Reading mode: Light Dark

What will cameras be like in 20 years?

Go to last post
S

susan2012

Forum Enthusiast
Messages
450
Reaction score
137
Just curious what people's ideas are on this topic. I don't have enough experience with digital cameras of the past to be able to extrapolate much into the future.

Will our mobile devices take more beautiful photos in lower light than our full frame DSLRs do now? Will we be taking 16k video in pitch black and capturing stills from it to blow up and post on hour walls? When we show photos taken today to future generations will they be quaint and old fashioned looking? Perhaps as poor looking to their eyes as a photo taken with a digital camera from 1996 does to us now? Or rather, will they only be relatively less improved over what we have right now? If you compare a 1996 dslr to a 2006 I think there is a much larger difference than there is between 2006 and 2016. Yet compare a 2006 iPhone to a 2016 iPhone and you wonder how much longer camera companies will be able to keep making money.

Anyone with thoughts on what the digital camera of 2036 might be like would be greatly appreciated.
 
[No message]
 
susan2012 said:
Just curious what people's ideas are on this topic. I don't have enough experience with digital cameras of the past to be able to extrapolate much into the future.

Will our mobile devices take more beautiful photos in lower light than our full frame DSLRs do now? Will we be taking 16k video in pitch black and capturing stills from it to blow up and post on hour walls? When we show photos taken today to future generations will they be quaint and old fashioned looking? Perhaps as poor looking to their eyes as a photo taken with a digital camera from 1996 does to us now? Or rather, will they only be relatively less improved over what we have right now? If you compare a 1996 dslr to a 2006 I think there is a much larger difference than there is between 2006 and 2016. Yet compare a 2006 iPhone to a 2016 iPhone and you wonder how much longer camera companies will be able to keep making money.

Anyone with thoughts on what the digital camera of 2036 might be like would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
I usually look at things from a parent's perspective.

That is why I got into cameras. And usually how I evaluate a camera by.

I'm thinking that down the road, us parents are going to have awesome video cameras where we can pull stills out to print and share.

There might still be a "still mode" on the video camera, but probably not as user friendly to use as say a dedicated stills camera. :)

Take care & Happy Shooting!
:)
 
I wouldn't be surprised to see Apple take another industry out.

That will be a sad moment indeed. Image quality aside, I don't see how a phone can ever match the ergonomics and usability offered by a DSLR. Sadly, I don't think the camera manufacturers can compete with the resources Apple has at its disposal.
 
The DSLR's fatal flaws are its bulky size and heavy weight. Here in this gearhead group we put up with those things, even enjoy them, but for most people DSLR's are cumbersome and unappealing.

As technology zooms inevitably forward, the ability to shrink sensor size while maintaining quality will lead to really good cameras small enough to put in your pocket. With digital processing built in. And an internet connection to send your images anywhere, instantly.

Hmmm. Sounds like a smartphone.

All that remains is to get better IQ and DR built into a smartphone. Twenty years from now? Heck, anything's possible in that much time.

DSLR's and MF will probably have a niche audience, like us. But I predict that in 20 years, essentially all cameras will be highly refined, pocket size smartphones.

---------------
Tom B
 
Last edited:
Here is my thoughts:

2D cameras will be in decline due to emerging 3D technology. They will become smaller and cheaper while post processing will become better and more expensive (maybe not).

3D cameras will be on the rise and will have sensors made completely of new materials and their architecture will replicate the construction of a human eye. Therefore, 3D cameras will have 2 "eyes" and some of them will even be made with cute faces.

Public cameras with high resolution will also be placed everywhere (for security reasons) and people will be allowed to download footage and make pictures or videos from those cameras (for example one would be able to create a video of a trip from a hotel to some tourist destination without even holding a camera).

Video will completely merge with stills.

Pocket-size drone cameras will be popular and safe.

Well, that's about it ...

:-D
 
Phased array electro optics - myriads of micro lenses acting as a single lens.

Think of a Lytro with a turbocharger :-)
 
20 years ago ask people what Photography, portable music, phones, or computers would be like. It is very hard to predict the future, just ask Blackberry, Kodak, and Poloroid, LOL.

My take on Camera's they will be a niche product like hifi with very low volume and very high prices compared to the utility that the smartphone brings.

Beyond the march of pixels and better focus hard to figure out where they will be. If they don't quickly follow the evolution of where the other electronic devices are going for interface and communication they could really go bye bye.

