billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

The Nikon D850 was back ordered for nearly 3 months, demand was so high. The new Z6 and Z7 are sold out for the next 6 months. The new Nikon 500 5.6 is almost impossible to get. I think you got some FAKE NEWS on line or else where.

foathog Loc: Greensboro, NC

I agree. When I want to take REAL photographs I bring my Canon with me. Otherwise the few shots I take with my phone are just 'snapshots'. You won't see them hanging on the wall. Unless they are 4x6.

foathog Loc: Greensboro, NC

"THE SKY IS FALLING, THE SKY IS FALLING"

Vince F-stop

I haven't seen hard data, but it would be no surprise if the lower end of the point and shoot market is affected by cell phone cameras. I use my phone for photos often because I always have it with me. It's great for convenience to take snapshots, (defined as an informal photograph taken quickly). When I care about quality, there's no phone that can do what the better DSLR's can do and I find no satisfaction in trying to do so with a phone. In my mind these are two different products for different purposes competing for the market in the middle ground between them.

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

Wildlife is a category that requires specialized equipment. Most DSLR's and mirrorless cameras would be just as inadequate most of the time for this purpose.

You are correct that for the enthusiast the phone camera can't yet compete with a midrange or high end dedicated camera and perhaps never will.

However the typical person has no desire to become a camera enthusiast, wildlife or pro photographer...they just want to capture the moment and share their memories.

Phone cameras do this better than any "Real Camera" available today...and that is why they are kicking but. The sales numbers tell the story.

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

Could it be that the back orders are caused by conservative production quotas and outrageous marketing campaigns rather than overwhelming consumer demands. Plenty of fake news to go around...it just depends on your prospective or how gullible one is.

JohnH3 Loc: Auburn, AL

Cameras on phones and especially the newer smart phones have evolved significantly over the past ten years. I remember well the basic cameras that were first installed on flip phones that became known as camera phones. I mean my new iPhone XS has a 12mp camera. That is six more mp than my first digital bridge camera years ago. However, 12mp on a chip of a sensor will never compete with the 30mps on my full frame 5DMKIV or the 26mps on my 6DMKII or even the 24MPs on my crop frame T6s. Nor will the fixed lenses on my smart phone camera ever produce the clarity and IQ of my L-Series lenses. I would never consider my cell phone camera as being a serious piece of camera equipment even though I have made some wonderful and printable pictures with it. I am glad I have it because I cannot carry my DSLRs with me in my pocket, but I cannot for one minute believe that camera phones will replace serious DSLR or mirrorless crop and full frame cameras. I can see then adversely affecting the point and shoot market, but even my wife who has a very nice Canon point and shoot has far more capabilities with that camera than her phone camera. The phone cameras have their place. They are perfect for snap shots for FaceBook, Instagram, Snapchat, Reddit, Tumblr, etc. I suspect that more pictures are being taken than ever before, and sadly in 30 years we will have trouble finding anyone who can run for political office because somewhere a picture of them doing something stupid in their youth will emerge. Thank goodness there were no camera phones during my teenage and college years! However, would anyone be pleased if they hired a wedding photographer and he/she showed up with two camera phones to do the job. From a serious photography point of view, I find the video capabilities far more appealing than the still picture capabilities, but even that will not replace my GoPro and other video cameras. Regardless, I do enjoy the capability of ALWAYS having a good camera in my pocket. I just don’t suspect serious photographers will ever replace their cameras with a cell phone nor do I suspect that a cell phone camera enthusiast would have purchased an expensive DSLR or Mirrorless camera in the first place. The downward trend for high end camera sales just might be something else.

miked46 Loc: Winter Springs, Florida

I have no intention of traveling and using my iPhone for photo's. I will be using my 80D & M50.

dawgdiver

I didn't read the articles but there will always be a market for the high end cameras. Serious photographers will always want a camera they can manipulate to get the perfect shot. What is on the decline are what I have always called "PHD Cameras", push here dummy. That is what our cell phones are now. They are replacing the P&S (PHD) cameras.

But as previously stated, it will affect future tech and and as any business, as the technology progresses, older technology loses support and the manufacturers wait making the parts to fix it. Take care of what you have.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

My dSLR will be with me till I die. I cannot trust a cell phone camera for serious photography.
The price of modern cameras and lenses is now a luxury and those prices are more expensive than ever. Non photographers are using their cell phones and since more cell phones are sold than cameras the owners of those cell phones use them to take pictures. It is very convenient to take a shot and immediately send it to someone else without going to the computer.
Mirrorless cameras appear to be in their way up although their prices scare me.

chfrus

No it's not. There isn't any shadow detail. It looks like what it is, a photo taken by a cell phone.

chfrus

No it's not! No detail in the shadows. It looks like what it is, a photo taken with a cell phone.

TomC. Loc: Bel Air, MD

I'm keeping my Canon and all the lenses. I don't own a smart phone. The only reason I'd buy a smart phone would be for the camera. But, then again, my camera won't be charging me $80/month (or whatever) to use it.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

That is true. Actually, I think that the D850 was back ordered for longer than that, at least to many dealers. The same thing had happened to the D500 the year before. But we no longer read here from someone who just bought a new D500, and in fact we don't read much from anyone who seems to have just bought a new D850. I bought mine from a local dealers stock last August, and I've not noticed in subsequent visits to the store that he has replaced it on the shelf. My guess is that it was ordered for someone who decided not to pick it up when it arrived.

This same dealer also had unsold Z7s and Z6s when they were first shipped.

This demand surge for high end equipment may not be anything new. I seem to remember something of the same thing when the Olympus OM4t was introduced 30 or more years ago. Don't remember too much about it because I had no means to buy one.

The problem is that with exception of a few really big markets, surge marketing is a risky and difficult way to run a business. It is unsustainable for a long period, and "tthe surge that fails" is likely to kill the business unless there is a strong underlying revenue stream to pay back the unrecovered development costs.

On top of all that, organizations are less and less likely to maintain groups or divisions that don't carry their own weight in today's business world. It doesn't matter how traditionally important or value they have been.

I'm not predicting the endof the ccamera tomorrow. I'm just saying that there are no guarantees.

SuperFly48 Loc: NE ILLINOIS

Only reason I use my cell phone to take a pic and send it is because I have not figured out how to use the darn phone and send a 30mb JPEG from my D850. My old cell died last October and I had no choice but to get a smart phone. I don't give a rat's tail about the phone's technology; it's mostly hype and marketing B S anyway. In the grand scheme of things you will have little choice and will be forced to buy something just to stay afloat. Technology is a two edged sword. One of its negatives....the techno junk pile keeps getting higher and deeper when every "new and improved" iteration is introduced. If you manufacture it, YOU should be responsible for figuring out how to recycle the junk! Sadly we live in a society that wants instant gratification and most things disposable.