Is that a dinosaur in your pocket, or...?

Maybe this has already been discussed in this forum, but anyone wonder how long it will be until compact cameras are all but obsolete? Even this forum seems to be way down on posts from a year or so ago (I have no hard data on that and could be wrong!).

I own an S95 for times when I don't need to haul around a full size DSLR kit. It's a good little tool, but honestly, if I had a late-model iPhone or such, I doubt I would ever pick the S95 up. That would certainly be the case if a cellphone had raw capability. I keep seeing better and better images and video coming out of the new "phones".

I suppose this is somewhat similar to the "M4/3 cameras will kill the DSLR" stuff, but I think those two formats are still pretty far apart compared to iPhone vs. compact.

At any rate, I think when my S95 dies, I will just upgrade my phone instead of replacing it. Hell, I think I still have a Flip video cam sitting around somewhere .

It's getting there. And honestly, for casual photography, phones can even be more powerful in that they have some pretty interesting apps available for photography as well as instant tagging and sharing.

For pure image quality, you aren't going to beat a compact with RAW and a better lens, but if image quality was priority #1, you'd be bringing the camera bag, right?

You think compact cameras are dinosaurs? I carry at least one film camera with me at all times - the oldest dating over 50 years of age.

Anyway, I own an iPhone 5. It's better than nothing, since the "best camera is the camera you have with you." But if I know I am going to take pictures (as opposed to unanticipated pictures, for which my iPhone will suffice) and don't want to take my 5D2 or some analog kit, then I will bring the S100.

My iPhone 5's IQ is certainly better than any previous phone I've had, and I don't doubt cameras in phones will continue to progress. But until they can meet or exceed the dynamic range of a quality P&S...

I'm not ready to give up a dedicated tool yet, either, but there may well be a significant jump in IQ (or would that be iQ) coming, and as it is I only use my compact for casual/social stuff where content far outweighs IQ (I still much prefer raw, though). Of course, even if "phone" IQ gets really, really good, someone will still get rich screwing it up a la instagram. On the other hand, I have some friends who never carried or seemed to have much use for a camera, but now take photos with their phones - and a few of them are pretty damn talented!

There was an article in the Wisconsin State Journal (LINK) last week about a local photographer (20 years as a newspaper photog, and another 6 on his own) who bought an iPhone, which altered his perspective in several ways.

I was surprised at the quality of some photo a friend took with her phone.
But then, no phone overmatch my S100
My own phone is close to useless in "low" light. I guess I'm also spoiled by the S100 quality.

Maybe low end compact will go, high end might stay for people who care about IQ but don't fell like carrying a reflex.

cheap compact cameras might go away,
but high-end compacts with DSLR-like IQ are here to stay

I'll only replace my S110 with a camera phone when there are decent camera phones that can shoot raw and have at least 3x optical zoom...

there is always going to be people who can't afford a smartphone and would like to take pictures, so cheap compact still have their place in the market.

FinancialWar wrote in post #15806887
there is always going to be people who can't afford a smartphone and would like to take pictures, so cheap compact still have their place in the market.

That's an interesting point.

Some people might need something to take descent photos without the need for a smartphone, or wanting to spend the $$$ in a smartphone that does the job good enough.
And there is still the space that optical zoom takes.

I am stuck with the mindset of using my phone as a phone/texting, that is pretty much it. Once in a blue moon I actually go online with it - I am thinking of ditching my online plan.


I carry my s95 with me pretty much everywhere - either in my cargo pocket or car, yet it gets just a little usage. I hate shutter lag.
Because I also carry my 5D3/HF-M500 video cam everywhere with me in my shoulder bag with at least 2 other lenses and "other stuff".

People think I am nuts, but once you do something for more than 30 days, it generally becomes a habit. I also have 2 tripods in my car at all times.
I like to think it keeps me out of the gym.
It also tends to make me late for dinner a lot too.

I like the way you think pbelarge, LOL!

I can honestly say that I don't think the phone will replace the camera, at least not for me. I almost always have either of my current compacts or my 4/3 with me if I don't have my camera bag. I've used my phone for photos, absolutely, but that's usually in a pinch. I just get far clearer, punchier and useable pictures off of my real cameras. I can't give that up.

When and if my A720IS kicks the bucket, I'll decide then what makes the most sense. I can't imagine that an iPhone will offer the type of flexibility that I have with this little Powershot. It has an optical viewfinder, full manual operation, ISO up to 1600, flash EC, surprisingly good macro. I have the underwater housing for it which allowed me to shoot while scuba diving on a 2 week trip to the Philippines without the stress of worrying about flooding and destroying a couple thousand dollars worth of DSLR gear. It is my first choice for beach parties here where I live now.

It will never rival my 60D, but I don't hesitate to grab it when the DSLR is just much.

A few things would need to happen to make this happen, IMO:

1) MUCH better battery life from phones. As it is now, the way I use my phone, the battery is constantly draining. If I then also used it to record videos and take dozens of photos, it would really hamper my ability to use it for other things.

2) Optical zoom on a phone. Maybe it's just me, but I honestly can't stand not having any optical zoom. Sure, my phone camera suffices for 'snapshots' to post on facebook or whatever, but if I want creative or anything better than a 'snapshot', I like having the creative flexibility that optical zoom gives me.

3) Storage solutions - This one is pretty much already solved now with cloud-based storage, but a complaint I heard a lot from a friend who uses his iPhone as his camera is that he had to stop taking pictures because he was out of space. I know most non-Apple phones have microSD slots to solve that problem, but there are a lot of iPhone users who have no such solution.

Until and unless all of these are solved, I honestly wouldn't ever think of leaving my P&S camera behind and relying completely on my phone camera.

Getting closer, I think.

The images I've seen from the Nokia Lumia 1020 are impressive. If it had raw capability my old S95 would be sitting on a shelf instead of in my pocket. I only use a compact for "emergencies" anyway, when I don't have a DSLR with me.