Cameras spotted in Clearwater, FL: We visited the Clearwater, FL Aquarium yesterday. 80-90% of the people who were taking photos were using smart phones, including my wife and...

pj81156 Loc: St. Petersburg, FL

We visited the Clearwater, FL Aquarium yesterday. 80-90% of the people who were taking photos were using smart phones, including my wife and granddaughter. I spotted two digital p&s cameras, both Olympus. Of the 8 or 10 DSLR's I saw, ALL of them were Canon. No comment, just an observation. What's really great, IMHO, is that people are taking photos. Never mind the device they are using. I won't be posting any photos soon. I was shooting film.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Along these lines, there was an article posted in petapixel addressing the topic of street photography. https://petapixel.com/2017/03/20/street-photography-killing/

With all of those photos being taken and your reference to film, reminds me of a graphic I saw a little while ago. It showed the ratio of photos taken with the number of photos viewed, or appreciated, in film vs. digital. Your shooting film produces a higher percentage of photos viewed and appreciated than those being taken with cellphones.
--Bob

pj81156 wrote:

We visited the Clearwater, FL Aquarium yesterday. 80-90% of the people who were taking photos were using smart phones, including my wife and granddaughter. I spotted two digital p&s cameras, both Olympus. Of the 8 or 10 DSLR's I saw, ALL of them were Canon. No comment, just an observation. What's really great, IMHO, is that people are taking photos. Never mind the device they are using. I won't be posting any photos soon. I was shooting film.

Rab-Eye Loc: Indiana

OTOH, I just attended a major conference that gets a lot of press coverage. Lots of photographic journalists, and a pretty even balance between Canon and Nikon.

Jakebrake Loc: Broomfield, Colorado

Rab-Eye wrote:

OTOH, I just attended a major conference that gets a lot of press coverage. Lots of photographic journalists, and a pretty even balance between Canon and Nikon.

I have noticed pretty much the same thing, especially at my camera club. The overwhelming majority are Canon/Nikon, with a smattering of the other brands and formats.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

pj81156 wrote:

We visited the Clearwater, FL Aquarium yesterday. 80-90% of the people who were taking photos were using smart phones, including my wife and granddaughter. I spotted two digital p&s cameras, both Olympus. Of the 8 or 10 DSLR's I saw, ALL of them were Canon. No comment, just an observation. What's really great, IMHO, is that people are taking photos. Never mind the device they are using. I won't be posting any photos soon. I was shooting film.

You were obviously there during the trip organized by Canon.

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

What I thought when the Polaroid first came out: there is something special about taking photographs with film. The anticipation, waiting, and suspense added to the excitement about photographs. The advantage of cellphone photos is that they can be shared (and ignored?) immediately.

Robert R Loc: Indianapolis and Naples

pj81156 wrote:

We visited the Clearwater, FL Aquarium yesterday. 80-90% of the people who were taking photos were using smart phones, including my wife and granddaughter. I spotted two digital p&s cameras, both Olympus. Of the 8 or 10 DSLR's I saw, ALL of them were Canon. No comment, just an observation. What's really great, IMHO, is that people are taking photos. Never mind the device they are using. I won't be posting any photos soon. I was shooting film.

I volunteer at Corkscrew Swamp in Florida. We have many people taking photos. I have made similar observations the last several years. The great majority of folks are using smart phones as a camera. Next most popular are the P&S cameras, various brands, does not seem to be any one in particular. Of the DSLR's, I think Canon are more popular that Nikon, but now a lot of serious Canon shooters use L lenses, which are easier to identify by color. A trend in the past several years are the number of DSLR shooters using the 150-600 Sigma or Tamron zooms. Although they are black, they are easy to spot by the length alone. When I see an individual in a group photographing the others in the group, I ask them if I can take the entire group together. They are always grateful, and I shoot several shots to make sure I get it. Without a doubt, these group photos are almost always very good, whether it be DSLR or smart phone.

Haydon

pj81156 wrote:

We visited the Clearwater, FL Aquarium yesterday. 80-90% of the people who were taking photos were using smart phones, including my wife and granddaughter. I spotted two digital p&s cameras, both Olympus. Of the 8 or 10 DSLR's I saw, ALL of them were Canon. No comment, just an observation. What's really great, IMHO, is that people are taking photos. Never mind the device they are using. I won't be posting any photos soon. I was shooting film.

Cellphones have virtually replaced P/S. Most do not print large so the convenience is fully understandable. We just need to accept the replacement. Personally I find cellphones great for keeping a strong eye for composition but they aren't a direct replacement for high quality images.

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

My take on almost all of the cell phone picture takers (Notice I didn't say photographers) and I include members of my own family. They don't know anything about photography, other than which side of the phone to face the scene.

wapiti Loc: round rock, texas

boberic wrote:

My take on almost all of the cell phone picture takers (Notice I didn't say photographers) and I include members of my own family. They don't know anything about photography, other than which side of the phone to face the scene.

Robert R Loc: Indianapolis and Naples

boberic wrote:

My take on almost all of the cell phone picture takers (Notice I didn't say photographers) and I include members of my own family. They don't know anything about photography, other than which side of the phone to face the scene.

dcampbell52 Loc: Clearwater Fl

pj81156 wrote:

We visited the Clearwater, FL Aquarium yesterday. 80-90% of the people who were taking photos were using smart phones, including my wife and granddaughter. I spotted two digital p&s cameras, both Olympus. Of the 8 or 10 DSLR's I saw, ALL of them were Canon. No comment, just an observation. What's really great, IMHO, is that people are taking photos. Never mind the device they are using. I won't be posting any photos soon. I was shooting film.

LOL! you must have missed me. I usually hit there once or twice a month with my Nikons. And yes I've noticed similar crowds. By the way, the movies, Dolphin's Tale and Dolphin's Tale 2 are about that aquarium in it's early days and currently. Both were filmed on location there and you may have noticed (if you saw the film) the houseboat with the crows nest that is often tied up next to the building. Most of the new construction was paid for or financed with proceeds from the 2 movies. Both movies are BASED On true events (though somewhat embellished) and the two animal stars (Winter and Hope) both live there, along with Rufus the pelican and others.

pj81156 Loc: St. Petersburg, FL

Sorry we missed you. And yes, we knew about Winter, etc. They do great work there. And yes, we noticed the houseboat. Living on it seems like a great idea!

wmurnahan Loc: Bloomington IN

sb wrote:

What I thought when the Polaroid first came out: there is something special about taking photographs with film. The anticipation, waiting, and suspense added to the excitement about photographs. The advantage of cellphone photos is that they can be shared (and ignored?) immediately.

You photograph much younger than you are if you had thoughts when Polaroid first came out.

John_F Loc: Minneapolis, MN

One of the great advantages of smartphone cameras is that no training/learning is needed and the spur-of-the-moment of those little things are easy to capture. Like, get a load of that edgy smirk on Bill's face with a thousand beer bottles in the background all in focus. Waste of DSLR pixels, yes.