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The Demise of Mass Market Cameras?

November 22, 2010 14:49:42.000

This pretty much maps my usage of cameras as well - I have a nice (not great, but nice) Samsung, and an iPhone. MG Siegler has a much nicer Canon, but writes the following:

I anticipate I’ll take about 5 percent of my pictures with it in the coming year. The other 95 percent will be taken with my iPhone. How do I know? Because I had the S90 last year and that was my exact usage pattern.

That's what I've noticed as well - I take the vast majority of my photos with the iPhone. Why?

Smartphones are always connected. Point & shoots never are. When I take a cool picture, I often want to share it right away. With my smartphone, it takes 20 seconds. With my point & shoot, it’s impossible. I have to wait until I get home, upload it to my computer, then upload it to the web.

That's pretty much it right there. With my phone, the photos can be shared immediately; with my regular camera, there's a delay (and truth be told, I might not even get around to it). Professionals and serious hobbyists will keep buying nice cameras, of course, but that entire space is going to drop into niche status, as most of us just use our smartphones. Ironically, that probably means that prices on nice digital cameras will go up, because the buying audience will shrink - unless they start doing 3g deals with wireless vendors. Even that might not work though - why would I want to carry two devices when I can get by with one?

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posted by James Robertson

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