 25 seconds.

Consumers can also use the kiosks to burn pictures onto a CD, and later this

year, distribute them over the Internet. The new stations are part of Kodak's

strategy to grow its stand-alone printing systems beyond retail locations such

as big-box shops and drug store chains.

Shipments of point-and-shoot digital cameras rose 30 per cent in 2001, fueled

by holiday demand as manufacturers cut prices and increased awareness through

advertising, according to research firm International Data Corp.