Robert Pogson

I am not a party animal but I have been to a few family and friend parties the past month and it’s hard to ignore the fact that people are using smart phones more than they are using cameras for taking pictures. The “little woman” is an example. She takes pictures and then uses an ftp client on her smart phone to send them to her server. She can’t do that with her camera which often sits on the shelf weeks between uses.

How times change. It was only a few years ago when 35mm SLR’s were at their peak. Now they are rare and digital cameras are mature but not many really need one thanks to the smart thingies.

Taiwan is noticing. Manufacturers of cameras are suffering. Of course the manufacturers of parts for cameras can also sell parts for smart phones but it is a shift in who does what and a dramatic demonstration of how specialization can cause premature death… There will always be professionals who need/want a high-performance camera but the billions of humans who just take snaps for FaceBook probably don’t need them. Indeed for many purposes a smart phone that fits in pocket or purse may be more useful than a camera left behind on the table and of course, you can phone/text/navigate/browse with a smart phone.

see Taiwan makers see decreased 3Q12 digital camera shipments, says Digitimes Research