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Author Topic: as predicted: Sales of Compact digitals fall further - Article link:  (Read 2250 times)

Stefan.Steib

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Interesting article from the LA Times website - the market changes - and quick he does.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2011/12/phone-camera-photos.html

Greetings from Munich
Stefan
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Because Photography is more than Technology and "as we have done it before".

RFPhotography

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Re: as predicted: Sales of Compact digitals fall further - Article link:
« Reply #1 on: December 24, 2011, 09:01:22 am »

Not surprising at all.  The cameras in smartphones aren't bad at all.  Probably on par with the small P&S cameras out there.  I did a review of the camera in my new phone and it performs quite well in the right conditions.  It's one less thing to carry around as well.
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Rhossydd

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Re: as predicted: Sales of Compact digitals fall further - Article link:
« Reply #2 on: December 24, 2011, 11:57:29 am »

The cameras in smartphones aren't bad at all.  Probably on par with the small P&S cameras out there.
<Splutter> No, not "bad"...they're terrible.
"On par" with a Canon S90/95/100 ? no way
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louoates

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Re: as predicted: Sales of Compact digitals fall further - Article link:
« Reply #3 on: December 25, 2011, 11:27:30 am »

Quite understandable. For the point and shoot crowd the convenience of using a fairly decent phone camera trumps the overall image quality feature. I can image that a huge percentage of those shots will be over digital devices and will never be printed. I have a 12.1 Canon SD980 IS I bought a few years ago. It was one of the better rated point and shoots. My thinking was that I always didn't have my heavy Canon Mark III 1ds with me. Lousy thinking on my part. When I look at an image at 100% from the SD980 I realize that there's not much use in trying to work with it. Okay for family snapshots to be emailed to relatives, rotten for much else.
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JBerardi

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Re: as predicted: Sales of Compact digitals fall further - Article link:
« Reply #4 on: December 25, 2011, 12:38:28 pm »

<Splutter> No, not "bad"...they're terrible.
"On par" with a Canon S90/95/100 ? no way

For you and me, no. But for the average person an iPhone is an <i>infinitely</i> better camera than an S90/etc. Normal people can't tell the difference in IQ and/or don't have the technique or ability to get good quality out of a higher end camera. They just want to take a cute picture of their dog and be able to email/facebook/whatever it right on the spot. A dedicated camera is nothing but an obstacle for what they want accomplish photographically.
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RFPhotography

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Re: as predicted: Sales of Compact digitals fall further - Article link:
« Reply #5 on: December 27, 2011, 08:34:42 am »

<Splutter> No, not "bad"...they're terrible.
"On par" with a Canon S90/95/100 ? no way

It's all subjective and depends on what the needs are.  As JBerardi points out, if it eliminates an obstacle to people taking photos then how can it be a bad thing.  The disdain for 'normal' people or people who would 'resort' to using something like a compact or smartphone is irksome; however.  The idea that people who aren't hardcore amateurs or professionals are somehow less worthy is pretty demeaning and says more about the person making the remarks than the people being remarked about. 

But look, there are plenty of well known, professional photographers who are into 'iPhoneography' and displaying images made with an iPhone.  The cameras in some other smart phones are as good and better in some cases so why not just called it smartphoneography.  A passing fad?  Maybe.  But who cares?  Again, if it gets people interested in taking photos and that then spurs them to want to do more, it can't be a bad thing.  Dan Burkholder is offering workshops on iPhone imagery.  I was quite surprised at how good the camera/lens in my new phone was.  Am I going to use it for commercial applications?  No.  But that doesn't take away from it being a pretty decent camera that can turn out better than expected results in the right conditions.  Imaging Resource has reviews on the cameras in the iPhone 4S and the Samsung Galaxy S II. 
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Rhossydd

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Re: as predicted: Sales of Compact digitals fall further - Article link:
« Reply #6 on: December 27, 2011, 09:06:22 am »

It's all subjective...........................
No, you're trying to read far more into my comment than is there.
Quite simply camera phones aren't on par with dedicated digital compacts, they just don't have the image quality. Mainly because compacts have improved so far their image quality is now pretty good.

Yes, you can do creative things with them, and yes, they might help people get more interested in photography, and yes again, in the right conditions they can surprise people with their image quality. But the you can say the same for pinhole cameras and other toys like the Holga/Lomo etc.
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Rob C

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Re: as predicted: Sales of Compact digitals fall further - Article link:
« Reply #7 on: December 27, 2011, 09:13:32 am »

At the very least, it can be helpful if you want to do not a lot more than make a record of something. However, knowing you're working on jpegs won't encourage you to try very hard, and neither will the lack of control on exposure, not to mention the bloody awful shutter release method! Sharp shots? I tried it indoors with flash and a mirror, and it took so long to expose that I though it had gone awol. Worse, the af began to hunt and try to focus on the refection in the glass itself... oh well, I always did use manual lenses by choice. Oh, I forgot to mention the problems associated with trying to see (and frame) your subject in bright daylight, without a viewfinder, and whilst trying to hold the damned thing steady with your arms at full stretch...

Samsung Galaxy Ace:

Rob C

« Last Edit: December 27, 2011, 09:17:33 am by Rob C »
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