Do you still use a camera? These days virtually every mobile phone has a built-in camera and we carry them wherever we go. It seems sensible to ask whether the days of the standalone compact camera are doomed.
Essentially, we’ve always got a means of taking pictures in our pockets every waking second of the day. Why do we need yet another gadget to cart around when we can take pictures with a product we already own?
Cameraphone drawbacks
However, many cameraphones still suffer from distinct drawbacks. Most don’t have a flash, for example, so taking pictures in dim light is fraught with problems. Even those that do have some sort of built-in flash use weak LEDs to provide the light, which ultimately limits their use.
There’s also usually no means of adjusting the exposure settings to compensate for different lighting conditions and no way of switching to a faster shutter speed to capture fast-action shots. Anything moving quickly will just show up as a blur. And then there’s the fact that most cameraphones lack the ability to zoom, meaning you can’t take decent pictures of faraway objects without physically walking closer to them.
Cameraphone advantages
However, the ubiquitous cameraphone does have distinct advantages when it comes to sharing your photos. It’s a synch to text and email pictures to friends or upload images and video clips to Facebook, YouTube or Instagram.
Plus, as your phone is always with you, it’s quick and easy to flick through your photos and show people your latest snaps. Compact cameras are catching up in this department, as many now have wi-fi or near-field communication (NFC) technology. But cameras still can’t compete with all the photo apps you can get on a smartphone.
We’re about to conduct a head-to-head test pitting cameras against their phone rivals to see which come out on top. What kind of shots and scenarios do you think will show their relative strengths and weaknesses? And do you still use a standalone camera or is your phone sufficient for all your photography needs?
What do you prefer to use to take photos?
Compact camera (41%, 425 Votes)
DSLR (25%, 261 Votes)
Bridge camera (14%, 146 Votes)
Cameraphone (14%, 144 Votes)
Compact system camera (6%, 65 Votes)
Total Voters: 1,041
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