Point and Shoot Cameras are Basically Dead

[VidThreeNorth]

The concern comes about as the smartphones that replaced point & shoots are not from

- Canon
- Nikon
- Sony
. . .

First, Sony makes smartphones. I use a Sony Xperia 10 iii. I have posted reports about its cameras, which are not great. On the other hand, the top-line Xperia 1's and Pro's and V's are supposed to be very good. But they also cost more, and I have not tried any of those. Also, as has been mentioned elsewhere in this forum, Hasselblad, Leica and Zeiss are all active in helping to develop smartphone cameras that are so labelled.

 

[dolina]

First, Sony makes smartphones. I use a Sony Xperia 10 iii. I have posted reports about its cameras, which are not great. On the other hand, the top-line Xperia 1's and Pro's and V's are supposed to be very good. But they also cost more, and I have not tried any of those. Also, as has been mentioned elsewhere in this forum, Hasselblad, Leica and Zeiss are all active in helping to develop smartphone cameras that are so labelled.

You are correct! Sony also makes 50% of all smartphone camera modules found in iPhones, Samsungs and other Android phones!

 

[Robshoots]

Try to find a GRII. No penalty for a smaller sensor and missing stabilization.

Good point.

 

[cdd29]

some are still live & kicking. Fuji can't keep production up with demand for the X100V & Ricoh is releasing new variants of the GRiii. I believe Sony is announcing a new camera that could be classified as a P&S, though it's geared more for vlogging. Canon GX line is going strong. Those are exceptions & specialty cameras though.

 

[PhillyBill]

some are still live & kicking. Fuji can't keep production up with demand for the X100V & Ricoh is releasing new variants of the GRiii. I believe Sony is announcing a new camera that could be classified as a P&S, though it's geared more for vlogging. Canon GX line is going strong. Those are exceptions & specialty cameras though.

Don't forget the Olympus Tough is a very popular niche P&S camera as well. It's a classic case of "the camera you have with you." No smartphone has its combo of water protection, crush resistance, cold resistance, and shock durability. And of course, a smartphone battery will run down in a jiffy exposed to the cold.

 

[Rickbb]

I have a little pocket sized Cannon that I mostly use for point n shoot. A PowerShot, works well, also does manual, Cannon glass, 40X optical zoom so a little better than an old school point n shoot but not a 12 lb. SLR either.

 

[misterjones]

I really don't care how "advanced" cameraphones get, there's always going to be a place for a point-and-shoot for me. As far as I can tell, digital zoom will never be as good as an optical zoom so that's something p-a-s cameras will always have over phones. I'm still using my old Kodak C913 as well as my Finepix S4500 bridge camera (especially the S4500). The Fuji still takes better pics, IMO, over the best cameraphones on the market.

 

[wobe]

I agree that there may no longer be the market for new point and shoot cameras but I will certainly still be using one.

Im still using an old Olympus XZ1 (!) which, in most circumstances, still produces superior pictures to my iPhone12.

But my favourite ‘point and shoot’ is an Olympus 35 ED !

 

[Soocom1]

As long as they make idiot proof things, this kind of trend will continue.

Unfortunately the majority of the target market are folks who never had a full interest in photography as an art, but for the "snapshot" moments.
Nothing wrong with that, but this is along the same lines as those who get their news from Fakebook feeds and comedians.

There will be an eclipse of photography as we know it now in the next 100 years (provided we don't blow ourselves up), and what we see today as advanced will be archaic at best and forgotten more than likely.


How many LF shooters do you see today?

 

[Robshoots]

I agree that there may no longer be the market for new point and shoot cameras but I will certainly still be using one.

Im still using an old Olympus XZ1 (!) which, in most circumstances, still produces superior pictures to my iPhone12.

But my favourite ‘point and shoot’ is an Olympus 35 ED !

That’s interesting. A while back I found my wife’s Olympus 35 RC in a box in the garage. Apparently they are pretty good cameras and I’m looking forward to putting a roll of film through it. It appears to be in good shape.

 

[wobe]

That’s interesting. A while back I found my wife’s Olympus 35 RC in a box in the garage. Apparently they are pretty good cameras and I’m looking forward to putting a roll of film through it. It appears to be in good shape.

RC has a better lens than mine I believe, love the simplicity - and the results !
Hope you get some good shots with it.

