Smartphones, DSLRs up, P/S down, plus Flickr

[JRMDC]

A NYT article suggests that point/shoots are a dying breed as the camera market bifurcates between smartphones and DSLRs.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/04/technology/04camera.html?_r=1&ref=business

The article references a flickr tabulation showing the iPhone 3G is the most common source of flickr images, the next four being D90, XSi, 5D2, XTi.

http://www.flickr.com/cameras/

Vexing that the flickr graphs do not indicate units on either axis.

[crazytiger]

The cell phone swallows yet another everyday device. I'd never thought about that before.

[Freericks]

One of my kids has a Kin Two (the very, very short lived Microsoft phone).

The camera in it is amazing... I mean... I am shocked at the picture quality.

[trainboysd40]

Fine by me....if people want crappy pictures, the more power to them. Makes me look better at any rate.

[Joe the Photog]

Maybe along the same lines, maybe not, but I always chuckle when I see people at an event with a DSLR who go to take a picture and then the external flash pops up. Lets me know they have it on auto and have no clue the kind of pictures they could actually be taking.

Or better yet when someone asks me to take a picture of them with their camera. If it's a Canon Rebel, I'll take it off auto, make sure the focus point is set correctly, then take the picture before reverting the settings back to auto. I did that one time, had the woman look at the shot and she said, "Well, you are a professional." (I had my TV gear there with me.) I didn't say it, but I thought to myself, "Being a 'professional didn't just get you that picture. Practice and reading the manual did."

[troy12n]

Smart phones are where P&S were maybe 7-8 years ago in terms of IQ (but more megapixel). I think there is a point of diminishing returns because at the end of the day you have to make a lens capable of resolving decently and you can only make optics so small. It's not like a transistor or integrated circuit that you can in theory make infinitely small.

[35mmguy]

Maybe along the same lines, maybe not, but I always chuckle when I see people at an event with a DSLR who go to take a picture and then the external flash pops up. Lets me know they have it on auto and have no clue the kind of pictures they could actually be taking.

Or better yet when someone asks me to take a picture of them with their camera. If it's a Canon Rebel

I got a Rebel XTi, used a pop up flash once because the batteries in my external died, not too bad, you have to manually trigger it in any of the creative modes.