Canon unveils HD video camera for consumers

Canon unveiled a digital video camera for home users that can record high-definition movies, matching a product offered by rival Sony Corp.

Canon, one of the world's largest maker of digital cameras, said the HV10, its first high-definition video model for home use, will be available globally from September. It will be priced at around 150,000 yen (US$1,310) in Japan.

"The market for high-definition camcorders isn't saturated yet, so the two companies can have a healthy competition," said John Yang, an analyst from Standard & Poors.

"They still have the challenge to spur demand for such high-end products in the mass market."

Canon said it expects to win a 20 percent share of the Japanese market for home-use digital video cameras this autumn, helped by sales of new models. It estimates the market for high-definition models will jump to 250,000 units in 2006 from 70,000 last year.

The Canon video camera is the first to be fitted with its CMOS imaging sensor, a technology adopted from its best-selling digital single-lens reflex cameras.

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