I just heard the terrible news. According to a report, traditional point-and-shoot cameras (even the digital ones), seem to be on their way out. Increasingly, the smartphone and all its apps are taking over. To quote: “For many consumers, the point-and-shoot they have now may be the last they ever own, as they favor the camera in their smartphone. It’s close at hand whenever a photo opportunity arises, and can be used to instantly email and share pictures. And it has an expanding menu of photo apps, well beyond the landscape and panoramic settings on a point-and-shoot, that can be used to easily manipulate the images.”
Speaking for myself, and perhaps others traditionalists out there, this brings great distress! While I’ve never actually used a smartphone myself, I’ve seen enough modern technology (including the aforementioned smartphone) to be totally baffled. It was strange enough when your basic cell phones started having cameras in them, but now they’re adding all these other things. You’re looking at someone who still remembers when it was a big deal that the microwave could “fry” an egg in a Styrofoam cup, who has a love-hate relationship with the computer (who doesn’t?), and who still does not own a cell phone—but clings tenaciously to the twentieth century by actually owning (gasp!) a dial phone (if only for sentimental value). I got the dial phone at a thrift store, for a quarter (there must be a message in there somewhere, but I’m not sure what it is)!
Now, the smartphone is here. What’s the big deal? I mean, really? Will someone kindly enlighten me on the virtues of this thing? Because I don’t get it. Call it sour grapes, but it’s just one more device, I think, to keep us from communicating directly with each other. People used to do that, you know! Why should we now, if we can carry a miniature computer around with us, wherever we go—giving us the ability to look up any and everything under the sun? We don’t have to ask anybody anything—just turn on our machine and “search” the vast databases for anything we want to know (and didn’t know we wanted to know, as well). Then there are the apps. My gosh, all those apps! I’m not kidding when I say that I’m wondering, how in the world does a person even begin to remember what each one of those apps does? Not to mention trying to find it in the system! I suffer, if you can call it that, from the often frustrating, sometimes delightful symptoms of ADD; keeping things organized, whether it be in my mind or on paper (real or virtual) is enough of a challenge. Add a few more ingredients to the mix (dozens of apps), and things really start to get confusing!
Now, they want to take over the camera industry? Take away my simple point-and-shoot, with five-time zoom and eight megapixels (I still don’t totally get that either)? I don’t think so! Happily, neither does David C. Lee, the senior vice president at Nikon, who says that while “the market’s peaked a little,” he’s not worried. “Echoing other camera makers,” he said, “the smartphone camera would encourage more picture taking generally, leading to more demand for traditional cameras.” Let’s hope so! One piece of technology at a time is more than enough for the likes of me!
Anyone out there agree?
