Here’s some telling data, analyzed and broken down by TechCrunch. The most popular camera on Flickr – the Nikon D90 (a wonderful camera with equally stunning HD video recording) is about to be overthrown by the iPhone 4 in the next few months. Yes, a standalone camera and semi-professional DSLR is about to be dethroned by a smartphone with only a 5-megapixel camera. Sure, it’s not really fair to compare a smartphone that is so widely available to an $800+ DSLR camera that only enthusiasts will buy, but the Flickr info does paint an interesting picture of reality – that the camera sensors in our phones are becoming so good that they can replace most cameras. The quality of pictures from the iPhone 4’s 5-megapixel camera speaks for itself. The plethora of camera and photo editing apps speak for itself.
On the same note, point and shoot cameras are also facing a huge decline as cellphone cameras continue to soar. What can we take from all this? Well, that awesome photographer Chase Jarvis’ famous words, “The best camera is the one that’s with you” still holds up. As more people make the switch to powerful smartphones, we might see a decline in the need for snapshot cams, much like the way the Cisco’s Flip cams are now dead in the ground, put to death by the smartphone as well.