Are Digital Cameras Extinct? - Comments Page 1

The tiny sensors in most smartphone cameras are the biggest limiting factor. Although there may be fewer prints of photos being made these days, if you want to print an enlargement of 8x10 or larger, you'll want a camera with a much larger sensor.

Prices have gone through the roof for those kinds of cameras, sadly. Granted, inflation has increased the costs, but it used to be that you could get a quality 35mm camera for under $200. You couldn't shoot video nor could you get an instant view of what you'd just shot from one of those cameras, but it was built of metal, could take a beating and it would serve you well for many years.

I carry a small digital camera in my purse as well as my very simple small Tracfone. I do not have internet on my phone and do not want it. The camera takes great pictures and I can send them online on my regular computers either desktop or laptop. I hope these cameras are around for a long time. I do still use my old type SLR with zoom lens, but I don't know how long developing service will be available.

Dear Bob,
Cameras in Smartphones and tablets may have improved, but they are by no means as versatile in use as a dedicated camera. Particularly with tablets it is most bizarre these days to see people taking photos with them - awkward, ungainly and guaranteed to frighten off animals, birds etc.
I have two cameras, a Fuji F810 and a Fuji 500EXR. I use the 810 a lot more than the 500EXR, as the 810 has a viewfinder, whereas the 500 screen is useless in anything much above dull lighting. I used to use Nikon SLRs so I suppose a DSLR will have to be bought eventually, but I cannot see how dedicated cameras will ever disappear!

I have compared smart phones with cameras. I agree the clarity on a camera is much better. I doubt that most people are concerned with the number pixels. I took several computer graphics classes that dealt with pixels. Give me a camera any day over a smart phone when I take a picture.

Cell phone cameras will probably do for the mass numbers of snapshot takers who really are not into photography but just want a record of things, even if there are quality issues. Even they could be helped a lot with the better light gathering capabilities and zooms of small "real" cameras. Those are things that they would take advantage of if the camera was at hand but the cell phone will also be good enough much of the time.

My father was an advanced amateur back in the film days with multiple cameras and a selection of lenses. He discovered that having my mother carry a small point and shoot camera in her purse let them catch moments when they were not lugging his good cameras along.

The small imager (also a major part of low light shooting along with a larger lens) of the cheaper point and shoot cameras may doom that segment of the market as cell phones eat away at the lower end and compact SLRs (I have an APS C camera) eats away at the higher end. I bought the APS format camera specifically because the larger imager and lenses could take pictures at a much lower light level than the point and shoot cameras but without the bulk and cost of the full 35 frame slrs.

Certainly remarkable pictures con be obtained with the modern SmartPhone - depending on the subject and the conditions. But only with a dedicated camera that has aperture, shutter speed, manual focus and film speed controls does the photographer have what he needs for that truly spectacular image that doesn't happen by sheer accident. By the time you get done cropping a SmartPhone image and fiddled with tonal control you have probably lost a lot of resolution.

Pixel rating is equivalent to regular and fine grain films. You can put fine grain film in a pin-hole box camera or in a Leica f1.2 lens camera. The big difference is 1.The quality of the LENS, and 2.The diameter of the lens with respect to focal length.
It is hard to imagine getting the quality from a Smartphone lens that is 1/4' in diameter and 1/4 deep versus 1" camera lens that is 2"deep.

I have a Nikon DX 5200 and while it is to big for a pocket I can do much more with it than I can with a cellphone camera.

Cellphones are fine for basic pictures but I need a better camera with multiple lenses for many pictures.

This is almost crossing a line with comparing high utility imaging vs high quality imaging. What the difference comes to are how small lens elements and groups vs larger ones and the relationship of image circle on the sensor. Equally important is manipulation of the images, with the image processor engines and compression that occurs in the digital cameras and smart phones, vs the RAW sensor capture that is widely used in pro applications.
Contrast ratio and depth of field control is almost non existent as well as ability to set sensitivity of the imager. For the portable phone an improvement is clip on lens and image units you see from Sony. But that is creating a camera unit.
This argument can go into which type of digital camera is better, point and shoot vs DSLR or DSLT (translucent mirror cameras) ? That is a huge argument in its own right. Sensor sizes still are the main thing to look for, then get the camera system that rides around it. It comes down to the user and what they need to do. The pro and pop markets are very different.

