The Right Focus

By John Greenwald.

In recent years, the makers of home photography equipment have had few triumphs to put in their picture albums. Sales of once promising products like disk-film cameras have been lackluster, and videotape recorders have become strong competitors for the consumer dollar. Against this dim background, Minolta has been a bright performer. The Japanese firm's Maxxum, which focuses automatically and sells for about $350 with a basic lens, has turned Minolta (est. fiscal-1985 sales: $975 million) into the No. 1 producer of 35- mm single-lens reflex (reflected-image) cameras, which account for a third of the worldwide camera market. "This is one of those epochmaking products that come out once in a decade," says Motohiko Kimura, director of research and information for the Japan Camera Industry Association.

Consumers have long been able to buy inexpensive point-and-shoot cameras, but the Maxxum was the first fully automated single-lens reflex product to enable people to take high-quality 35-mm pictures with high-technology ease. Now the year-old Maxxum is attracting rivals. Last week Nippon Kogaku (est. fiscal-1985 sales: $940 million), the maker of Nikon, became the first firm to announce a comparable alternative to Minolta's pioneering model. Like the Maxxum, the Nikon N2020 will use two microchips and a tiny motor inside the camera to focus automatically. The camera, which will be priced at about $460 for the body alone when it arrives in U.S. stores in April, will include an optional converter to make it compatible with the company's existing line of 35-mm lenses, some 15 million of which have been sold. The Maxxum, by contrast, requires a special set of lenses.

Minolta seemed unperturbed by the Nikon announcement. Said Minolta President Hideo Tashima: "Nikon's move is welcomed, although we expect the competition will intensify. The pie will grow bigger if everyone takes part." The field in fact may soon grow crowded. Canon, Japan's largest camera maker, is expected to introduce a similar 35-mm model later this year. Experts say Olympus and Ricoh are readying their own versions.

Minolta's head start could prove hard to overcome. "They have a lot of momentum," says Eugene Glazer, a photo-industry specialist for the Dean % Witter Reynolds investment firm. Spurred by the Maxxum, Minolta's profits jumped almost 60% in the first half of fiscal 1985, to $28.5 million. The price of Minolta shares, which are traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, has increased about 60% since January 1985. Minolta closed last week at $4.82 a share.

The Maxxum appeals to a wide range of picture takers, from bird watchers to parents who do not want to miss Junior's first step as they try to focus the camera. Whatever the attraction, many dealers have had to struggle to meet the demand. "We can't keep enough Maxxums in stock," says Michael Schreiber, a salesman for Bel Air Camera in Los Angeles.

An advanced version of the Maxxum, introduced last summer for about $450, is popular with professional photographers. "I am 100% convinced that this will be a trendsetter," said Kishin Shinoyama, whose photos of actresses and models have appeared in leading Japanese magazines. "There will be a new generation of shutterbugs who will grow up with the idea that high-quality cameras can focus automatically." Thanks largely to the Maxxum, professionals and amateurs alike are already beginning to develop that notion.

With reporting by Wilmer Ames Jr./New York and Yukinori Ishikawa/Tokyo