Digital camera shipments by Japanese makers in July soared 34.7 pct from a year before to 7.28 million units, reflecting the continued popularity of single-lens reflex models. By value, shipments increased 24.4 pct to 153,305 million yen, the Camera & Imaging Products Association said. Shipments of digital SLR cameras surged 34.5 pct to 580,000 units. By value, SLR camera shipments were up 16.3 pct at 33,146 million yen. Digital camera exports in July expanded 38.2 pct to 6.45 million units, while by value they totaled 133,268 million yen, up 28.7 pct.

Exports to Europe grew 38.5 pct and those to North America were up 37.8 pct. Exports bound for the rest of Asia were up 30.9 pct. Domestic shipments climbed 12.8 pct to 820,000 units. By value, they were up 1.7 pct at 20,037 million yen.