Is The Day Of The Digital Camera Coming To An End?

By Maurice L. Bays
2 May 2019

I have always fancied myself as a bit of an amateur photographer. In truth, taking photos is always something I have had a lot of fun with. When digital cameras became all the rage in the early 00s, I was all in.

The technology of the best digital cameras back then moved at such a rapid pace it was very hard to keep up. It felt like if you bought the top of the line camera, it was out of date and the technology had moved on within a year. Also, the fact that the market was flooded with cheaper quality (and frankly quite terrible) digital cameras only helped confuse things.

Still, the camera industry managed to soldier on, but recently the people at Cannon published a very interesting report about the state of cameras. They announced that sales were down over 20 percent and their profits dropped a massive 81 percent! Of course, the main reason for this is that most people are not bothered about having a separate camera these days.

The cameras that are in phones are incredibly powerful. For example, this morning as I write this Huawei announced that their P30 triple camera is getting a huge upgrade. Also, the OnePlus Pro 7 will have a 3X zoom camera. Having a good camera is something that even the most budget of phones has these days.

For most people, it completely eliminates the need to have a dedicated camera. They have their phone in their pocket or bag and can just whip that out when they need to take a photo. The tech that is in phones has really exploded and having a top of the line camera is something that all the best phones have these days.

While there will always be those of us who like to have a dedicated camera. I am sure there are plenty other photographers out there who like to take their camera out, get the perfect shot and have fun. For most people though, having a camera as part of their phone will be more than enough.

Cannon has said that they are working on things to try and make the cameras they do offer much more appealing to people. Interchangeable lens camera sales were down quite significantly, leading some to ask if mirrorless is the answer. If Joe public does not want to carry around a separate camera, they sure as heck do not want to mess around changing lenses as well.

There is always going to be professional photographers who need a real dedicated camera. There are also plenty of people who like to dabble in photography for fun. So, I do not think that the day of the digital camera is dead just yet. However, it is easy to see why so many people think that having a camera on your phone is more than enough.

From a personal point of view, I do have a dedicated camera. I purchased my current one about two years ago and love it. However, I must admit that I take far more pictures with my phone as it is way more convenient. I am sure that is the case for most people out there.

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Is The Day Of The Digital Camera Coming To An End?

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I have always fancied myself as a bit of an amateur photographer. In truth, taking photos is always something I have had a lot of fun with. When digital cameras became all the rage in...

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Maurice L. Bays

Lead Analyst Cameras

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