These days, when the majority of people want to take photos they use smartphone cameras which are very portable and inexpensive compared to proper standalone cameras. Ever since the early 2000s when the early versions of the smartphones we know started coming into the market they brought along with them their portable cameras that started undermining the standalone cameras that were the dominating photo-capturing devices of the time.
The smartphones of today are so advanced that according to the CEO of Sony’s semiconductor manufacturing company smartphone cameras will soon start producing better quality photos than the ones taken by the highest quality of cameras, a DSLR.
But even though the question of whether smartphones will replace professional cameras is still a topic that is open to debate, there is one completely clear point, that, while smartphones were on the rise this past decade, digital camera sales fell sharply down.
In an animation by James Eagle, we can see how the annual sales data for film cameras and digital cameras compared to the sales of smartphones over the years. This was done just so that the full impact of the smartphone industry on the camera industry could be realized.
Going back to the early 2000s when this all started, smartphone cameras were significantly less powerful than their standalone counterparts and thus the latter was favored. As an example, one of the first camera phones on the market Samsung’s SCH-V200 could take photos at 0.35 megapixels; which was pretty good for the time, however, there was a catch as the phone could take 20 photos only as it had no more storage. And the hottest camera of the year was Canon’s EOS D30 which was a digital camera that could take many photos at the resolution of 3 megapixels.
But after the iPhone, and other more accessible and better quality camera phones came into the market, they quickly saw to it that many people who were not fond of standalone cameras switched to the more portable and multitasking camera phones. As an example, the phone released earlier this year Google’s Pixel 7 has multiple cameras with a 50-megapixel wide rear camera and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide rear camera, on the other hand, however, is Canon’s enthusiast EOS 850 with a 24.1-megapixel sensor. Not to mention that camera phones are much less pricey and can do multiple tasks for a medium price while specialized cameras can only click pictures and that too for a high price. So, in the end, it does make sense that people are reverting from specialized cameras and are moving toward camera phones.
The smartphones of today are so advanced that according to the CEO of Sony’s semiconductor manufacturing company smartphone cameras will soon start producing better quality photos than the ones taken by the highest quality of cameras, a DSLR.
But even though the question of whether smartphones will replace professional cameras is still a topic that is open to debate, there is one completely clear point, that, while smartphones were on the rise this past decade, digital camera sales fell sharply down.
In an animation by James Eagle, we can see how the annual sales data for film cameras and digital cameras compared to the sales of smartphones over the years. This was done just so that the full impact of the smartphone industry on the camera industry could be realized.
Going back to the early 2000s when this all started, smartphone cameras were significantly less powerful than their standalone counterparts and thus the latter was favored. As an example, one of the first camera phones on the market Samsung’s SCH-V200 could take photos at 0.35 megapixels; which was pretty good for the time, however, there was a catch as the phone could take 20 photos only as it had no more storage. And the hottest camera of the year was Canon’s EOS D30 which was a digital camera that could take many photos at the resolution of 3 megapixels.
But after the iPhone, and other more accessible and better quality camera phones came into the market, they quickly saw to it that many people who were not fond of standalone cameras switched to the more portable and multitasking camera phones. As an example, the phone released earlier this year Google’s Pixel 7 has multiple cameras with a 50-megapixel wide rear camera and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide rear camera, on the other hand, however, is Canon’s enthusiast EOS 850 with a 24.1-megapixel sensor. Not to mention that camera phones are much less pricey and can do multiple tasks for a medium price while specialized cameras can only click pictures and that too for a high price. So, in the end, it does make sense that people are reverting from specialized cameras and are moving toward camera phones.
Charting the Smartphone Effect on the Camera Market from Visual Capitalist.
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