Sales of "real cameras" down by 11%

tikkathreebarrel

tikkathreebarrel

Suspended / Banned
Messages
2,150
Edit My Images
Yes
That's a figure in today's Sunday Times. It's a simple statement in the Style section attributing the decline in sales to the fact that smartphones tend to include a 5 megapixel camera so, in effect, why bother?

Wonder how much is also down to the economy being all messed up? Hmm.:thinking:
 
By real cameras I presume you mean all dedicated cameras, be they compact, bridge or DSLR? Kind of not surprising really as phone cameras have moved on a lot over last couple of years so are now eating into the compact market.
 
The gap between phone cams and point & shoot cams is narrowing, but i suspect DSLR sales will be safe as there is no way a phone cam will ever come close to a DSLR quality wise.
 
neoboy said:
By real cameras I presume you mean all dedicated cameras, be they compact, bridge or DSLR?
Click to expand...

I guess that's what they mean. The more Android camera apps I download and play with, the less I think I need my Panny LX3. :thinking: Every item sold brings me closer to the 5DII upgrade:naughty::naughty:
 
boliston said:
The gap between phone cams and point & shoot cams is narrowing, but i suspect DSLR sales will be safe as there is no way a phone cam will ever come close to a DSLR quality wise.
Click to expand...

No disagreement from me there but articles in photography magazines along the lines of "famous tog shoots Cuba with phone cam instead of DSLR" inject something of a reality check.

With my son's wedding coming up and anticipating a 3-line whip "Don't think you're lugging a camera round all day" has got me playing with different android apps to see whether the HTC Desire will suffice; after all I'm the proud dad and not the event photographer!
 
tikkathreebarrel said:
No disagreement from me there but articles in photography magazines along the lines of "famous tog shoots Cuba with phone cam instead of DSLR" inject something of a reality check.

With my son's wedding coming up and anticipating a 3-line whip "Don't think you're lugging a camera round all day" has got me playing with different android apps to see whether the HTC Desire will suffice; after all I'm the proud dad and not the event photographer!
Click to expand...

I've got an iphone 3gs and it takes quite reasonable pics for a phone, but the thing that bugs me is that it's quite fiddly to use compared with a DSLR.

To adjust the exposure there is no direct control, you have to touch the part of the screen that you want it to meter on. The image on the screen lags behind what is actually happening, and there is a delay between taking the picture and it actually being taken. There is also a delay while you log into the phone (only an idiot would not set a pin) and another delay while you fire up the camera app. In short the photo experience is "fiddly" to say the least.
 
boliston said:
I've got an iphone 3gs
Click to expand...


Oh never mind eh? :clap: Sorry, just bantering.

boliston said:
and it takes quite reasonable pics for a phone, but the thing that bugs me is that it's quite fiddly to use compared with a DSLR.

To adjust the exposure there is no direct control, you have to touch the part of the screen that you want it to meter on. The image on the screen lags behind what is actually happening, and there is a delay between taking the picture and it actually being taken. There is also a delay while you log into the phone (only an idiot would not set a pin) and another delay while you fire up the camera app. In short the photo experience is "fiddly" to say the least.
Click to expand...

Oh the Android HTC has pull-down menus for adjusting exposure, sharpness, contrast, ISO settings and the like. Menus need pulling down which is slower than pressing an analogue button so it may be a case of inputting settings for the daylight and weather conditions and then going p&s. Third party apps offer differential focussing and depth of field "effect". I know what you mean about the focus "lag" but I don't think there's much between this phone and a p&s. I've got on-board flash which neither of my DSLRs has so for twirling round the dancefloor (well, who knows?) my HTC Desire is going to be much handier than a DSLR and Speedlite.

Has your iphone got flash?

Here's a thought: is the ability to handle RAW images a software issue (in which case when can we expect to see RAW-enabled phone cams) or does it require a hardware solution?
 
You'd be surprised how good the current generation of cameras are in the top end phones.

I recently got a Nokia N8, and have been amazed at how good the image quality is. My 'proper' cameras are a Nikon D700 and a Panasonic LX-3, so I'm used to using decent gear, but I've barely touched the LX-3 since I got the N8. Sure, it's got no zoom, and compared to the IPhone it has very few apps available, but for a camera that fits in my pocket and I can carry round with me everywhere, I'm really impressed.

A few samples in this thread - http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=274583
 
the images from phones may be good , but they are only 'good' for something with a comparable sensor size, id much rather have a compact & a phone, than a compact camera phone, i very rarely use the camera function on my HTC as its just too much of a ball ache to get a good picture, that i could take in seconds with even a very basic compat...

just my 2p but tey will never be as good as a camera...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top