![\"CameraProduction2\"](\"http:\/\/wkoopmans.ca\/notebook\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/CameraProduction2.jpg\")
<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nIf you look at this graph where I brought together the data from several sources you can see that\u00a0new\u00a0film camera sales\u00a0all but disappeared within 3 years of the point that digital camera sales reached the same level.\u00a0 The same is not true with digital camera’s and smart phones they really are co-existing. Yes camera sales are declining but not at the same rate that smart phones are proliferating.\u00a0 Some of the\u00a0slow down can\u00a0also be attributed to the fact that many people are satisfied with their current imaging technology, the ‘good enough’ factor.\u00a0 If what they are currently using meets all their needs there is no reason to go looking for something new.\u00a0 This is perhaps hard for ‘gear heads’ to come to terms with but they really don’t drive the larger market even if they have a greater individual\u00a0influence\u00a0through their dedicated forum posting and social media presence.\u00a0 So yes Digital camera sales have been declining back to 2005 levels at the same time that photography is\u00a0burgeoning and cell phones are the primary reason but good riddance to bad cameras. I say bring on the awesome and the lenses more lenses.<\/p>\n
I believe\u00a0the point at which digital image quality reached that ‘good enough’ status for the average consumer (If they truly exist) was around the 6-7mpixel\u00a0mark about the year 2004.\u00a0 Most of what has occurred since then has been improvements in sensors and camera operation but the leap in quality that we saw in the first few years of consumer digital cameras has not and likely will not be repeated.<\/p>\n
There is a lot and I mean a lot of discussion\u00a0around image sensor size and its impact\u00a0on image quality but I wanted to illustrate\u00a0a different point independent\u00a0of the sensor size.\u00a0 The image that follows shows the relationship of different megapixel images if they were to be printed at 300DPI\u00a0(the typical resolution of a minilab\u00a0print)\u00a0 The 24Mpixel\u00a0Pentax K-3 image would print natively at 20 in x 13.3 in. while the 7Mpixel\u00a0DSC-V3\u00a0would be a 10 in x 7.68 in. print at 300DPI, then there is the 1.3Mpixel Olympus D370\u00a0that would yield\u00a0a tiny 4in x 3 in print at 300 DPI and still look terrible.<\/p>\n
What this means for me is that for prints\u00a0up to around 8×10″ I have had the necessary\u00a0photographic tools at my disposal for the last 10 years.\u00a0 Yes my latest greatest cameras provide much better low light performance and quicker operation but if I hadn’t bought them it isn’t like I couldn’t have continued to make images.\u00a0 And that’s\u00a0the thing if that is true of a camera from a decade ago then it’s doubly\u00a0true of a camera purchased in the last several years.\u00a0 What will camera manufactures do to continue to be profitable or will they need to adapt and scale their operations.\u00a0 I think what we are seeing with high-end compact cameras is evidence of the shift camera companies are undergoing.\u00a0 They are creating high quality niche products because\u00a0customers can\u00a0justify them\u00a0when compared to smart phones.\u00a0Which is not true for\u00a0basic point and shoot models.<\/p>\n So while smart phone sales have decimated the inexpensive\u00a0point and shoot market companies continue to produce terrific image making tools and at ever lower prices, we the consumers have benefited\u00a0from this.\u00a0 More people than ever before in the history of the world are taking pictures today, it’s just that for most of them the camera in their phone is good enough for what they want.\u00a0 It’s not shown in the image above but I also captured the same scene with a Samsung Gallaxy\u00a0S4\u00a0phone and when you look at the pixel level you can see that a dedicated camera of similar pixel\u00a0count still\u00a0produces a higher quality image, I’m just sayin’.<\/p>\n I think its interesting to consider that practical digital photography has only been around for less than 20 years while photography as a whole has been around for over 175 years,\u00a0 What purpose and form will cameras have in 2172?<\/p>\n<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n