CIPA's just released Japanese market sales figures show a disconcerting bit of news: compact camera sales for the first half of the year in Japan were down 15.8% in unit volume and 23.4% in value, a too-big-too-ignore change that's going to have some big ramifications downstream. Meanwhile, DSLR sales increased 64.3% in unit volume and 35.7% in value. Thus, companies that are strong in compacts and weaker in DSLRs, such as Sony, are scrambling. Companies that are strong in DSLRs and weaker in compacts, such as Nikon, are in a slightly better position. (Canon is strong in both.)