ABSTRACT
A perfect example of the convergence of previously unrelated industries into one unified information technology sector, digital still cameras provide an excellent case study of the dynamics shaping the Japanese electronics industry. Merging precision and optical technologies used in conventional film cameras — another field in which Japanese firms have excelled — on the one hand and digital technology used in the electronics industry on the other, this segment for the first time pitches companies such as Canon, Olympus or Fujifilm against the likes of Matsushita, Toshiba and Sony. Both for the makers of conventional film cameras and for the electronics companies, the move towards digital models has involved the need to develop or obtain new, ancillary technologies.