Another problem with smartphone cameras and many if not most compact point and shoots is the lack of a viewfinder. Ever try to take a photo at the beach or some other highly lit area? That said I do love having the ability to use my phone to snap some shots and often do. I just think this is something most people don't think of until after the purchase.

This is the second article I've seen about camera phone since I traded in the old phone for a Note 5. You couldn't have posted this earlier? Just kidding.
I have 2 digital cameras if I want to take better photos but if I'm just out and about I don't carry the cameras.
My main reason for trading up is the image stabilization function. I have hand tremors and I almost never could take a picture that wasn't blurry. It frustrated me to no end.

I don't own a SmartPhone, but I do carry a small digital camera around with me. I have zero interest in posting a thousand photos of myself on Instagram; I do like take one or two photos of something of interest to me which I keep as a personal token and rarely share on the Internet (because, really, who cares). I often print out photos for my brother because he does not own a computer or a SmartPhone. I like have a hard copy of some photos. I haven't seen that many photos from SmartPhones that were very impressive--volume does not make up for lack of technique.

To get even a decent compact camera, you are looking at a few hundred dollars. All that for a very small sensor (not as tiny as a phone/tablet, but small nonetheless). If you are looking to fork over that kind of cash, why not go for a midrange, new, previous model year DSLR or Mirrorless camera with a kit lens or two for the same price. With an APS-C or MFT sized sensor, the dynamic range will far and away exceed anything a phone or compact camera will do.
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I almost go nowhere without my D7000 and 35mm or 55-300mm attached (even to work). It is really hard to catch a pic if you have no camera. About the only thing I use my phone for is video.
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So, no. Not extinct. Yet.

As a real estate appraiser I find most of my clients are dissatisfied with phone photos. Even a point and shoot stand alone camera produces better quality (clearer) images than most phones resulting in fewer call backs from my clients.

Do smartphone cameras come in waterproof packages?

If it has a ring tone, it's not a camera. Yes, I've used the camera on my iPhone occasionally, but not any time where I've wanted a quality photo. I have a bag full of Canon DSLR gear, and don't plan to give them up in favor of a cell phone camera any time soon.

I certainly agree with you on this, Bob. Having in
past years been a professional photographer in
architecture and in portraiture. Thanks for the
well thought out and presented article.

Just a note -- Apple should be releasing the new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, around September 25th, 2015. Both of these new Apple Smartphones will have 12 Mpixels in the rear and 5 Mpixels in the front. Apple is getting closer and closer to the camera "clarity" of the Android Smartphone.

Now, when I want GOOD pictures, for a very special event, like a wedding or a reunion or a bridal shower or a baby shower or baby announcements, etc. -- I want a DSLR camera, to take those pictures. Do I personally have one, no, but my daughter does and she is the one who takes most of the event pictures, in my family.

My daughter has captured some awesome pictures, with her DSLR. She is an amature, but, a darn good one. I especially, love when she does her picture editing, making the pictures be sepia or cropping them and then putting them, on a solid background.

As a former professional/freelance photographer from the days of film, Nikons, and Leicas, I find both the smartphone cameras and the compact digital cameras quite annoying. They never seem to respond exactly at the moment you want them to, their auto focus gets confused or just plain misses exactly at the moment you think you have a good shot. These cameras also have a very poor sensitivity as soon as the lighting is not perfectly bright. The smartphone lenses also quite often seriously distort the angles and proportions in the picture. In short - convenience over quality? I don't even find that little comfort in the smartphones or compact digitals most of the time. On the other hand, the professional DSLR models I have tried - even the bottom of the line Canon EOS for example, are much more responsive, sensitive, reliable, and of course much more versatile.
I guess you might say the smartphone camera has replaced the old Kodak Brownie and similar snapshot cameras for the masses, but anyone who really wants a proper tool for their photgraphic efforts, cannot rely on these things.

@Dianne + 1
For the vast majority of phone photographers the quality and pixel count of the image is not a hige deal, the pics will be posted on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc. And anyway I don't think a bigger camera would fit on a selfie stick.