Are point-and-shoot cameras dead?

Point-and-shoot cameras used to be the king when it comes to every day casual shooting. Almost every household had a point-and-shoot on standby, ready to capture moments. But with the improvement in camera technology for mobile devices, smartphones have aggresively taken its place as the go-to device for taking photos and videos. This leaves us asking, are point-and-shoot cameras dead?

Before we discuss further, let’s try to define a point-and-shoot camera. A P&S, according to WikiPedia, is also called a compact camera which is designed primarily for simple operations. It aims to simplify photography for users who don’t want to worry about the technical details such as ISO, Shutter Speed, and Aperture. As its classification suggests, all the user needs to do is turn on the camera, point, and shoot.

P&S cameras were compared in stark contrast to DSLR and mirrorless cameras. While DSLR cameras are powerful machines capable of superior image quality, they were also bulky, heavy, complex, and expensive. That’s why a lot of people, even DSLR owners, opt to purchase a P&S mostly due to its compact size, lighter weight, and affordability. So we’re talking about different machines here catering to different markets of which they are free to thrive. But why is there a huge decline in the compact camera segment that we’re now discussing its death. There are lots of factors to consider but one of the biggest culprit is the rise of camera phones.

Let’s go back to the advantages of the compact camera: portable, easy to use, and affordable. Now if you look at camera phones they also share those advantages. Even better. Although a good camera phone is often more expensive than a compact, it’s cheaper than a DSLR. In terms of image quality, the P&S is still superior than most camera phones out there but let’s not forget that a camera phone is also a communication device that can harness the power of the Internet.

Considering the popularity of photo-friendly social networking sites and apps like Facebook and Instagram, most users would rather settle for a lower-than-P&S image quality that can be quickly uploaded and shared on the Internet than have higher quality images that are stuck in an SD card. I’m sure you will agree that the demand for Internet connectivity is bigger than the demand for high-quality shooters.

Going back to the decline, reports will tell you that the digital camera market significantly suffered in 2012 and 2013. If you look at CIPA’s (Camera & Imaging Products Association) report below, total shipments of digital still cameras peaked in March 2012 with almost 11 million units shipped worldwide then started to decline and ended the year with just almost 5 million units.

Now let’s look at our primary culprit for this decline as mentioned earlier which is the camera phone. If you remember, it was also the same year when Nokia launched the 808 PureView smartphone with a large 1/1.2-inch 41 megapixel sensor. It was then followed by the Nokia Lumia 1020 in 2013 with a smaller but still large 1/1.5-inch 41 megapixel sensor. And we’re just talking about Nokia here. We still have the likes of Apple who are also keen about their imaging technology that they started with the iPhone 4 in 2010. Just look at where they are now with the iPhone 6.

The megapixel battle continued and expanded to sensors. In 2012, Samsung released the Galaxy Camera which has a 16.3 megapixel camera with a form factor and zoom capabilities of a P&S in addition to Internet connectivity and Android app compatibility.

And then they released the Galaxy S4 Zoom and a year later, the Galaxy K Zoom. Other companies we’re clamoring as well. In 2013, Sony released the Xperia Z1 with 1/2.3-inch 20.7 megapixel sensor. HTC responded with the HTC One M7 and its UltraPixel sensor.

I can go on and on when it comes to the improvement of the imaging technology of smartphones but the point is clear – smartphones are no longer just communication devices. They have become powerful imaging devices augmented with great apps, stealing the spotlight from poor obsolete digital cameras.

As for camera manufacturers, they responded by putting connectivity features like WiFi and NFC in their P&S to give consumers a reason to still use real cameras in tandem with smartphones. The struggle to keep its relevance in a market dominated by camera phones gave birth to a new breed of cameras like Sony’s QX smart lenses and the recently-announced Olympus Air.

Some camera companies were able to stay relevant by producing high-end P&S cameras with large 1-inch sensors like Sony’s RX100 Series. But big sensors are no longer exclusive to P&S cameras. Just last year Panasonic unveiled the Lumix DMC-CM1 Android smartphone with a 1-inch 20 megapixel sensor and a Leica lens.

So are point-and-shoot cameras dead? If we’re talking about the mediocre P&S that you used to know, the answer is yes. But I still have hopes for high-end P&S cameras. However, given the rate at how fast camera phones are improving it’s not hard to imagine that they might soon suffer the same fate.

Sources: CIPA, MarketWatch, LensVid