How often do you use an actual camera as opposed to a device which incorporates one?

The only device I have that has a camera is indeed my camera.

I use my camera to take pictures.

Every time we go out for the day or go on holiday. I love taking pictures, and no phone camera compares to a real camera.

I use only my camera since my phone is a stupid one.

@Headhurts Same here, way better quality photos with a proper camera, digital of course.

Up until about 3 hours ago I only carried my iPod Touch (4G) and Canon PowerShot A2200 everywhere. iPod was shit for pictures. But this morning I got a iPhone4 from Dog in the mail. The pictures are good enough with it.

The back was cracked on the phone and she has a newer one so she sent this one to me. I have a spare back.

@ucme Of course.

@johnpowell There’s a good Dog.

This is actually the second iPhone4 she has sent to me. The first had a wonky home button I tried to replace but failed. I think I screamed C*** so many times my neighbors got concerned.

This one works great..

I tend to smash shit when they quit on me, no patience at all for inanimate objects that generally take the piss.
I remember this portable tv I got for xmas when I was 14, it stopped working a couple of weeks later so I took it out back, twirled the fucker around my head by the cord & smashed it into submission off the yard…it felt like a small victory anyway.

Never anymore. My late dad, owner of a professional photography store and an amateur photographer who loved Leicas and Bolexes, would be horrified to see me shooting away with my iPhone. Or, being the gadget freak he was, maybe he’d love it.

Not any more. My Razr HD has better resolution, color definition, and overall quality (especially in HDR mode) than my actual camera, and can actually last more than a couple of hours before draining the battery.

While an actual camera makes sense for true photographers, not all of us need the clarity/resolution to be able to scale an image up to wall-sized or crop 90% of the image away to zoom in on one small detail without “jaggies”, and most people have eyes with less color sensitivity than a Pantone calibrator.

Technology has gotten to the point where a small, cheap device can perform functions that were previously only possible for larger, pricier devices well enough for >90% of use cases, so >90% of people no longer have any need or desire for said larger, pricier devices. Anybody who has any storage device smaller than a washing machine that holds >5MB and costs less than $200,000 knows what I mean, as does anybody who owns/uses any form of transportation capable of speeds of >20MPH at all.

Technology changes society, and the decline of dedicated cameras is but a small part of those changes.

My phone’s camera is just ok. My digital camera is a very good camera. I use it mostly for work, so I rely on the camera for photos, and almost never use the one on my phone.

I like the zoom feature on my digital camera. It comes in handy when I am taking pictures on the edge of my algae laden pond, for example, and the heron is on the other side.

Always. I have a cheap nikon digital camera. I don’t own a smart phone or tablet. I still use a flip phone. No pun intended.

Someday, when data isn’t insanely overpriced, I’ll get a smart phone.

@flip86 Unless you stream video or are heavily into internet radio, it’s pretty easy to stay under the 2GB/month that comes with most plans.

I have a Nikon D3200 with an 18mm to 270mm zoom, 25 MPixel. That’s what I grab when i want to take pictures .

I use my cell phone camera for random pictures of things throughout the day. If we have a special event (party, dinner) or go somewhere special (amusement park, party) I take my camera.

Times are a changin’ fast folks.

Nokia 41mp camera phone with Zeiss lens

But what’s really exciting is on the way from Sony. Imagine a high quality lens with a built in Full Frame sensor… Your phone controls it bluetooth.

Beautiful concept video here. There is another video out somewhere at a tradeshow demonstrating what is said to be a working prototype. I’ve seen it but cannot remember the site, sorry. I think that myth got busted recently though. But the concept is there nontheless and Sony is really moving forward.

@RealEyesRealizeRealLies I fear the day I will need a smartphone to make calls or take photographs because that’s all that will be available. I have no need for a smartphone. I’m happy with my flip phone for calls and texting and I love my camera. I don’t need all these devices bundled together. Will there be a day when I have no choice? :/

Fear not fair maiden… Stand alone cameras are here to stay for the very reasons you desire. We’re seeing a lot of tech masturbation these days, now that the retro craze is fading.

The biggest complaint in the industry is that companies are providing less and less firmware updates. They’ve discovered more profit in making the hardware updates more than the firmware. Everybody is reaching for that new hit wonder boy… Nobody has found it yet.

You’d think someone would wise up and return to first principles with basic cameras that are very well made. It’s not rocket science to figure out that Leica is all manual controls and the most expensive kit anywhere. Sony is getting close to the Leica with their RX1.

Cheers folks, good stuff.

I have several decent cameras but unfortunately, I usually don’t have them with me. I usually use the cell phone camera to take pics and the nice thing about that is that it’s very convenient to email them or upload them to FB. I should take out my cameras more often, but I usually forget, and so therefore, am stuck with only the cell camera. The sucky part about that is the image quality is bad compared to the cameras.

So for me, the deciding factor is usually the convenience.

I don’t have a smart phone, just a regular old phone. I have a nifty camera and I love to take pictures. Just yesterday I went to a cousin’s baby shower. I am the unofficial family photographer, so I can easily shoot off 300 pictures for a family event, then I share them with everyone who was at the party, so everybody else can just relax and not have to worry about getting great shots. I do a lot of editing before I share the pictures with these folks, as I don’t want anyone to feel ugly and I don’t take pictures of anyone who doesn’t like to have their picture taken, and I don’t share these pictures with the public or anyone else who wasn’t at the event.

My main love of photography is landscape and architectural photos. I always have my camera with me and have been known to pull over at the side of the road to jump out and take a picture of something interesting, like a cloud formation, a family of ducks walking across the road, a weird old building, or a beautiful flower.

I’m also one of those people that photographs their food and shares it on FB, but I’m very selective, I only share those photos with a group of friends and relatives that also like to do that. Most of my family enjoys cooking and eating and sharing recipes, so for us, it’s a lot of fun to see what so and so had for lunch and where they got it from (so I can go there too). I also experiment with recipes a lot, so I often will photograph the end result, or sometimes the process, then I’ll include the recipe or the instructions if it’s something that I made up from scratch.

We primarily use our smartphones for everyday picture taking; I have a point-and-shoot that’s a couple years old, and he upgraded his DSLR last year, but we only take them out for special occasions, like when we go on a trip or to an event.

95% of the photographs I take are with an actual camera. I’ve always had phones with cameras on them but rarely used them because up until I got my newest one (my first smartphone) there never seemed to be any way to get the pictures off the phone and on to my computer. Now, with my smartphone I can upload photos directly to dropbox and access them from anywhere. But I still prefer a real camera.

I make sure to carry my actual camera with me most of the time. I’ve learned to manipulate the settings and now I cannot be satisfied with a picture taken on “auto,” much less one taken with my crummy little phone camera.

The vast majority of the time.

I much prefer to have an slr with an eyepiece that I can look through to compose my shots. Whether it is a camera or a phone, I don’t know what it is but there is something about holding it up and staring at that little screen that I do not like.