DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

I have 3 DSLRs and 1 iPhone (and 1 old Android). I have taken photos with all of them. The DSLRs have a really big edge when it comes to speed, low light, and IQ. They are more flexible when it comes to fancy things like off-camera light sources (speedlights or strobes). My DSLRs all have L-brackets for attachment to a tripod.

Comparing the jpgs from my iPhone to jpgs from my DSLR, the DSLR wins when it comes to pixel peeping.

Today's snapshot shooters, like yesterday's brownie and box camera shooters, don't pay much attention to IQ, and are not particularly interested in speed, low light, off-camera lighting, tripods, or pixel peeping. Their images are (generally) not printed. They are applied to social media, where even high megapixel images are reduced to low megapixel images for internet viewing, EXIF data are stripped off, and the only thing left is possibly location data.

More people are taking pictures now because the phone camera makes it easy. It's not that there are more photographers, just more snapshooters. I see this as a trend in society. While there will always be a few photographers who are interested in IQ, the ratio of snapshooters to photographers will increase because (1) it's easier to use your phone and (2) the images are "good enough".

DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area

My Samsung S8 shoots raw.

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

I'm in the camp of those who don't believe the dedicated camera is dying out and becoming obsolete. I have an iPhone 8 Plus that has a decent camera built in. I also have 3 dedicated cameras. And while I have apps for the cellphone camera that allow me to take slow motion shots, time interval shots, slow shutter shots and allow adjustments to exposure, spot focusing, etc., I still rely on my dedicated cameras to yield the greatest degree of versatility and highest image quality. For example, I did a 16x20 metal print from a shot I made with my A6300, that turned out nicely. I doubt is the same image, if taken with my cellphone would have yielded as nice a print. I take some photos with the iPhone, but mostly to grab a moment or record something, but not for artful type photography. Both have their places and purposes, and even as cellphone cameras keep getting better and better, I doubt that either one will become obsolete. You can make decent paintings with colored magic markers, but they just can't beat the quality of a painting made with actual art paint and brushes. And of course, the artist's touch and skill.

salewis

I also use the phone for snapshots, for occasions where I don't want to carry my regular camera around, or at times when I am not expecting to take photos and something unusual comes into view.

G Brown Loc: Sunny Bognor Regis West Sussex UK

Photography - like many things...has dumb'd down. 'instant versus quality'. The attention people once gave to photography has reduced in direct proportion to the number of photographs people now see daily. (you would never see a photo of someone's lunch for example - now facebook is full of them)

For people who see photography as a 'Hobby'...There is still that personal satisfaction of 'creating an image' rather than snapping a picture. For how long there will be the equipment and choice to to do this is debatable.

Look at cabinet makers....there are still a few out there - regardless of cost and time. However there are thousands of outlets selling furniture....But some people like to pander to their 'creative side' hence 'Hobbyist'. No-one makes steam engines any more...except hobbyists. The list of hobbies keeping old skills alive goes on and on.

Don't argue about the finer points....most people don't give a hoot.....they want cheap,quick and easy.....
have fun

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

It is still possible to buy cabinet making tools. And it's also still possible for an amateur to make cabinet making tools.
Not too many people these days making glass plates for negatives (although there are a few). Amateurs have been making astronomical mirrors for centuries, and making lenses is probably pretty similar (if you can get the optical materials). But the real challenge would be the electronics and precision components that go into a DSLR.

That would be a whole nother level of image processing.

juan_uy Loc: Uruguay

I use my cellphone, or action camera, or point and shoot to take pictures/snapshots.
I use my dSLR to make photographs

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

The majority of the population has always been casual sharpshooters. The quality they can now get from a phone camera is much superior to the film point and shoot cameras they used in the past. Also much easier since they don't have to take film to be developed, and the photos are easier to share because of the internet. If anything, there may be more serious amateur photographers who use actual cameras since they don't have to have a darkroom any more to create custom creative photos.

stanikon Loc: Deep in the Heart of Texas

Same here. I have maybe 15 or 20 cameras, all for different purposes, with correspondingly different results. Some are for stills, some are for video, others are p&s, etc. My DSLR is for photographs and is hardly a p&s; I suppose I could use it as one but it's bulky and heavy. My p&s cameras are all small, easy to carry and take decent photos; they do what is intended and I don't ask them to do more than that. I use my cell phone on occasion but that is because I always have it with me and sometimes don't have a choice.

All of them have their purpose and reason for being, and I can't see any of them going away for a very, very long time.

I am reminded of the story of the old lady who could ride a horse but was afraid of cars. Her daughter drove a car often but was afraid to fly. Her granddaughter loved to fly but was afraid of horses.

You can still buy buggy whips. There are also people around who make chariots.

If the day comes when there are no more cameras, I will be long gone by then so I'm not worried about it.

salewis

On the other hand, the small cameras are no longer point-and-shoot. Many have the same type of settings as the larger ones do. They are far more sophisticated than phone cameras are.

Kmgw9v Loc: Miami, Florida

Very true; and that explains why one sees fewer and fewer DSLR’s.
It has become almost rare to anything but cell phones at events, family occasions, wherever.
I will keep my DSLR’s.

Vietnam Vet

My wife just returned from a mission trip to Mexico. Several people took pictures and videos with their phones. She put together a slide presentation using them to she in church, and watching the presentation you would never guess those were not taken with regular cameras.

10MPlayer Loc: California

You can't zoom in with a phone like you can with a 600mm lens on a real camera.

10MPlayer Loc: California

+1

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

I often travel with my wife on FAM trips that allowed spouses to go along. I always will be her photographer on these trips and will get any shot she wants. But on the last trip, all the travel agents were using their tablets and cellphone. There were only two other people using cameras. That was a total of one P&S (high end), one DSLR, and my Olympus mirrorless out of about 40 people. Some were doing well with their cellphones and tablets. Most were only going to use them as small images on their travel sites so the quality was more than acceptable. But my wife does not always use small images on her site. She likes full background images that show off the rooms and location as she describes them and her experiences there. It is a sales pitch that gets her sales because they can actually see what she is talking about.

She is not selling to the people who just wants any old room to sleep in. That she leaves to other travel agents. For them, any old picture will do. But the same can be said for social media. There are some that need some quality for their pictures, but most do not need to see any real detail. Why pay too much for something one doesn't need? Yes, there will be a drop in sales for quality cameras. But there will always be a need for better quality pictures than most social media photos.