Will smart phone cameras replace DSLRs in the future? I see people using iphones, smart phones and now even with new lens attachments to take photos of everyday life...and even nature.

PhotoFem

I see people using iphones, smart phones and now even with new lens attachments to take photos of everyday life...and even nature. Perhaps, this is because they can instantaneously post their images on Facebook and Instagram. Instagram even has rudimentary tools to improve bad images...or, even alter their original look.
Any thoughts on this?

Thanks,
Jen

Bill_de Loc: US

No. But something else might.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Not for me, Jen. Smart phones are for making phone calls. Cameras are for making photographs. I try not to get either to multi-task by taking the other's responsibilities. But, then, that's just me.

To me, the print, and a large one at that, is the final stage of a photograph. Phones just don't cut it with a 24x36 print.
--Bob

PhotoFem wrote:

I see people using iphones, smart phones and now even with new lens attachments to take photos of everyday life...and even nature. Perhaps, this is because they can instantaneously post their images on Facebook and Instagram. Instagram even has rudimentary tools to improve bad images...or, even alter their original look.
Any thoughts on this?

Thanks,
Jen

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

PhotoFem wrote:

I see people using iphones, smart phones and now even with new lens attachments to take photos of everyday life...and even nature. Perhaps, this is because they can instantaneously post their images on Facebook and Instagram. Instagram even has rudimentary tools to improve bad images...or, even alter their original look.
Any thoughts on this?

Thanks,
Jen

I don't know that phones will replace DSLRs. There has been great improvements made in phone cameras over the years and they are very fine for the venues you mentioned--Facebook and instagram and such. They may replace some cameras for the casual shooter, but the small size of phone camera sensors will be an obstacle to replacing DSLRs. No one knows what the future will bring and with the growing size of smart phones, maybe someday the phone sensor size will increase also, but for now there is little chance of phones replacing DSLRs for serious photography.

brucewells Loc: Central Kentucky

PhotoFem wrote:

I see people using iphones, smart phones and now even with new lens attachments to take photos of everyday life...and even nature. Perhaps, this is because they can instantaneously post their images on Facebook and Instagram. Instagram even has rudimentary tools to improve bad images...or, even alter their original look.
Any thoughts on this?

Thanks,
Jen

There will be individuals who, perhaps, will give up their DSLR and just use their smart phone. And, yes, there are some powerful editing apps for smart phones (I use Snapseed). I bailed from Facebook a couple years ago and have never found Instagram a necessary part of my endeavor in photography.

There's a lot of photography-related technology that simply cannot be replaced in such a small form factor as a smart phone.

We will be long gone when DSLRs are no longer the mainstay of photography.

Kmgw9v Loc: Miami, Florida

New cell phones have remarkably great cameras that will satisfy the needs of many/most serious picture takers.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

PhotoFem wrote:

I see people using iphones, smart phones and now even with new lens attachments to take photos of everyday life...and even nature. Perhaps, this is because they can instantaneously post their images on Facebook and Instagram. Instagram even has rudimentary tools to improve bad images...or, even alter their original look.
Any thoughts on this?

Thanks,
Jen

No. Instamatic cameras did not replace SLRs in the 60s and 70s. Disposables did not replace SLRs in the 80s and 90s. Digital P&Ss have not replaced DSLRs. So, NO camera phones will not replace DSLRs. Mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras, however, are another matter. Though I think of Mirrorles ILCs as an evolution not a replacement.

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

Nope. Not everybody is a snapshooter doing the things that you mentioned. Some people buy Jeeps and some people buy Cadillacs so they can get from point A to point B. They all get there eventually but it's the ride that counts.

Blaster34 Loc: Florida Treasure Coast

PhotoFem wrote:

I see people using iphones, smart phones and now even with new lens attachments to take photos of everyday life...and even nature. Perhaps, this is because they can instantaneously post their images on Facebook and Instagram. Instagram even has rudimentary tools to improve bad images...or, even alter their original look.
Any thoughts on this?

Thanks,
Jen

Maybe one day Jen, they'll put a phone module in a DSLR????

Jakebrake Loc: Broomfield, Colorado

Most of the people you see running around clicking away with their smart phones are not serious pro photographers, or dedicated hobbyists. I realize the technology in camera smart phones has improved by leaps and bounds, but that medium is still for snap shots and selfie's IMO. A smart phone will never capture an image like a DSLR will. BTW, I dumped Facebook a couple of weeks ago after the crap Mark Zukerberg and FB was pulling. Don't need them!

Rich1939 Loc: Pike County Penna.

PhotoFem wrote:

I see people using iphones, smart phones and now even with new lens attachments to take photos of everyday life...and even nature. Perhaps, this is because they can instantaneously post their images on Facebook and Instagram. Instagram even has rudimentary tools to improve bad images...or, even alter their original look.
Any thoughts on this?

Thanks,
Jen

I think for the casual, "look where I've been" picture taker, yes

BlueMorel Loc: Southwest Michigan

No, we'll all have chips on our optic nerves and take photos by blinking. Photos will be transmitted by a blue tooth.

Really, I use both, but a phone is no substitute for a good dslr with a good set of lenses. But a phone is more portable and has its uses, sometimes just as a phone.

EdJ0307 Loc: out west someplace

Bill_de wrote:

No. But something else might.

According to a post yesterday it is going to be mirrorless cameras.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Jen - a dedicated camera, whether DSLR or Point&Shoot, is already luxury item as viewed by the vast majority of people who no longer desire nor need a separate camera from their phone. Cameras within phones will continue to advance eating more and more of the market for lower-end cameras. Why spend $500 for an entry-level DSLR or mirrorless w/ lenses when you've spent $1000 on a phone that performs just as well in filling your needs?

Should phones and lens attachments begin to push toward f/2 apertures or 1000mm focal lengths or 10 frame per second, I'd expect the cost and size to begin to approach the high-end cameras and lenses where DSLRs already rule the day.

Jakebrake Loc: Broomfield, Colorado

EdJ0307 wrote:

According to a post yesterday it is going to be mirrorless cameras.

I just read an article on the Sony a7R III in Outdoor Photography, and damn, if I wasn't so heavily invested in Canon that would be my system.

https://www.outdoorphotographer.com/photography-gear/cameras/sony-a7r-iii/