According to Flickr’s latest camera usage stats, the Canon 5D Mk II has just dethroned the iPhone 4 as the most popular camera with Flickr users. Well, it did.
While we’re not surprised about the fact that the 5D2 is a popular camera per se, we are surprised to learn that it sees more use with Flickr users than the ever-ready take-anywhere iPhone. Read more after the jump.
And we thought the smartphone was the camera of the future
I have to admit, I’m a bit disappointed. For me, the picture was perfectly clear: smartphones will surpass all other types of photo taking machines in broad popularity for the long term. And when you take a look at the screenshot of Flickr’s latest camera stats, this was indeed the tendency. Well, until a couple hours ago, that is. Because in this very moment, the Canon EOS 5D Mk II is more popular with Flickr users than the iPhone 4. See for yourself:
And we were so sure that the DSLR would be a dying species! No, seriously, we weren’t. But we were pretty sure about the fact that smartphones would ultimately become more popular with consumers than other types of cameras, for a simple reason: you can use them to make phonecalls, write text messages, to access the internet, and nowadays to take pictures of a quality that is sufficient for most casual snappers. Smartphones are used to take party snapshots, vacation shots, and to document daily life in general. And since they can access the internet, it’s pretty easy to share your newest pictures with your friends instantly. Can you do that with a DSLR?
Consumers buy DSLRs once they desire to take “better” pictures
No, you can’t. So how come the 5D Mk II could surpass the iPhone in Flickr stats? It probably has to do with the fact that DSLRs are gaining in popularity in general. Nowadays, it doesn’t matter so much if you have the latest model or the model of two or four years ago. Either one will take very good pictures. Also, technology gets better all the time, and not only better, but also more affordable. So people buy DSLRs once they’re at the point where they don’t just want to take quick snapshots, but want their pictures to look a bit more “professional”. Or maybe just for the photographer to look more “professional”. Either way, more people can afford “advanced” cameras today. Add to this that the 5D Mk II is already several years old now and can be bought used — and even new — for much less than when it was first presented.
So the DSLR is not going to die out as a species after all
In the meantime, while working on this post, the iPhone has gone past the 5D2 again — there isn’t actually any sign now that the 5D has been more popular recently than the iPhone. But take another close look at those stats: the 5D Mark II is gaining in popularity, big time. So while our first assessment — that smartphone will ultimately become the more popular camera –, still holds true, it also holds true what we assessed in our earlier post linked to above: the DSLR is actually not going to die out. Not with Flickr users, and surely not with professional photographers.
Addendum
This is what Flickr’s detailed camera usage statistics say as of February 16th, 7 am EST:
- iPhone 4: 24,194,848 items total, 4614 daily users.
- Canon 5D2: 60,288,525 items total, 4036 daily users.
So, while there are MORE pictures taken with a 5D2 in total on Flickr, the iPhone 4 currently sees more daily use (by about 14%). Also, this tells us what the camera popularity graphs show: the number of daily users, and not the total number of pictures taken by each camera.
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