The world’s most popular photo site, Flickr, allows users to see which cameras are most commonly used in their online community, but the odd thing is that none of the top four are actually cameras. They’re all smartphones. Respectively, the top four are the Apple iPhone 5, the Apple iPhone 5s, the Apple iPhone 4S, and the the Apple iPhone 4. What’s more, digital camera sales have been tepidly declining for the past few years, while the sale of smartphones has skyrocketed by more than 600 million in the past five years.These are just two trends that indicate the public’s demands and expectations have shifted. People nowadays are less concerned about taking higher quality photos, and would rather have the ability to instantly share their pictures across social networks instead. However, it finally appears that the camera industry is finally overcoming the threat of the smartphone by incorporating the ability to wirelessly share pictures instantly.
The latest models of cameras, which techies are referring to as “smartcameras,” can quickly send pictures to any tablet or smartphone, where they can be edited and then shared. Many smartcameras can even let users see the viewfinder remotely from a phone.
“Although many feared the smartphone meant the end of the digital camera as we know it, I think we’re seeing the opposite,” says Fred Tilner, Sales and Marketing Manager at 42nd Street Photo, a popular NYC camera store. “People are excited about photography and want to know how to take better quality images, including action shots and low-light pictures that are still very hard to do with a smartphone.”
Although these smartcameras are finally answering the public’s demand to share photos, they’re still not entirely perfect. Many make sharing a bit of hassle, requiring users to work their way through labyrinthian menus if they want to upload their photos to their mobile devices.Though camera companies like Samsung, Sony, Nikon, and more are finally getting the right idea, they’re not quite there yet. It might seem like an uphill battle now, but when more advanced, user-friendly smartcameras hit the market, it’s probably the smartphone industry that’s going to have to look out.