29 ms·

Are there really people who used to buy SLRs and now don't because of phones? They seem like entirely different markets. Professionals and dedicated amateurs ha

Are there really people who used to buy SLRs and now don't because of phones? They seem like entirely different markets. Professionals and dedicated amateurs have lenses and other gear that simply don't exist for phones. Maybe SLR sales are down because of the kinds of people who would buy them and literally never use them, because now instead of thinking "I wish I had a camera for this vacation" (which they wouldn't use after buying), they just use their phone. That doesn't seem like a significant market though.

hristov 4y ago
Yes. Me. I was an amateur and was definitely buying in the low end of the SLR spectrum, but I kind of stopped when iphone cameras started getting very good. I thought that photography was a cool hobby and liked being able to control a bunch of parameters, but once the iphones got good enough cameras, it was not cool anymore to hang out in bars and cafes with a huge slr camera, it was not conversation starter, and at some point the camera just got too much of a pain to take with me when i went out, so i started leaving it home, and I stopped spending money on it, and eventually i just kind of put it away.
kypro 4y ago
Probably. I used to take either my SLR or mirrorless camera with me almost everywhere I went a decade or so ago. I don't anymore because my phone camera is good enough for most things. If I'm going somewhere nice and know I know I'll want to take pictures I'll still take my mirrorless camera, but honestly phone cameras have gotten to the point where for a lot of shots the average person won't be able to tell the difference anyway. Dedicated cameras only really shine in extremes now, or if you're looking for a very specific shot.
armadsen 4y ago
Absolutely. For example, my parents in law, who are very much non-technical, had a Canon DSLR, and a film SLR before digital, that they used to take normal family/vacation photos. They've long since switched to just using their phone. I think you're underestimating the number of people who bought low-end (D)SLRs with the cheap kit zoom lens and used them for regular, non-enthusiast, non-professional photography without ever taking the lens off let alone buying higher end ones. The alternative used to be a compact or bridge camera without an interchangeable lens, and those too have gone close to extinct. Essentially, the market served by (D)SLRs has changed to be almost entirely pros and dedicated hobbyist photographers, which is a small market compared to "everyone who takes photos". And now, mirrorless is well on the way to taking over that small market. I'm an enthusiastic hobbyist photographer, and switched to mirrorless in 2014 (Fuji X-T1). I knew immediately after getting my first mirrorless camera that I would never buy another DSLR.
fleddr 4y ago
Yes, as example I'll use one of my friends, a mother. Several years ago, before smartphones, she bought a DSLR because she wanted to make better photos of her kids, in comparison to the crappy compact cams back then. And as I saw her work with the camera, it's easy to see why the exodus to smartphones was so sudden and swift. The truth is that a DSLR has the capability to create far better photos, and this is still true today, but it's not normie-proof. They just want to point at something, push a button, and magically have a great photo. Where the subject they pointed at is in focus, sharp, correct colors, the like. Next they see that focus is a massive problem, it's impossible to take a photo in the dark, some photos have weird color issues (white balance) and the whole thing just sucks. Perhaps most depressing is that one of the key features, shallow depth of field, is pretty much seen as a bug: why isn't everything sharp? They should learn how to use the DSLR, but they won't. Because they want high quality snapshots and aren't photographers for the sake of photography. The smartphone solves all of this for this particular goal.

hristov 4y ago

Yes. Me. I was an amateur and was definitely buying in the low end of the SLR spectrum, but I kind of stopped when iphone cameras started getting very good. I thought that photography was a cool hobby and liked being able to control a bunch of parameters, but once the iphones got good enough cameras, it was not cool anymore to hang out in bars and cafes with a huge slr camera, it was not conversation starter, and at some point the camera just got too much of a pain to take with me when i went out, so i started leaving it home, and I stopped spending money on it, and eventually i just kind of put it away.

kypro 4y ago

Probably. I used to take either my SLR or mirrorless camera with me almost everywhere I went a decade or so ago. I don't anymore because my phone camera is good enough for most things. If I'm going somewhere nice and know I know I'll want to take pictures I'll still take my mirrorless camera, but honestly phone cameras have gotten to the point where for a lot of shots the average person won't be able to tell the difference anyway. Dedicated cameras only really shine in extremes now, or if you're looking for a very specific shot.

armadsen 4y ago

Absolutely. For example, my parents in law, who are very much non-technical, had a Canon DSLR, and a film SLR before digital, that they used to take normal family/vacation photos. They've long since switched to just using their phone. I think you're underestimating the number of people who bought low-end (D)SLRs with the cheap kit zoom lens and used them for regular, non-enthusiast, non-professional photography without ever taking the lens off let alone buying higher end ones. The alternative used to be a compact or bridge camera without an interchangeable lens, and those too have gone close to extinct. Essentially, the market served by (D)SLRs has changed to be almost entirely pros and dedicated hobbyist photographers, which is a small market compared to "everyone who takes photos". And now, mirrorless is well on the way to taking over that small market. I'm an enthusiastic hobbyist photographer, and switched to mirrorless in 2014 (Fuji X-T1). I knew immediately after getting my first mirrorless camera that I would never buy another DSLR.

fleddr 4y ago

Yes, as example I'll use one of my friends, a mother. Several years ago, before smartphones, she bought a DSLR because she wanted to make better photos of her kids, in comparison to the crappy compact cams back then. And as I saw her work with the camera, it's easy to see why the exodus to smartphones was so sudden and swift. The truth is that a DSLR has the capability to create far better photos, and this is still true today, but it's not normie-proof. They just want to point at something, push a button, and magically have a great photo. Where the subject they pointed at is in focus, sharp, correct colors, the like. Next they see that focus is a massive problem, it's impossible to take a photo in the dark, some photos have weird color issues (white balance) and the whole thing just sucks. Perhaps most depressing is that one of the key features, shallow depth of field, is pretty much seen as a bug: why isn't everything sharp? They should learn how to use the DSLR, but they won't. Because they want high quality snapshots and aren't photographers for the sake of photography. The smartphone solves all of this for this particular goal.