[fiveseven]

No, not there yet.

[Trickortreat]

Each to his or her own, I guess...I can see the potential power of computational photography in various applications, and some uses for it... but it doesn't hold any attraction for me in terms of my photographic hobby. I'm not interested in having the camera emulate what my eye sees (or what I think it sees) through computational algorithms. I want to record how a lens captures the scene I've observed and composed. To me, there's so much character in each lens, and that adds something unique to every photo I take, warts and all. Of course, computational photography could potentially emulate the output from those lenses to some degree, but it would never be precisely the same as shooting with the original lens on a particular film or sensor format.

Yes, of course - where I see the benefit is greatly increased dynamic range, number of colors that can be recorded in single exposure and increased DOF (NOT decreased DOF aka fake bokeh).
Current tech is also trying to emulate what we see, but I see it as very limiting and artificial. Image sensors alone are far from representing a scene as we see it. While some people might like the restrictions of the media and challenges it presents, I'm all for technological advances on all fronts

[rawr]

We are certainly 'there' already in terms of mobile vs camera price.

Nokia 9 USD $700, iPhone XS from USD $999, the new Samsung Galaxy Fold from USD $1980, the new Hauwei Mate X will start at USD $2600 ...

Meanwhile one can pick up a brand new full-frame Sony A7 for about USD $700, a Sony A6400 for $900, or a Canon RP for USD 1299.

[fiveseven]

There's a reason why people who are in to photography prefer interchangeable lens cameras vs point and shoot.
P&S can be as advanced as they can get, they can't replace swapping various lenses.
New cell phones can definitely make P&S cameras obsolete.

[Trickortreat]

There's a reason why people who are in to photography prefer interchangeable lens cameras vs point and shoot.
P&S can be as advanced as they can get, they can't replace swapping various lenses.
New cell phones can definitely make P&S cameras obsolete.

Currently there are a lot of ILC users that just buy the kit with 1 or 2 lenses and never buy one lens again. New smartphones will get a chunk of that user base.

[ryanM]

To a lot of people...most actually...the content and meaning behind an image outweighs mere flim flam like the device used or technical details like sharpness, artifacts and algorithms. Most people don't care one jot about that stuff. Whether it is a personal memory, a journalistic record or an artistic endeavour, these images are more than adequate to serve the purpose, and being a phone makes them all the more likely to have been taken in the first place, where a DSLR might have been left at home or still in the store.


Of course they will never satisfy those who believe the purpose of photography is to satisfy their desire for technical perfection when pored over at a pixel scale...but those people are not the audience of the vast majorty of photography. Yes, this is another step towards a phone being perfectly suited to the images created by 99.9% of photographers, and that is going to impact on the amateur and enthusiast market greatly. Will they replace professional equipment for professional photographers...no (at least not in the foreseeable future), but that market is far too small to support the current flock of manufacturers, so there will eventually be casualties.

The biggest issue will be momentum in the market. Once high quality phone cameras are commonplace and more keen amateurs think of buying a better phone rather than an enthusiast camera, this will drive the market further and further away from cameras, and flood the coffers with cash for R&D into miniature sensors and lenses and software. The next generation will be painful for manufacturers of entry-level cameras...which is probably why we're seeing a slew of FF and MF cameras right now, as manufacturers attempt to proof themselves against losing the entire small format market.

It only has to be so good to Instagram and after that most people do not care. We've already reached that point.


Biggest problem with using just a phone for photography (and I've spent the last 3 years really only shooting with a phone, so I'm not opposed to them) is the fixed lens. Once you start adding on attachments to get different field of views it becomes a camera kit that you got to carry and care for, and I personally would rather have a dedicated camera at that point. It makes sense that the phone will kill off the point and shoot segment.

[mee]

It isn't an all or nothing scenario though.

Even if a majority move to smartphones in lieu of P+Ss, it doesn't inherently mean there isn't demand for other small formfactor (advanced) P+Ss such as the GR III and ilk.

It probably does mean the WGs get hit (as we've seen - that side has shrunk drastically). But there is plenty of room in the market for various types of devices. Sky isn't falling