For sure Canikon will be limping along, sony making sensors and who knows who else survived the ice-age.

---

" Today's Pictures Are Tomorrow's Memories "
 
VadymA said:
Here is my thoughts:

2D cameras will be in decline due to emerging 3D technology. They will become smaller and cheaper while post processing will become better and more expensive (maybe not).

3D cameras will be on the rise and will have sensors made completely of new materials and their architecture will replicate the construction of a human eye. Therefore, 3D cameras will have 2 "eyes" and some of them will even be made with cute faces.

Public cameras with high resolution will also be placed everywhere (for security reasons) and people will be allowed to download footage and make pictures or videos from those cameras (for example one would be able to create a video of a trip from a hotel to some tourist destination without even holding a camera).

Video will completely merge with stills.

Pocket-size drone cameras will be popular and safe.

Well, that's about it ...

:-D
Click to expand...
I was surprised that demand for 3D TVs crashed and burned. Curved screen TV's are beginning to see some interest. It will be interesting to see if Virtual Reality (VR) can gain a following. Like high MP cameras, there seems to be no limit to demand in higher resolution in TVs, hence the popularity of the current 4K TVs.
 
There will be smart phones. And there will be 2 'pro' camera names still in business. One might be Canon, possibly owned by a Chinese company. A second will be a conglomeration of current camera makes, probably under the Sony nameplate, also possibly owned by a Chinese company. The other nameplates will either have been bought/merged with one of these two, or have thrown in the towel and exited the camera/lens business. Maybe one of them will still make lenses.

And maybe there will be some startups with new/novel concepts, that will probably be bought up by a larger company (Apple or Chinese) eventually, which is what their founders wanted, as they walk away with some big money.

--
Stone Age (former film) Photographer.
Yabadabado!
 
Last edited:
When I was in Elementary school in 1982, I recalled:

1. Mechanical Typewriter (in typing class)

2. White-Out and White-Out Tapes for typewriting mistakes

3. Casio electric Word Processor (electrical typewriter with 3 lines correction

4. Listing to music on my homemade Cassette Tapes (Journey & Air Supply)

5. on a device called Sony Walk-Man

6. wearing Fojo Sandals

7. in my super tiny men shorts

8. Going to Record Stores (Wherehouses, Tower Records)

9. Renting VHS video tapes from Mom & Pop stores

10. Coming home to play on my Atari and Commodore console

11. while envy of my friend's Apple IIe computer

12. with big 5.25" Floppy Drives

13. and a Dot-Matrix printer

These were common items in OUR WORLD back in 1982~1986. None of them make it here in 20 years. I don't expect there will be a dedicated camera as we know it. We might be on some kind of star trek tricorder by then.

I probably miss out something on my list, if you grew up in the 1980's share the item and stuff we used to do.
 
Last edited:
007peter said:
...

I probably miss out something on my list, if you grew up in the 1980's share the item and stuff we used to do.
Click to expand...
Here's something that came out in 1985, and they are re-releasing next month.

Loading…

www.nintendo.com

A tribute to the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System.) albeit in miniature form.

31 years later! LOL.

Complete with 30 retro games!

Retro is in! :) LOL

Take care & Happy Gaming!
:)
 
Great list.

We used to have a single phone in the house. It had no screen.

A 25" TV was modest sized, and 2 feet deep.

Cable television was a moderate luxury; hail the roof antennae.

I used an acoustic modem at 300 baud to dial in to BBS's

CD's (for music) were new in 1985/86, and are they even used nowadays?

We subscribed to this thing called a newspaper.

007peter said:
When I was in Elementary school in 1982, I recalled:

1. Mechanical Typewriter (in typing class)
Click to expand...
 
No text
 
in the '60s everyone seemed to think by now our cars would fly and that traditional engines and wheels would be a thing of the past. Instead, cars are just the same, maybe a little more efficient, quieter, safer. But basically the same. I'm only talking 20 years now, not 50. Don't you think DSLRs might basically be the same but just better low light and higher resolution?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Keyboard shortcuts

f
Forum
m
My threads
Mobile site
About
Editorial content
Cameras & Lenses
Community
All content, design, and layout are Copyright © 1998–2025 Digital Photography Review All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction in whole or part in any form or medium without specific written permission is prohibited.
When you use DPReview links to buy products, the site may earn a commission.
©GPS Media - Guides, Products, Services.
Back
Top