COMMENTARY | According to Mike Tomkins of Imaging Resource, digital camera maker Canon is in a bit of a bind. Its high-end Single Lens Reflex (SLR) cameras are growing in popularity, but compact cameras -- the basic point-and-shoot variety -- are starting to tank except in "emerging markets." Which is code for third-world countries, where most people can't afford SLRs anyway.
Meanwhile, according to Sony rep Kate Dugan (as reported by MSNBC's Athima Chansanchai), digital cameras are now in "true decline." Chansanchai reports that "entry-level users" are beginning to turn to their smartphones now, instead of buying a separate digital camera.
The question, then, isn't why digital cameras are disappearing. The high-end ones are still in demand. The question is: What makes today's smartphones such good replacements for point-and-shoot digital cameras ... and is there any way the camera industry can recover?
On the high end
It's not unheard-of for smartphones to have camera optics that rival a dedicated digital camera's. Nokia's Lumia 900 Windows Phone features Carl Zeiss optics and a dual LED flash, on an 8 megapixel camera. Meanwhile, the iPhone has long featured a sensor with backside illumination, for superior image quality that goes beyond megapixel count. And special attention was paid to the iPhone 4S' camera, both hardware- and software-wise, in Apple's presentation last October.
On the low end
They say the best camera is the one you have with you. And while an SLR camera might beat the iPhone and its rivals for image quality, anyone can take decent pictures using a smartphone's camera app. Many smartphones now feature an LED flash, and even the most basic 3.2 megapixel sensor is still built into an incredibly convenient little gadget that's loaded with camera apps.
What do these apps let you do? Basic, and sometimes not-so-basic, photo editing and uploading on the fly. You can apply effects (like sepia tones or pencil drawing-style) to photos as you take them, take panoramic pictures, and more. Afterward, you can edit them in Photoshop for Android or iOS, and upload them to Facebook or elsewhere -- or even have them automatically uploaded to your Photobucket or Ubuntu One accounts.
So, what are the manufacturers doing?
Some of them have seen where the wind blows, and are now making Android-powered digital cameras; or at least, Polaroid introduced one at this year's Consumer Electronics Show. That's one way to get the app support, even if you can't make phone calls with it. No price has yet been announced, though.
Canon is replacing its CEO, while Sony's digging in harder, declaring that "important moments should go to cameras." As it turns out, they are ... they're just going to smartphones' built-in digital cameras.
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