In total, the image sensor market is expected to hit $7.6 billion in 2008, up 10 percent over 2007, according to the research firm.

CMOS image sensor sales are forecast to rise 19 percent in 2008 to $4.4 billion after falling 12 percent in 2007; meanwhile, charge-coupled devices (CCDs) are expected to decline 1 percent in 2008 to $3.2 billion compared to zero growth in 2007, said Rob Lineback, an analyst with IC Insights (Scottsdale, Ariz.).

The 2007 drop was the image sensor market's first annual decline since the 2001 semiconductor downturn. ''In 2007, combined sales of CCD and CMOS image sensors declined 7 percent, primarily due to inventory corrections in camera phones during the first half of the year and some weakness in industrial and office equipment applications, such as machine vision for manufacturing systems and optical scanners in copiers and computer peripherals,'' according to a report from IC Insights.

The rocky market conditions changed the top supplier rankings in CMOS image sensors in 2007. OmniVision Inc. regained the top position among CMOS image sensor suppliers in 2007, after falling to third place in 2006.

Micron Technology Inc. fell from first to second place in 2007, and STMicroelectronics Inc. dropped from second to third. Micron's CMOS image sensor sales dropped 26 percent, while ST's revenues fell 29 percent, according to the firm.

Toshiba Corp. was fourth and Sony Corp. was fifth in the rankings.