Once again I must thank my good friend, Yoshi, for another insightful report from his native Japan concerning camera industry trends. His recent [URL="http://dpnow.com/forum2/showthread.php?t=10259"]post to the DPNow forum[/URL] include a translated transcription of a portion of an interview by the BCN trade journal with Canon's Mr.Shinbori, who is a manager Canon's Image Communication Business.

Mr.Shinbori declared that Canon is not yet persuaded to follow some of their competitors and create their own mirror-less interchangeable lens (hybrid) camera system. Instead, he feels a smaller, lighter, and easier to use development of conventional DSLRs will compete will with hybrids. On the other hand, he does hint that they are continuing to watch the market and he certainly didn't rule out a Canon hybrid system some time in the future.

It occurred to me that now Sony has joined the hybrid ranks with its [URL="http://dpnow.com/7096.html"]Alpha NEX system[/URL], there are now four hybrid brands out there: Panasonic Lumix G-Micro, Olympus Pen Digital, Samsung NX, and Sony Alpha NEX. That compares with the seven DSLR Canon EOS, Nikon D, Sony Alpha, Olympus E-System, Pentax K, Olympus E-System, and Sigma's SD mainstream DSLR systems. I've left Panasonic Lumix out of the DSLR ranks because they don't have a current DSLR model and the same practically applies to Samsung.

If rumours are right and Nikon is developing a super-compact hybrid system, that would make the ration 5:7. There has also been recent press coverage of statements from Pentax that appear pro-hybrid, but whether Pentax has the resources to launch a new system is unclear, and Samsung is clearly not a partner of theirs in this respect.

Personally, I feel that there will be a lot of exciting revelations leading up to Photokina in September!