Posted on by Terry White

Are camera phones the new point and shoot cameras?

cellphonecamera

I have two cameras that are with me 99% of the time. One is a Canon Powershot ELPH 870IS the other is my iPhone. Of course I have a couple great DSLRs (Nikon D700 and D5000). It goes without saying that when it's an important event I'm shooting with a DSLR. However, when it's just casual just out and about you would think that I pull out my Canon ELPH, but the reality is that I pull out my iPhone, take the shot (edit it in the FREE Photoshop.com Mobile App if need be) and share it immediately via Facebook/Twitter/Flickr/Email using the Best Camera App. 

You would think that more camera manufacturers would take the hint and be looking to add wi-fi (if not 3G capabilities) to their point and shoot cameras and redesign the interfaces on them for easier image sharing. 

Honestly I can't remember the last time I used my "Point and Shoot" camera. Sure I realize that your best or only camera may be your Point and Shoot camera and that you may use yours all the time. However, for me my best camera is my DSLR and for everything else I use my iPhone. Apparently I'm not alone! Look at this interesting set of stats on the 400% increase in mobile photo uploads to Flickr via the iPhone 3GS. What about you?

tplight

For those interested in more Flash/Light for low light photos, that's one thing I love about my Truepower IV iPhone external battery. Not only does it double my battery life but it also provides a bright LED light on the back for photos.

14 Replies to “Are camera phones the new point and shoot cameras?”

  1. I shoot with a Canon 7D, but after starting a iPhone 365 project this year i’m quickly using the iPhone more than any other

  2. I agree Terry. I have a sony cybershot 10mpx that I keep in my pocket for casual shooting. I also am a Nikon DSLR shooter (D80) for important stuff. I’ve been opting to use my iPhone 3GS for almost all of my casual shooting rather than my point and shoot though, mostly because of the ease of sharing these casual shots to FaceBook and other social media. Although the point and shoot takes larger higher rez photos than my iPhone, I find the iPhone photos to be of extremely good quality. The only think lacking on the iPhone is a flash or some sort of manual exposure/ISO control. I still haven’t shaken the habbit of keeping my point and shoot in my hip pocket but I wonder how long it will take for me just to leave it at home.

  3. I agree Terry, I am constantly amazed with how decent the iPhone 3GS camera is. I would suspect that as the new iphones evolve with better cameras in them, point and shoot sales will suffer even more.

  4. Very true, I am using the iPhone for casual pics more and more. They don’t print well, and low light is a problem, but I rarely print my photos as they are all on my Mac or uploaded to Facebook. If the iPhone pics were printable I would ditch my point and shoot (also a Canon 870IS) which I still prefer on vacation. When traveling I will carry the P&S and the DSLR.

  6. The lack of built in WiFi in cameras is dumbfounding to me. Incorporating WiFi into P&S cameras would be great but what I would really like to see is this technology incorporated into DSLR’s. To be able to shoot in a studio setting or even out in the field wirelessly tethered to your network would be astounding. One less wire to worry about! The tech involved in this is so small and inexpensive now that it should be included in every camera made. The wireless grips made for the Canon cameras are nice but who do they think they are fooling! $700 FOR WIRELESS! You have got to be kidding! And the grip can’t even incorporate an extra battery, IT’S JUST WIRELESS! O.K my rant is over! Ha, sorry about that!

  7. Hey Terry!

    I think it’s time to get at both Nikon and Canon (Nikon first 🙂 ) and tell them that it’s time to make the worlds first point and shoot camera phone! I would buy it hey. How good would it be to have the quality of a point and shoot in a cell phone looking like a point and shoot, able to go to facebook etc. with a touch screen keyboard..Would be pretty sickk!

    Enjoy your day!

    —
    DT.
    Nassau, Bahamas | Miami, FL

  8. Camera phones that is, me too using iPhone, for casual photos and DSLR for print stuff.

    I hope they don’t include flash on iPhone as it would anyway be too harsh light from tiny flash but instead invest in good wide aperture lens and bigger and better sensor to catch natural light better and keep the noise away. Tiny flash doesn’t help as does big enough sensor.

    Corner-to-corner sharp, fast & close focusing lens with shake reduction wouldn’t be too bad either and much useful than ugly light from tiny tiny flash.

  9. My cell phone is such a p.o.s. I don’t even bother with pics from it because I am on Verizon and due for an upgrade in April. On the other hand, if the Touch had a built in camera, that’s another story entirely! Come April though, if no iPhone has made its way to Verizon, then the Droid will likely find its way in my pocket…

  10. Why not all three. A wider aperture lens, a bigger/better sensor AND an attenuatable flash. When you use a flash on a point and shoot it looks like….well, a point and shoot and not a DSLR with carefully diffused and placed strobe lighting but in a NO light situation (nightime, dimly lit venue) some sort o flash (even harsh) is both necessary and better than nothing and not even a superior quality sensor can overcome that scenario, at least not on an iPhone.

  11. Flash takes power and iPhone is well-known for not having too much to spare. It would require a lot of research and development to figure out how to keep iPhone usable power-wise with a flash.

    I like idea of having it all for everybody since you always can leave the flash off if you don’t like it and it would be cool to trigger some off-camera slave flashes optically with tiny iPhone flash (which wouldn’t contribute light really to the exposure but it would require manual exposure and settings on iPhone to work right).

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