In a sign of maturity of the Indian photography market, segment leader Canon is targeting to more than double the sale of high-end digital SLR cameras to 1 lakh units this year, a top official said.

“The notion that India is a cost-sensitive market is not fully right. People out here want to enjoy modern life, are ready to pay for value...people are upgrading from consumer cameras to SLRs,” the company’s President and Chief executive in India, Mr Kensaku Konishi, told PTI here.

He added that courtesy the growing affluence, the company is planning to sell one lakh units of digital single lens reflex (SLR) cameras, which accrue in higher revenues.

Courtesy the good numbers expected from DSLRs, the company has also set a higher target for its overall revenues from India.

“This calendar we will achieve more than 35 to 40 per cent growth from last year’s Rs 1,260 crore,” Mr Konishi said, adding that the recent developments in Japan can take away five per cent from its top line due to supply glitches in certain components.

The company also sells printers and photocopiers.

Canon controls over 50 per cent of the DSLR market presently and the average cost of a single unit’s sale is Rs 40,000 in the category as compared to around Rs 7,000 in the lower end consumer digital cameras, he said.

The company’s entry level offering retails at around Rs 22,500 and Konishi said over 70 per cent of the cameras sold will be in the entry level category.

Explaining the advantages of the stream for the company he said DSLR involves additional revenues as the buyer purchases additional equipment like lenses and accessories on a sustained basis.

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