By Mike Thompson
Since the advent of smartphones, these devices have cause a major overhaul of digital compact cameras. Flickr, one of the most popular photo sharing websites has surveyed its members and has found that the most popular cameras used were the Apple iPhone 4S, the Apple iPhone 5 and the Apple iPhone 4.
It appears as if smartphones have eliminated the need to ever own a digital camera, however, there are a multitude of reasons why this is not the case. The simplest reason is higher quality of photos. A low illumination test against 2 popular smartphone brands, the Apple iPhone 5 and the Samsung Galaxy S4, and an average run of the mill point and shoot digital camera, the Canon Powershot G15, has shown that the digital camera is superior by a long shot.
In contrast to a smartphone, you will be able to shoot crisp and clear photos from a longer distance away with a digital camera because of the extra zoom. Other advantages of the digital camera are better subject tracking, metering and white balance. It is even possible to crop a photo at 300 per cent its original size and post that online on sites like Facebook and Instagram since the quality is simply that good. For a smartphone, this is completely out of the question.
You also have to still bear in mind that the smartphone is only just a phone with many more features and that taking too many pictures can drain the battery down fairly quickly. You certainly do not want to be in trouble when it comes to calling or texting someone on your smartphone due to this.
In fact, the camera giants have stepped up their game as well in response to the rising smartphone market. There is a new breed of so called 'smart cameras' that incorporate the ability to wirelessly share photos from your digital camera to online social networks.
For instance, Canon has recently developed the Powershot N, which is a small square shaped digital camera, designed to have the similar size as a smartphone as well as having built-in Instagram-like filters and built-in Wi-Fi for instant photo sharing.
In general, digital compact cameras are becoming increasingly sophisticated so much so that it even rivals the DSLR versions of themselves. Take the latest Nikon Coolpix A for example, it has the same 16.1 megapixel sensor found in the Nikon D7100 camera as well as the image processor found in the earlier D7000 model.
In the end, smartphones should not be dismissed as totally inferior to digital cameras. It just depends on what you want from these cameras. Would you take pictures to only just share photos with others? In this case, you would be better off with a smartphone. Would you take pictures because you would like them to be picture-perfect? In this case, you would be more satisfied with a digital camera.
The best compromise between these two is to think of it this way - smartphones should be complementary to digital cameras rather than replacements.
It appears as if smartphones have eliminated the need to ever own a digital camera, however, there are a multitude of reasons why this is not the case. The simplest reason is higher quality of photos. A low illumination test against 2 popular smartphone brands, the Apple iPhone 5 and the Samsung Galaxy S4, and an average run of the mill point and shoot digital camera, the Canon Powershot G15, has shown that the digital camera is superior by a long shot.
In contrast to a smartphone, you will be able to shoot crisp and clear photos from a longer distance away with a digital camera because of the extra zoom. Other advantages of the digital camera are better subject tracking, metering and white balance. It is even possible to crop a photo at 300 per cent its original size and post that online on sites like Facebook and Instagram since the quality is simply that good. For a smartphone, this is completely out of the question.
You also have to still bear in mind that the smartphone is only just a phone with many more features and that taking too many pictures can drain the battery down fairly quickly. You certainly do not want to be in trouble when it comes to calling or texting someone on your smartphone due to this.
In fact, the camera giants have stepped up their game as well in response to the rising smartphone market. There is a new breed of so called 'smart cameras' that incorporate the ability to wirelessly share photos from your digital camera to online social networks.
For instance, Canon has recently developed the Powershot N, which is a small square shaped digital camera, designed to have the similar size as a smartphone as well as having built-in Instagram-like filters and built-in Wi-Fi for instant photo sharing.
In general, digital compact cameras are becoming increasingly sophisticated so much so that it even rivals the DSLR versions of themselves. Take the latest Nikon Coolpix A for example, it has the same 16.1 megapixel sensor found in the Nikon D7100 camera as well as the image processor found in the earlier D7000 model.
In the end, smartphones should not be dismissed as totally inferior to digital cameras. It just depends on what you want from these cameras. Would you take pictures to only just share photos with others? In this case, you would be better off with a smartphone. Would you take pictures because you would like them to be picture-perfect? In this case, you would be more satisfied with a digital camera.
The best compromise between these two is to think of it this way - smartphones should be complementary to digital cameras rather than replacements.
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Want to find out more about the best digital cameras? Visit Mike Thompson's site on how to choose the best digital camera bundle at http://digitalcamerabundlereviews.com.
