igital cameras have applications in both the consumer and business market. And needless to say, many of the distinctions between these markets have been blurred by the growth in small office, home office (SOHO) applications. According to Alexis Gerard of The Future Image Report, there are several key uses driving the growth of the digital photography market. "There are two very distinct patterns of usage which we observe in the market. The first occurs in the professional publishing markets, where digital image capture is rapidly replacing traditional film in businesses like catalog production, news gathering and advertising, because of its advantages in speed and cost of ownership. Thanks to the combination of price (less than $1,000) and performance of the new generation of digital cameras, this same pattern is also unfolding now in business segments like insurance and real estate." Gerard adds, "In the consumer market, digital cameras are emerging as primarily a new product category, rather than a replacement for film cameras. Digital cameras are the best solution for soft-output activities like e-mailing images or placing them on Web pages. They're also ideal for images included in documents such as newsletters, holiday cards, and so on, where the new generation of high-resolution ink jet printers makes it possible to produce photo quality at very low cost." It's easy and fast to create an image with a digital camera and reuse it in different media. Photos created with a digital camera can be printed at home on a color printer, or sent electronically to an Internet provider or service bureau for a higher-quality printout. Currently nearly 39 percent of all U.S. households have personal computers and there are more than 21 million color ink jet printers in the market today. In addition, with more than 10 million users on the Internet, the next wave of technology is focusing on image input and digital photography is primed to take advantage of the inevitable consumer demand.