Comments on: Does new iPod touch spell double-trouble for point-and-shoot cameras?

By: Ryan Sommer

Ryan Sommer — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 20:28:31 +0000

Hi Om,

My best from London, hope you are well. I’d like to tip you towards an up and coming photo sharing startup called Starmatic, which Glyn has also blogged about: http://www.iphoneography.com/journal/2012/6/25/starmatic-at-leweb-london-2012.html

We’ve got lots of early adopters who are passionate about using the ipod/iPhone to take serious pictures, not just food/cats…etc.

Check it out: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/starmatic/id550167107?mt=8

Ryan

By: Dhiraj Kacker

Dhiraj Kacker — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 14:53:52 +0000

The difficulty in predicting is that things are in such a state of flux. Without taking a strong stand one way or another let me provide some thoughts:

1. Appreciation for quality of pictures has gone way up. My 8-yr knows that her point-and-shoot is not good quality and wants pictures of the quality of a DSLR! I am thinking of buying her a mirrorless as prices come down. I see professional photographers getting hired more (not less!) for important life events (weddings, bar/bat mitzvah, school, sports, portraits) as consumers, especially the ones with DSLRs, expect magazine quality for their own important pictures and want a pro to handle the shoot (see my opinion here: http://tiffinbox.org/professional-photography-is-dead-long-live-professional-photography/ ).

2. PS Cameras with Android have started to come in to the market. So a high quality mirrorless which has the convenience of a phone camera may not be too far away. And the size limitations and therefore the optics of a phone camera will limit image quality beyond a certain point.

The point really is that expectations of quality are growing and ability for every kind of manufacturers to encroach the other’s territory exists today. It therefore become very hard to predict which use cases and market segments will a particular device appeal to. Personally I see myself having an iPhone, a mirrorless and a DSLR. All to be used at different times. No one quite expected the boom in DSLRs, not even Canon and Nikon. To me the future market segmentation is uncertain at best.

By: Don Brisson

Don Brisson — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 13:35:06 +0000

I still post to Twitter with a BB Curve 8520 because my 3rd gen iPod has no camera – so, yes, this new iPod has what I’ve wanted for a long time – a decent camera.

By: Kuldip

Kuldip — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 12:57:38 +0000

That’s when the Find my iPhone feature comes in handy.

By: Julio Jua

Julio Jua — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 00:22:26 +0000

They say the best camera is the one you have with you, meaning, it’s better to have some camera than no camera, and now that camera could be 5MP with auto-focus, HDR and panorama mode, not to mention you have the ability to experiment with the device’s imaging capabilities by downloading software directly into it called apps. Before that would have involved finding the appropriate firmware alternatives for your camera and embark into a slightly sensitive operation. Only good thing about those days was that firmware alternatives were free, or at least the ones I saw. But now with the iPod Touch, I can do long exposure shots, scan documents for image to text/PDF (5th gen will be better for that), and even make stereoscopic images (with minor limitations). And as zachtirrell mentioned, with an iPhone or wifi available, you could share any of those images quickly.

By: trip1ex

trip1ex — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 00:11:10 +0000

I was excited for a decent camera in an iPod touch a few years back.

Now not so much. Not sure why. I guess the Ipad came out. And it is hard to use a smaller device now. And you have to spend $300 which puts it into smartphone cost territory.

By: Sriram

Sriram — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 19:58:28 +0000

I was pondering over the same, as I wanted to get a gift for someone while visiting India from US.

It looks like point & shoots have evolved – See compact zooms: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57411952-1/compact-megazooms-compared-roundup/

For everyday clicks, iphone is just fine. But, when traveling, I do feel the need to get better camera, especially for zooming, lighting, etc.

By: zachtirrell

zachtirrell — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 18:08:02 +0000

That’s the kicker right? Before I left the field it was on Twitter, texted to both girls, posted to Facebook, and emailed to their Mom.

By: PaulFJ

PaulFJ — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 17:30:44 +0000

Michael W. Perry – I agree with you completely.

If I want to take a “snap & share” with an iDevice then fine but if I want to take a real photograph into a light source I can’t do it because I can’t see the screen and I also find it difficult to hold&compose with a thin device.

I carry a Canon G11 in my pocket and it’s overall quality of result is 100 times better as a photograph than my iPhone but if I’m in a bar with friend I always use my iPhone because it’s with me.

By: Om Malik

Om Malik — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 16:45:38 +0000

Ronald

I agree – you shouldn’t mess with the bull elk rutting.