 

[Ozzie_Traveller]

Question ...

Have any of you done comparison shots from your expensive fone-camera vs a small P&S job?

I have and it shows a considerable difference .... if you want I can post here, but I wondered whether it would change the flow of the thread
Phil

 

[Soocom1]

Question ...

Have any of you done comparison shots from your expensive fone-camera vs a small P&S job?

I have and it shows a considerable difference .... if you want I can post here, but I wondered whether it would change the flow of the thread
Phil

I have done a series of shots of diff. film formats and then later digital.

Format size is king.

 

[RacePhoto]

There's no doubt in my mind and being rational and real, that the cell phone has replaced the P&S camera (and pretty much everything else) for the general public. The claims that the cell phone has replaced the DSLR are a big stretch, because professionals, semi and hobbyists still prefer using cameras, not phones. We want control and the ability to create.

People who want a photo, sure thing, a p[hone will do. Just like a Brownie or Instamatic or Polaroid, or point and shoot, pocket camera. Just before digital there were some pretty interesting and capable 35mm pocket cameras. Olympus made the Trip 35 which was very basic and produced nice images.

The mirrorless camera has replaced the DSLR! That debate was about speed, focus, quality and all kinds of questions about meeting the demands. Well mirrorless has surpassed and exceeded all limitations and also most DSLRs.

Here's my opinion of the phone camera, it's "Good Enough" and that's why people will use it. Hardly anyone makes prints anymore, and most images are shared online, digital. They don't need to be 50MP for that. They just need to be Good Enough.

Personal opinion once again as it seems people have different demands and requirements and standards. You can't make a tiny sensor camera, using a little thumbtack plastic lens, and process the heck out of it, that will make an image that will be better than a larger sensor P&S. If the trick is how smart the phone is, why not use the same technology on a pocket camera? It would be better then as well?

This is ignoring, bridge cameras, compacts, and things like the EOS-M and now the mirrorless which are superior in all ways. The phone images being as good as a camera image is like drinking the Kool-Aid.

 

[dolina]

The claims that the cell phone has replaced the DSLR are a big stretch, because professionals, semi and hobbyists still prefer using cameras, not phones. We want control and the ability to create.

CIPA global shipping figures tells a different story

1999: 1st year CIPA published global shipping figures
2010: All time high global shipping figures
2017-2022: Last 6 years

​

Year​	1999​	2010​	2017​	2018​	2019​	2020​	2021​	2022 forecast​
Total Cameras​	5,088,207​	121,463,234​	24,978,486​	19,423,371​	15,216,957​	8,886,292​	8,361,521​	7,850,000​
Point & Shoot​	-​	108,576,298​	13,302,797​	8,663,574​	6,755,467​	3,578,643​	3,013,250​	2,560,000​
Total SLR & Mirrorless​	-​	12,886,936​	11,675,689​	10,759,797​	8,461,490​	5,307,649​	5,348,271​	5,290,000​
SLR​	-​	12,886,936​	7,595,708​	6,620,999​	4,504,987​	2,374,569​	2,241,772​	-​
Mirrorless​	-​	-​	4,079,981​	4,138,798​	3,956,503​	2,933,080​	3,106,499​	-​
Worldwide population​	6.034 billion​	6.922 billion​	7.509 billion​	7.592 billion​	7.673 billion​	7.753 billion​	7.9 billion​	8 billion​
% of worldwide population relative to cameras shipped that year​	0.0843%​	1.7547%​	0.3326%​	0.2558%​	0.1983%​	0.1146%​	0.1078%​	0.1013%​

​

Enthusiast & professionals using dSLR & mirrorless may largely left unchanged.
Consumers are not upgrading, delaying upgrades or never bought dSLR & mirrorless

This is reflective on how many full frame & APS-C cameras there are among the top 3 camera brands

Full frame camera bodies dominate the enthusiast & professional user
APS-C camera bodies dominate the consumer user

As of today these are the camera body-only SKU with USA warranty listed on https://www.bhphotovideo.com/

​

Brand​	Canon​	Sony​	Nikon​
Age of Full Frame Mirrorless Mount​	4​	12​	4​
Mirrorless APS-C​	2 (RF-S mount) + 2 (EF-M mount)​	4​	3​
Mirrorless Full Frame​	5​	9​	4​