The Camera of Yesterday and Tomorrow

Cameras and photography have changed a lot in the last 25 years. The first big change came when digital cameras first appeared on the market. These cameras were laughable to those using even point and shoots of the time. And for those using SLRs with their interchangeable lenses that could produce razor sharp images, a digital camera wasn’t even “on the radar.”

I heard and read many discussions that made it clear that a digital camera could NEVER replace a real camera. We were assured that there was no way images produced on a little sensor could ever come close to what happens with film. It was hardly even a point of interest for real photographers and the world accepted this as truth.

But then time took over. In time sensors became more powerful and digital cameras grew from toys to cameras with interchangeable lenses of their own. Year by year digital cameras became better and better until the day came that Kodak quit making film and the drug store stopped developing “real” photographs. Change had happened. A digital camera had become the choice of most photographers.

But time hadn’t stopped creating change. Smart phones that let you do more than talk soon added a camera. It wasn’t much of a camera and could never replace a “real” digital camera. It was more novelty than tool. But again time has taken over. iPhone and other smart phone cameras have become the camera of choice for those who once used point and shoots. But, of course, they can never replace DSLRs with interchangeable lenses. Or so we believe.

At the right is a screen capture from an iPhone camera app. This app will allow the user to select auto, program, and manual, as well as create two personalized settings. It lets the user set ISO, shutter speed, and white balance. It allows one to focus on a point with a single touch of the finger and to adjust the exposure from a separate point. The phone from which this image was taken even has a separate lens that can be attached to it that acts as a telephoto lens, another that provides wide angle, and a third that is a  macro lens.

And for those convinced that this isn’t enough to make it a “real” camera, on the right is a workshop announcement featuring a professional National Geographic photographer who is teaching others to use a smart phone as a travel camera leaving behind the bulky DSLR of the past.

Will the day come when Nikon quits making digital camera? It’s seems unlikely, but then we always knew that Kodak would never quit making film. Time will tell.

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