Why You All Need To Calm Down About Phones Killing Cameras

Apple iPhone 4 ISO 80 F2.4

There is way too much going on in the current blogosphere about mobile phones killing point and shoot cameras. This comes from the announcement that the Apple iPhone 4 is now the most used camera on Flickr. 1001NoisyCameras ranted about this and tried to correct some of the news that is already out there based off of the report from Techcrunch. As a marketing guy at a camera retailer, here are a couple of reasons why I honest to god believe that the point and shoot market has nothing to worry about.

Eye-Fi Direct

Regular readers of this site know that I am absolutely smitten with the Eye-Fi card and we gave it a glowing review after tests with multiple cameras. With the announcement of Eye-Fi Direct, one can easily send their images taken with their much better camera (vs their cameraphone) and upload them to their phone for texting, sharing via social media sites, etc. Plus these cards are very affordable for everything that they can do.

Superzooms

I’m a fan of the New York Yankees, and every now and then I go to their games here in NYC. I can’t imagine seeing someone trying to take a close up image of someone at home plate using their iPhone or other smart device.

Granted, Panasonic and other companies have intelligent resolution and intelligent zoom: which is supposed to improve the quality of digital zoom. However, it won’t ever be able to touch an optical zoom of the same equivalent focal length.

Image 35x digital zoom vs 35x optical zoom in a superzoom camera. Which one would you take if you wanted better images? In a point and shoot body, you’re able to achieve some really amazing zoom ranges.

Beyond this, think about travel cams: your phone won’t be able to capture anything as accurately as your camera can. And your camera will give you more control.

You’re not going to take a phone underwater

Do you really see yourself buying an underwater case for your phone? Of course not. Instead, you’re going to opt for an underwater/tough camera.

Phones can’t accommodate larger sensors (and are therefore limited)

Remember the Sigma DP2s that we reviewed? Or the NEX 5? And heck, the Olympus E-PL2! Well those are relatively compact bodies with pretty large sensors. If anything, your phone will not be able to accommodate an APS-C sized sensor or even a Micro Four Thirds sized one for that matter without becoming a brick.

On the other hand there are digital filters that will be able to give you that blurry background (bokeh) if you want. However, that’s not the only reason why you’d want a camera with a larger sensor.

Larger sensors have a much larger dynamic range, better color depth, and better ISO capabilities. Therefore, you can take better images with a larger sensor camera. Despite the fact that phones will be able to shoot RAW, you won’t want to bring those to a wedding still.

To say that people will toss away their point and shoots for the convenience offered in a mobile phone is insane when everyone and their mother is bringing around a DSLR in NYC and only 10% of them know how to use it.

Your phone is nowhere as sexy as your camera

There are people that just appreciate good craftsmanship in their cameras, and then there are tools that carry cameras just to look like artists. Said tools will also continue to purchase cameras just to look cool.

And people will still believe that they are artists.

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Tagged as: art, camera, dynamic range, image quality, iphone, iso, phone, point and shoot, raw

Pingback: Compact Cameras and the Threat of Camera Phones
http://jillriter.com Jill Riter

“There are people that just appreciate good craftsmanship in their cameras, and then there are tools that carry cameras just to look like artists. Said tools will also continue to purchase cameras just to look cool.

And people will still believe that they are artists.” You had me listening, but lost me here because of the sarcasm and fact that it’s not comprehensive to all artists and/or equipment buffs. Or other peeps that plan to grab more stuff (equipment) when they can and never would dream of learning how to “use it all.” It’s simply a technology age, and technology is accessible. Years ago, it was the telephone that was acquired, then, the cell phone or digital cam… now the better whatever phone or camera… i.e., not everyone in the world who has great equipment is a tool. And, some amateurs are actually amazing “artists” as you dare to use the word.

Everyone is an artist. One might ask, what is their preferred canvas.

A camera is the word’s new medium. The blog or page is the “new black”: the canvas.
- http://www.facebook.com/chrisgampat Chris Gampat
  
  Hi Jill,
  
  You’re apparently not familiar with hipsters, are you?
Maistora

It’s ‘horses for courses’, imho. There’s undeniably a growing awareness of the capabilities of phone cameras and respective growing usage to document everyday life – and share it in the easiest way. To ignore this amounts to burying one’s head in the sand and does not help the camera industry.

On the other hand, cameras also advance in technology, user functionality and creative capabilities – and will always surpass phones for the well stated reasons in the blog. Camera makers need to get used to the fact that their competition, in addition to all the Canon-s and Nikon-s of this world, now also includes phones. And position themselves accordingly.

Some makers, like Sony and Samsung, have a ‘finger in each pie’ – making phones, as well as cameras – they naturally have the best strategies how one shouldn’t cannibalize the other. The ‘pure play’ camera makers need to accellerate the pace of innovation – and direct it in precisely the areas where (a) they lag behind phones, e.g. connectivity, and (b)where they excell and need to stay well ahead – e.g. optical zoom, large sensors.

There _will_ be some losers, have no doubts. Mediocre, ‘middle of the road’ P&S compacts with short or no zoom, small sensors and no differentiating advantages (there’s plenty of those) will have to go. Who needs a soapbox that doesn’t fit into a shirt pocket, yet has only a pedestrian 3x zoom (or worse- digital only) and produces noisy images even at their lowest ISO ? It has to be said that even some not-exactly-unknown brands have them in their catalogues, and spend sinful amounts of marketing money to push them. Not a winning strategy, imho…

Otherwise the demise of compact cameras has been prematurely announced and slightly exaggerated As good as phones have become, cameras are still (much) better – you’ve heard it form a renowned phone snapper. The attached images show the difference: the flower shot is a pretty decent phone job, but the clock one shows the extra mile my Nex-5 can go:
Lilly

Most people don’t care about overall quality of what they take, especially now with such effects as Instagram that can exploit the lower quality of cell phones. The cellphone that does everything has been a dream of people since they first came out and that’s where the real growth will be. The only way that compacts are going to compete effectively is if you add a phone and browsing capabilities to compact phones and then make them as slim and sexy as an iPhone. Actually that camera already exists…it’s called an iPhone!!!