Morry Loc: Palm Springs, CA

Photography cameras are a business just as cell phones with cameras are a business for "profit". When and if they no longer make a "profit" . . . they will no longer be made . . . like almost everything else.

agillot

lets imagine that a top L phone take same pictures [ quality ] as a top dslr camera .If your where a pro taking pics for money , like weddings and events , would you show up with a phone or a impressive camera set up for the paying session ?? .

Robertl594 Loc: Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and Nantucket

I remember those, with the rotating cube flash units! I had one.

Here’s a thought to ponder. With all of the cell phones and security cameras out there, the amount of moments recorded as stills and video has increased to ridiculous levels. Just about everything is recorded nowadays.

xt2 Loc: British Columbia, Canada

Cells are great in many ways, in fact I used my iPhone yesterday to catch an opportunity when short of having my “real” camera equipment. We all know the differences in capabilities of both cell and cameras. For me, I will continue to use both; the cell only when I have to, and the real deal when I want to capture those special moments or when “on the job.” I’ll bet I am not alone…. Cheers!

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

The only photographic use I have for my iPhone is the following. I have but rarely use Photopills. I have and use occasionally the Massive Development Chart. And finally, one I would not want to live without. It nails exposure and processing.
--Bob

srg

My 109 megapixel smartphone could probably do this.
I just have to figure out how to mount my really good glass to it.

Lost Again Loc: Middle of nowhere Oregon

Another perspective I have seen in the field is that the cell phone has become a stepping stone into higher quality photography. I have met a lot of people where the phone introduced them to photography and they wanted to graduate to more diverse equipment and better quality. Just a thought.

DICK32

I think that there is a niche for both. Cameras give you more picture details and better low light pictures and video. But you have to know how to use them. Phones are faster and easy to use. I get better phone pictures because I know how to focus and deal with light. Both phones and cameras are going to get better.

bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada

A wedding photographer I know experimented with a smart phone by provided a high-end smart phone to his assistant and asked her to shoot whatever she thought was pertinent at a recent wedding. The end result... The bride and groom chose about half the photos from each camera.

Of course it is possible his assistant was simply a better wedding photographer but the day will probably arrive when even professional photographers will, at the very least, complement their kit with a smart phone.

bwa

bdk Loc: Sanibel Fl.

One thing I see is lots of pix being taken with smart phones. Then I'm seeing some of these people looking at and buying cameras to get to the next level. So yes smart phones are helping the camera industry. ( not a lot but some)

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

"Doom, gloom, destruction, death, annihilation, extinction", etc, ad infinitum makes headlines, sells "newspapers" and garners lots of clicks on this forum. Whenever the is a new technology, changes in trends, or certain old stuff being replaced my new stuff, whatever it is, is gonna " KILL the industry"- shoot it dead in its tracks, eviscerate it, and leave it to rot in a pool of its own blood! This notion is unmitigated nonsense. Cool hyperbole eh!

So, there are no more street-corner mini-labs and folks running around with Instamatics and Polaroid cameras or advanced amateurs with mechanical SLR cameras and Speed Graphics. Everyone has trashed their equipment and substituted cell phone cameras. Kodachrome was discontinued and that was the end of color photography??? Please- give me strength!

I'll toss away my overpriced, bulkey but high-performance medium format digital gear when I can do a major advertising product layout with my cellphone. I'll thrash my cellphone camera when I can tuck my overpriced, bulkey, but high-performance medium format digital gear in my pocket and shoot casual snapshots in the park and at family birthday parties!

There is a time, place, and practical usage for any sensible photo equipment. Everyone is entitled to enjoy their photograhy in their own way, seriously or not, and within their budget.

In the professional scene- there may be fewer successful professionals than in the olden days, especially those with brick-and-mortar retail studios. Some attribute this to folks doing "selfies" with t cellphones rather than going to a studio or seeking out a pro. The survivors in that segment of the industry are the ones who do superior work and produce results thathe average person can not. There are fewer but they are better. The same trend has occurred in the commercial/industrial end. The mediocre and wannabes have washed out and the true craftspersons, savvy technicians, and artists have carried on.

The industry is not dead or dying, it ain't even sick- it's just changing.

All this cell vs. camera "debate" is a waste of space. All this "this VERSUS that" in photograhy should be replaced by "this AND that" because the is room for many different approaches in creative endeavors.

Cheer up folks, I prefer weddings to funerals!

Don.Y Loc: East Ballina,NSW.,Australia

Fredddd

Great shots! I'm with you.

delder Loc: Maryland

Just came across this article myself! Remember, we can't really predict or understand some of these trends. REMEMBER, vinyl just outsold CD'S this year...

Tube Amplifiers are still very much in use AND still being made.

If we can find a parallel between Consumer Audio and Photography,
We could be in for a whole new generation of DSLR users!

We will, of course, need the SD card to smartphone adapter to instantly share the results.

charles brown Loc: Tennesse

IMHO With the improved photographic capabilities being made in smartphones most likely 85-90 percent of the people will be satisfied using their phones as cameras. For the rest of us I am sure that the major manufactures will continue to make "real" cameras. But will they have enough customers to continue to produce such a wide variety of cameras. Who knows. Most likely the number of manufactures will be less.