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Smartphones have Destroyed More Than Just Camera Sales.
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thinkinginimages
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Yes, and no, and a bit of "camera makers saw it coming and did nothing".
Smartphones had a huge impact on the compact and simple camera market. Pretty much they responded with more megapixels, more zoom and more colors completely missing the point that people wanted to share images quickly and easily. Smartphones are all about "the cloud", the cameras were earthbound.
Then the impact started to trickle up and affect other higher range cameras as the smartphones got more powerful and more accessories. "Good enough" was good enough. The connectivity was the huge plus.
I saw mobile rigs for video that that are just amazing. Take a look at the Padcaster for IPad and Verse for smartphones.
rochester21
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Yeah, 'cause selfies and pics with genitals are real artistic, along with blurry photographs of celebrities trying to have dinner and cat videos.
I feel so blessed, i live in the golden era of photography. There' s so much art around my eyes are bleeding whenever i visit facebook to see the newest fake political russian ads.
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rochester21
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So.... Instead of a Hasselblad H3DII from 2007 you'd rather have a Nokia 1 from 2019???
Well i have nothing against minimalists... as in "minimal standards".
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thinkinginimages
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confused circle
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The end has come for many professions, and it will continue. The entire reason for tools and technology is to perform tasks more quickly, more efficiently, and with less human capital. And our rate of increase in technology is rapid. What we have burgeoning is a consolidation of task accomplishment with less and less human input required.
Just one example: When self driving cars happen, there goes -
public transport jobs
long haul trucking jobs
local delivery jobs (small format autonomous delivery is already testing)
parking lots/garages and all associated expert construction, attendants, security, etc. (the cars won't wait hours anywhere for occupants, they move on to the next pickup) Heck, you won't even need a driveway or an excuse for why your garage is so full of junk you can't fit a car in there.
gas stations, and especially convenience stores (refuels/battery charges handled by the fleet owners)
The number of vehicles required goes down. One study said one autonomous vehicle could replace 8 taxis if people could wait 5 minutes, or a 1 for 12 drop if they had 15 minutes. That then applies to everyone if people decide (or government decrees through environmental and safety initiatives) that individual ownership isn't that critical.
So the number of buyers goes down, ownership goes down, the need for varied vehicle designs goes down, maintenance and repair goes down through both fewer vehicles and the desire to make them easily replaceable rather than serviced. This leads to decreasing dealers, mechanics, painters, performance and appearance mods, etc.
Fuel consumption go down, which means reduced exploration, extraction, refining, and distribution. Half a barrel of oil today goes to automotive fuel (47% of oil used in the US), and overall demand has been forecast to nearly halve with autonomous vehicles. That drop is only that low because of the anticipated growth of vehicle usage in less developed nations mitigating the decrease in vehicles in the first world from self driving.
Advertising changes, as no one is looking out on the road due to not being a driver. Billboards falter further, signage on stores is affected, drive through fast food drops. Radio loses more ground, again as there is no particular reason to have to keep your eyes on the road.
Brick and mortar retail is hit with less foot traffic as autonomous home delivery integrates seamlessly. Ride share will also likely reduce discrete jaunts to the store for no reason. Add in increased automation in browsing and checkout, and fewer staff are needed along with shorter hours.
That's if self driving takes over. Desire for vehicle ownership is already down along generational lines, as the economic crisis, increased desire for urban living, decreases in desire to start families and environmental mindset have put millions off of buying already (can't afford the luxury of a car, don't need the luxury of a car for commuting, don't need the luxury of a car to ferry anyone else in a household, find the luxury of a car not worth the environmental impact). But, preferences could swing back the other way. But, that's only private vehicles, and the potential impact is massive. But hey, why would we give up traffic jams, car crashes, and drunk driving deaths?
I did point that out already. Even trades are not an issue. I was point out a device that eliminated a half dozen technologies, or equipment related to them, more accurately.
Yeah, do those Baristas make a living wage? I think you get my point.
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West Wales Photographer
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People have destroyed most other life forms on the planet.
My name is Rob
My work can be seen here https://www.robashcroft.co.uk/
My name is Rob
My work can be seen here https://www.robashcroft.co.uk/
West Wales Photographer
Active member
Agree. Have you read Rise of the Robots by Martin Ford? Good book https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rise-Robot...r=8-1&keywords=rise+of+the+robots+martin+ford
tbcass
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I no longer wear a watch because of smartphones.
thinkinginimages
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Self driving cars are not a profession (and we're a long way from them becoming practical).
Keeping this to photography, there's a tipping point where you go from artist to artisan. That's just an easy and convenient phrase, let's not debate the semantics.
People are rediscovering film and printing. People are rediscovering large format cameras. If anything there's an uptick, not a continuing downhill spiral. I doubt we will see a complete renaissance of film, but enough sustained interest to keep it going in a small way.
Yes, we "old people" do talk about "those days" fondly. They were pretty amazing. We lost a bit of the "I did that" with digital. It's too immediate, even if you spent hours in Photoshop (noun, not verb).
Keeping this to photography, there's a tipping point where you go from artist to artisan. That's just an easy and convenient phrase, let's not debate the semantics.
People are rediscovering film and printing. People are rediscovering large format cameras. If anything there's an uptick, not a continuing downhill spiral. I doubt we will see a complete renaissance of film, but enough sustained interest to keep it going in a small way.
Yes, we "old people" do talk about "those days" fondly. They were pretty amazing. We lost a bit of the "I did that" with digital. It's too immediate, even if you spent hours in Photoshop (noun, not verb).
tbcass
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As of January 2019 vinyl is only 2.7% of total album sales and still well short of CDs with streaming and digital downloads being by far the major seller. 2.7% is a long, long, long way from being a huge comeback. The fact is that both vinyl and CDs will never be more than a niche' market going into the future.
Back in 1999 the Backstreet Boys album Millenium had 9,446,000 sales by itself making the total vinyl sales of 16.8 mil in 2018 look rather small my comparison. One thing in favor of the compact disk is it is far easier to make a digital copy than with a vinyl record.
ZX11
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I no longer carry a cell phone because of smart watches. :-D
Not only will my Apple Watch make calls on the road while my cell phone is at home, it will record a ECG trace of my heart. Fancy for someone who is no longer a youngster.
M
Marek M
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Great majority of pictures taken with film cameras and digital cameras later, were not art either. You see more of those lousy ones because of social media popularity, not because photos got worse. Perhaps with the exception of selfies.
confused circle
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That's the point
thinkinginimages
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I'm not going to knock people recording bits of their lives as images, like a visual diary. It less art and more capturing a moment to remember. There's something to that.
But there is a whole lot of "visual noise" out there to sift through.
But there is a whole lot of "visual noise" out there to sift through.
M
Marek M
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Not sure how "art" came to this thread at all. It is not about "art", it is about taking pictures in general. At least this is how I took it.
thinkinginimages
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You're right and I'm being generous with the word "art".
Still, it seems likely that with so many more folks taking photos that there are likely more people getting interested in the real art/craft of photography...
Qui Tam
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Any one of those "shot on iPhone" winners would beat anything 90% of larger camera users have taken in their entire lives.
Mackiesback
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And neither are cell phones. Doesn’t mean their existence does not cause a great deal of disruption among the professions tangential to them.
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