Konica Minolta exits digital camera business

Konica Minolta today stunned the industry by announcing that it will be exiting the camera business. Unlike Nikon, which announced just a week ago that they were exiting most of the camera market, Konica's exit is complete.

The company will withdraw from both film and digital camera market. In addition, Konica will also exit the camera film business. Sony will acquire Konica's camera technology and will also provide service and support to existing customers.

Some of Konica's high-end consumer cameras compared favorably with professional cameras. For example, the "Dimage" series had body-integrated anti-shake technology, high-resolution LCD monitor and could shoot up to seven frames a second.

Current Konica Minolta camera owners will receive future service and support from Sony. In addition, Sony's future high-end cameras will be compatible with Konica Minolta lenses.