Is your smartphone camera all you need?

Melbourne Herald Sun, Thursday September 18, 2014

Tomorrow is the release date for the new Apple iPhone 6. The order books are clogged, the sleeping bags are laid out in the malls, once again Apple has managed to generate a - somewhat milder - mass hysteria.

But there are now so many clever smart phones out there - from Samsung, HTC, Nokia, Sony - that the wonder is a little dimmed. But one feature does cause intrigue: their new camera setup.

The reviewers claim it has a smarter, faster autofocus; image stabilisation that allows you to shoot video from a bike; slow motion video; improved selfies and panoramas, and more. Giving you all the essentials for a modern young social life.

All of which leads me to ask: who now needs a camera? Is there any market left for a simple point and shoot? Films and processing were crushed by the digital camera revolution, but now these usurpers have received their own retribution. Or at least, they have shrunk.

CIPA, the camera industry association, gave out chilly figures for last year, into the first quarter of this. A 40 per cent drop in cameras shipped, and 20 per cent on lenses. Which is a serious broadside into the industry ship.

The simple cameras suffered most - they offered little that couldn't be found in the phone in your pocket. These days Canon, Nikon, Sony and the like produce exquisite little palm-held cameras packed with dazzling features and at very reasonable prices; but then with an iPhone you can also call your mum. Do you really need to carry two cameras when you go out, however fine the second may be?

Where the camera makers are holding their own is at the other, high end. They have still suffered, but not as much. There is nothing in mobile phones that comes near a 25-300mm zoom from Canon or Nikon when you want to do some serious photography. As you walk through the City you'll see some impressive hardware in the hands of tourists looking for the definitive shot of our Art Centre Spire.

So single lens reflexes fell only 19 per cent while the newer "mirrorless" high-end cameras dropped 25 per cent. Many in the industry are saying that these falls are not the fault of smartphones at all, but due to a painfully high Yen and more importantly - the manufacturers not coming up with exciting improvements and features to make the camera fanatic trade up.

When such a camera is launched, the drooling starts in earnest, like last month's Pentax 645Z. After several quiet years, Ricoh (who own Pentax) have come out with a true killer. These are impressive figures, believe me: a 51 million pixel sensor; remember when your film was ISO 100 or 400? Well this goes to ISO 204,800. So if you ever want your family photo blown up for an airport freeway billboard - this is the camera to use.

But one big 'however': unless you are a professional, you may find the $12,000 price tag a little steep. Well, considering that a Hasselblad costs $30,000 it doesn't seem so bad. And that's without a lens.

No, unless you are going to make your living and win your fame with it, perhaps you can live without the professional gear and still get pretty good photos with your smartphone. And then you can even call your mum.