Why has the iPhone stopped people from buying actual cameras?

[scaredpoet]

But see you DO have a nice camera, you aren't the ones I'm talking about.

Are you sure of that? I have a Canon 5D, and I haven't used it nearly as much as I used to since the 4S came out and the camera took surprisingly decent photos for a phone. There are a lot of quick, simple things that my iPhone takes just fine photos for, so the canon gets a lot less use than before.

I think the real question that should be asked is: why SHOULD anyone continue to carry a point and shoot? If you look on flickr, there are lots of really good looking photos taken with an iPhone.

 

[HiRez]

It's kind of funny how they talk about how the aperture on the iPhone went from F2.4 to F2.2. The full frame equivalent of those apertures would be like F14 to F13.

It makes a difference for shots where you can get something close to the lens and have good background separation. Personally I take a lot of these types of shots and I can get specular highlights even on my 4S. For your typical wide snapshot it won't matter though.

 

[EvilEvil]

You can buy a small compact and get OIS and zoom.

So what? Doesn't make you a good photographer.

 

[moderniste]

I think I recall some large prominent newspapers actually gutted their photography staffs in favor of having field reporters use iPhone cameras for publishable story photos. If the pros feel these cameras are good enough in the news industry, Instagram-ers and Facebookers have much more camera than required.

That was the Chicago Sun-Times, and pro photographers were furious about it. The paper got a lot of bad press and a union made them rehire some of the photographers. Newspapers aren't as popular as they used to be, so although they said the decision was to focus more on video, I'm sure the budget had more to do with it.

There's a big difference between a nice camera with good lenses and an iphone, but most people are content just to have their photos in focus. A good camera system can be expensive, and using the camera that already comes with the phone doesn't cost anything extra.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

It boils down to the old principle that the best camera is the one you take with you. Most people never schlepped around SLRs or DSLRs. Most DSLRs are not even full frame (you mention full frame). They carried compact cameras and for general purposes camera phones are as good as compacts in PQ.

I still see some people w/ compacts and DSLRs at special events like vacations, weddings, graduations, but for everyday use why haul a camera around?

 

[stickybuns]

We own a Canon DSLR that comes with us on family vacations, but I'm not about to lug that thing around with me on a day-to-day basis. Smartphone cameras are capable of taking photos nearly on par with a point-and-shoot camera--plus, they make it super easy to send pictures of the kids over to grandma!--so why bother lugging around both?

 

[nebo1ss]

I'm just a little surprised. I mean I know the iPhone has taken over since people can take quick snapshots anywhere they want, but people also voice how much a good camera means to them yet things like optical image stabilization and actual optical zoom have been in cameras for decades. I know not everyone wants to take it with them but for things like vacations and first moments with children etc it just baffles me.

It's kind of funny how they talk about how the aperture on the iPhone went from F2.4 to F2.2. The full frame equivalent of those apertures would be like F14 to F13.

The Iphone did not do it smart phones with decent cameras in general were responsible. The fact is you always have your phone with you and hence a reasonable camera makes a lot of difference. I have a Nikon D90 which is a decent camera but I have not taken it out for over a year.

 

[2IS]

It's not surprising at all to me. The phone is always with you, the phone is easier to carry, the camera's on the phone have been "good enough" for years now that the benefits of a dedicated point and shoot are less and less every year. Add to that the flexibility of being able to do anything you want with your photo almost instantaneously after taking It. Anything from editing to sharing it on social media, and it's not surprising at all. The only thing surprising is people finding it surprising. To me it's an obvious outcome, and has been for years now.

 

[msb3079]

"The best camera is the one you have with you."

That's why.

 

[Harmonious Zen]

"The best camera is the one you have with you."

That's why.

That quote needs to be qualified. Because clearly a 1 MP camera from the 90s would not suffice even if I had it with me all the time. iPhone works so well because its photos are actually really good. I don't even consider lugging my DSLR around unless I'm really, really in need of some special photos. That thing sits unused for 364 out of 365 days a year. 365 on a leap year.

 

[1Zach1]

but for everyday use why haul a camera around?

Because I love photography and never know when I am going to find something I want to take a picture of. Phone/Compact cameras don't have the flexibility for me, and I don't find carrying a DSLR around as "lugging".

Just my opinion, I completely understand why Smartphones are killing the P&S market as they meet the needs of 90% of the population.

 

[scaredpoet]

That quote needs to be qualified. Because clearly a 1 MP camera from the 90s would not suffice even if I had it with me all the time.

The quote is self-regulating. If you have access to a 1MP 1990s digital camera and it takes horrible pictures, are you truly going to be carrying it around with you?

On the other hand: if an important event is unfolding, and fate has conspired so that all you've got in that moment is that 1MP camera, and finding and getting a better camera means you miss documenting the event, then suddenly, that 1MP becomes the "best" camera. It's either that camera for the shot, or no picture at all.

iPhone works so well because its photos are actually really good. I don't even consider lugging my DSLR around unless I'm really, really in need of some special photos. That thing sits unused for 364 out of 365 days a year. 365 on a leap year.

Same here. But put into perspective of the quote: My iPhone 4, 3GS, 3G and original iPhone, and the Treo 750 and most of the other smartphone and camera phones I had before that, all had cameras. But the best of those cameras were just mediocre, and the farther back you go, the worse and worse they got. During all this time, I carried around a dedicated P&S or dSLR frequently, because I was motivated to make sure those bad cameras weren't the "best" cameras I had in hand. Sometimes I was caught flat footed without a dedicated system, and so those bad phone cameras had to do, because they were better than nothing.