Sustainable Prospects - Kathy Ryan - Is the DLSR Doomed?
I sort of feel a little conflicted after reading about Kathy. She is without doubt very successful but is she helping photography by promoting the use of phones for images. There is no way in my opinion that you can produce the size files or quality from an Iphone. You with the best will in the world do not have the control. Its almost like everyone using a DLSR camera on auto. So it got me thinking.
In recent years some technology commentators have suggested that smartphone camera technology will eventually become so good that people won’t need or want a mirrorless camera or DSLR. It’s a bold claim.
Smartphone camera technology has come on leaps and bounds in recent years, and if developments continue on their current trajectory, then in, say, 10 years' time phone cameras should indeed be capable of producing images comparable to those from today's high-end cameras, and with equally impressive features and functionality. So surely this proves the camera is indeed doomed? Is that why we are taking steps back to nostalgia and using film cameras more?
However, in the next decade camera sensor technology will also improve massively. So even if smartphones become capable of the image quality a full-frame DSLR can deliver today, just imagine how much better the equivalent camera would be – it’s all relative.
So, while you may be now thinking,"well I’d be happy with that", we’d bet that in 10 years you won’t think that way. As technology improves our expectations increase in line with it. So, if you get used to that higher level of quality from your camera you'll naturally consider your smartphone to be inferior, which it always will be.
Smartphones have, to all intents and purposes, killed off the standard compact camera
Smartphones have, to all intents and purposes, killed off the standard compact camera market. The fact that most people always have a smartphone with them, coupled with the fact that they produce image quality rivaling that of a £100 compact, means fewer people are buying this particular type of camera.
However, rugged compacts– those that can be used underwater, frozen, dropped and generally be treated badly – are an exception because they offer something unique. As do prestige compacts, which feature larger sensors, and the controls and settings you’d find on a DSLR or mirrorless camera.
We all know that smartphone Journalism is taking the world by storm. Journalists are now the general public who do not mind not making any money.
Many mobile phones are now capable of shooting raw files as well as JPEGs, which means that when it comes to editing you have a great deal more control over how an image looks, including messing around with noise reduction and ISO. Coupled with an app such as Lightroom CC or PS Mobile and other editing apps and you can produce images that will look fantastic on the web, or printed at a small size pretty much up to 10 x 8"
Does it matter that the iPhone quality is inferior to a DLSR or mirrorless camera? Are we moving away from getting it right "in camera"?
There is a great well known saying that the best camera is the one you have with you. But that does do many people out of a job. Unless you wanting to print big, have serious creative input or slow the image down with shutter speeds. Is it a matter of time before this is all done on smartphones? The camera industry are constantly moving and progressing and I don't feel they see the Iphone as a threat, yet anyway!
I probably take more photos with my iPhone than I do with a DLSR, so who am I to complain. In the week 8 task Take 5 to 7 photos with a beginning and a middle and end, where all on my phone from the week before trip to Berlin.
So on reflection, if you are a hobbyist or grab and shoot kind of person why lug around a huge body and different lenses. Until the point that the image isn't clear enough or big enough file for you to edit then a Smartphone will do surely? I carried around a DLSR in the recent Paris f2f and used my Iphone most of the time. So for tourist pics i'm more than happy.
