"A reeling camera market gets a new foe: iPhone 7 Plus"

[thermodynamic]

Apple has touted the camera on its new iPhone 7 Plus as having the quality of a high-end, digital DSLR, the kind of camera favored by professional and amateur photographers for glossy portraits, weddings and editorial work.

Not so fast. There's still a big gap between DSLRs and phones. But with smartphones inching even closer to higher-quality photos as produced by cameras, what does the optics of the iPhone 7 Plus say about the future of cameras?

The camera market is already reeling from a six-year dive in demand for consumer point-and-shoots as smartphone cameras rapidly improved.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2016/09/30/cameras-dslr-iphone-7-plus/91244112/

Not so fast. Anyone taking a high-end smartphone pic and a prosumer DSLR pic will be quick to readily show people the truth about differences in quality.

So, who's the deplorable swindler trying to con people how a phone camera outperforms a DSLR, without saying said DSLR was the very first model put out 15 years ago along with a slew of other factors...

The reality is, there's no money to be made in photography so people are not going to buy the equipment needed to get at the proper pictures or study up on the technology.

Another reality, as the chart didn't point out, is that fewer people buy new cameras every year and especially for the cost and ROI to begin with. Yes, we know the consumer is never allowed to have ROI, only the supply side does, which is why it gets bailed out time and again, at our expense, but I digress (and had to make this post political since it's in PRSI). The supply side also believes we grow our money off of trees while it keeps cutting the value of work, which also compounds the problem.

Yes, more smartphones have sold. What comes with it is good enough, assuming one uses it. Most people with them have no clue about what makes a good picture or understand the nuances, but that only makes it easier for marketing sleazebags to con the naive into thinking a camera with static lens and sensor the size of a pinky fingernail will capture with more clarity and color range than a DSLR whose sensor is 3.5x larger with larger pixels in the sensor that help reduce noise (electromigration that softens the captured image) and other issues...

 

[maflynn]

The clock is ticking for the camera market. The point and shoot market is virtually dead at this point. I have a Micro 4/3 camera and to be honest, I found I'm just as happy with the results from my SE. Sure the Olympus is superior in that it shoots in RAW, I have a good ability to crop it, and adjust the settings, but for most stuff that I shoot with my family. The iPhone is good enough

 

[benzslrpee]

agree that point and shoot market will likely vanish in the next three years.

as for DSLR = iPhone... i think this depends. for consumer market i agree that there's really no value in moving to DSLR given the end use of the pictures (e.g. Instagram, Facebook etc).

going beyond that where you need to control depth of field, exposures, lighting, post processing malleability, and print to achieve a certain look i do not believe the iPhone would be an adequate substitute.

The clock is ticking for the camera market. The point and shoot market is virtually dead at this point. I have a Micro 4/3 camera and to be honest, I found I'm just as happy with the results from my SE. Sure the Olympus is superior in that it shoots in RAW, I have a good ability to crop it, and adjust the settings, but for most stuff that I shoot with my family. The iPhone is good enough

 

[cube]

I just scored a like new P7800 to upgrade my P7100, which I also bought second hand several years ago.

 

[maflynn]

as for DSLR = iPhone... i think this depends. for consumer market i agree that there's really no value in moving to DSLR given the end use of the pictures (e.g. Instagram, Facebook etc).

I think the DSLR market is in contraction as well. Maybe not as much as the point and shoot but I do think the numbers are down and will continue to shrink.

I'm not saying it will all but disappear but I'm not sure new parents, will rush out to buy DSLRs to take a gazillion of photos of their new baby.

 

[the8thark]

The iPhone ***** all over almost every single point and shoot camera. That market apart from a couple pointless high end ones that are in the CSC price range. The CSC cameras which are mini DSLR's in reality. Lower quality than a fat DSLR but they are lens swappable and put out some damn fine photos with a little user skill.

I think in the future the DSLR market will shrink it's cameras down the size of the CSC cameras and tat that point you'll just have the iPhone for your every day shaps for facebook and the like and the other camera for anything better.

 

[Tech198]

The clock is ticking for the camera market. The point and shoot market is virtually dead at this point. I have a Micro 4/3 camera and to be honest, I found I'm just as happy with the results from my SE. Sure the Olympus is superior in that it shoots in RAW, I have a good ability to crop it, and adjust the settings, but for most stuff that I shoot with my family. The iPhone is good enough

Every new phone Apple comes out with, would push more and more users rather taking their phone than a camera, but it will never replace those pro shots...

Good,,, for consumers yes, but a pro will have a very different view. While u could say their is little changing in the camera pro market as well, u can also say camera photographers have what they need as well as they do not want anything more either

It works both ways.

 

[boast]

They need to place that medium format Fuji sensor on the next iPhone

 

[maflynn]

but it will never replace those pro shots.

That's basically what I said, the consumers will be more apt to use the iPhone instead of carrying a phone, but there still will be a market for the DSLR with pros and even prosumers.

 

[phrehdd]

Let's see how this all shakes out in say 10 years.

For those of us who recall the 60's. We saw the Kodak Instamatic cameras with "flash cubes" and yet the 35mm and twin lens 120 roll film camera market didn't die but rather, was re-positioned as the Instamatic made "home snap shots" available to everyone. We also saw the plastic polaroid cameras hit the consumer market later and again the 35mm and roll film cameras continued to sell.

The phone cameras are pretty impressive for what they are. They don't come close to the flexibility of some point and shoots but good enough for the consumer who just wants a selfie or snapshot. The phone cameras are in fact able to be a point and shoot camera and will fill that niche substantially. The odd market of photo accessories for phones has started to really take off in the last couple of years.

Camera makers may have to rethink their market as it returns to the "pro" and hobbyist and occasional vacation goer option. I admit I am curious to see as I stated, what shakes out in the next 10 years.

 

[maflynn]

Let's see how this all shakes out in say 10 years.

I think the market will resolve itself in less then 10 years. I think in a few more we'll see some major contractions and shifts in the camera field

 

[PhoenixDown]

I admit, I prefer my iphone over my point and shoot as the phone is always with me. Nevertheless, there are times I can see bringing along and using a P & S but last I checked the features of a decent camera weren't exactly on par with my phone.

 

[maflynn]

I admit, I prefer my iphone over my point and shoot as the phone is always with me. Nevertheless, there are times I can see bringing along and using a P & S but last I checked the features of a decent camera weren't exactly on par with my phone.

Same here, I use a M4/3 camera and while I now use my iPhone for much of my photogrpahy needs, I still feel that the camera works best in some situations

For basic shots the iphone is great, but if I know I'll be zooming or I'll be cropping the image, my Oly is better. There's other scenarios but that list is getting shorter and shorter.