

Smartphones Destroying High-End Camera Sales - agwa
http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/smartphones-destroying-high-end-camera-s/240163727

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37prime
There were times when people started buying high-end digital cameras, not
because they know/want to learn/interested in photography. They bought those
digital cameras because they thought that the cameras would automatically take
great photos. Thus the sales of high-end cameras were booming.

For the past 5 years I’ve seen a lot of people who bought D-SLR cameras and
used the automatic settings, exclusively. They didn’t even bother buying
lenses that are better than the ones they bought with the camera. For example,
Costco and Sam’s Club often bundled the second lens with the camera kit.

Now that a lot of smartphones have decent to great cameras, a large portion of
consumers no longer care buying dedicated cameras, let alone the high-end
ones.

Unfortunately huge portion of consumers still believed that Megapixel
determins the qualoty of the cameras/photos. Many manufacturers and tech
“journalists” are still touting the Megapixel as a measure of quality.

I’m assuming that HN crowd knows that optic and sensor are important
components to determine the quality of digital cameras.

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semerda
So true. Great lens with a big aperture strapped facing a 35mm sensor blows
away every point and shoot inc phone cameras. Try taking great pics indoor
with a phone camera. Even if technology improves on the lens & sensor side you
will still need a good light source for indoor shots. I don't think a 580EX
will strap onto your phone camera.

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pwthornton
Smartphones are certainly cutting into dedicated camera sales, and work well
for a lot of uses, but they are not competitors with DSLRs and mirrorless
cameras.

There are limits to physics that smartphones aren't overcoming anytime soon.
Smartphone makers naturally want to make phones thinner and smaller, but this
affects how good the cameras ever will be.

One of the issues that you almost see never talked about is how smartphone
lenses degrade over time. Because people are putting cameras into pockets and
bags, the lenses get smudged and damaged. Compare that to a normal camera lens
that is always protected when not in use.

I started a photo of the day project and early on I decided not use my iPhone
5 for my photos because they stood out so much:
[http://patthorntonfiles.com/blog/2013/08/21/why-i-am-so-
happ...](http://patthorntonfiles.com/blog/2013/08/21/why-i-am-so-happy-that-i-
chose-flickr-over-instagram-for-my-photo-of-the-day-project/)

Instead, I eventually got a EOS M mirrorless camera to supplement my DSLR.
It's small, fits in a jacket pocket and takes photos substantially better than
any smartphone.

If you can't get much better photos out of a DSLR or mirrorless, then, yes,
stick with a smartphone. It's convenient, always with you and allows for quick
Web uploads. But if you want to get more into photography, having better
sensors, better lenses and more manual controls will allow you to take shots
that you simply can't get with a smartphone.

~~~
tomerico
It seems very similar to smartphone and tablets replacing the desktop/laptop
computers - Eventually computers would only be used by the prosumers who care
about the additional benefits.

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oakwhiz
>Smartphones with powerful cameras have begun to take a toll on sales of
expensive, dSLR cameras. But are they really good enough to replace them for
most users?

Yes.

~~~
DanBC
Yes! Especially when many consumers just want something to put on Instagram or
some social network at web resolution.

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Artemis2
Here is a very interesting comparison between the Lumia 1020 and the Nikon
D800e: [http://www.nokiapoweruser.com/2013/11/09/weekend-read-
nokia-...](http://www.nokiapoweruser.com/2013/11/09/weekend-read-nokia-
lumia1020-shines-in-an-imaging-comparison-with-top-end-dslr-nikon-d800e/)

~~~
SeanLuke
The Nikon D800e's full-frame sensor is approximately eight times the size of
the 2/3 sensor in the Lumia 1020. So how is it possible that the Lumia would
produce better pictures?

The answer is: it's not possible, at least not fairly. The blog posting (the
proper link is [http://evan-
theelectricalengineer.blogspot.in/2013/10/nikon-...](http://evan-
theelectricalengineer.blogspot.in/2013/10/nikon-d800e-vs-nokia-
lumia-1020.html)) seems to have purposely hobbled the D800e with an absurd old
macro lens, and then used it at its very widest to maximize distortion. And to
top it off, the lens in question has an almost two stop disadvantage, not
including the roughly 3/4 stop disadvantage for the Nikon having a mirror.

~~~
pwthornton
Yes. Stick a simple, cheap 50mm prime on that D800 and it would crush the
Lumia.

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64mb
Yes my iPhone has a good camera but it won't replace my D300s. However I can
see that smartphones will replace the need for entry level DSLRs Nikon D3200 &
D5300.

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PavlovsCat
Megapixels are nice, but.. what about depth of field? Also, how would you aim
and keep steady the cell phone equivalent of a 300mm tele lens?

