Smartphones are killing the Point & Shoot and DSLR market

Camera phones were initially poor. VGA was staple, and 1.3 MP was ‘high-end’. Now, the best cameras are the ones you always have with you - smartphones.

The sharp rise of smartphones can be equated to the parallel growth in the use of media content on social media platforms. This jump is not co-incidental, but complementary. Today’s smartphones now boast of imaging capabilities that can rival any point-and-shoot ones in the same price range, or even high–end ones.

As a direct result of the smartphone revolution, the point-and-shoot camera market is declining fast. The average decline in volume sales in the last 4 years is greater than 30% according to the Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA).

The D-SLR market that caters to professionals and enthusiasts is still unharmed. It is worth around $5 billion per year as of 2014 according to CIPA. However, the smartphone boom has affected its growth. The interchangeable lenses cameras grew by a mere 2% YoY (year on year) in the first 8 months of 2015.

Do not get us wrong, that doesn’t mean people are starting to click lesser pictures. They are, more than ever before, and D-SLRs continue to deliver fantastic photography. However, with the advent of the next generation of imaging products, there are some that can rival even the best DSLRs out there.

A company called Light launched a ground-breaking product this week. It can imperil the D-SLR market the same way smartphones killed point-and-shoot cameras.

The Light L16 has 16 image sensors and lenses. Once the shutter is pressed, 10 of these cameras fire simultaneously. That way you have a 52 MP shot, stitched together using computational algorithm. This device has the equivalent of 3 standard D-SLR lenses in use covering focal lengths of 35-150mm and with apertures as wide as f1.2. Zoom. It can also shoot 4K videos.

Mind, the folded optics means the form factor is little bigger than the average smartphone and a fraction of the size and weight of a bulky D-SLR. The L16’s image sensors and much of the technology is based on the camera development done for smartphones. The device has gone a bit further. This Android device can run apps much like any other Android smartphone.

While shipping won’t begin until September next year, the attractive price of $ 1699 means the Light L16 can compete with some of the most popular D-SLRs like as the Nikon D7200. While professional-grade D-SLR makers can be at peace now, that is not to last. This is Light’s first product. Once the technology develops down the price curve and integrates into future smartphones and up the price curve, it can take on any professional DSLRs in the market.

It’s been a while since Kodak’s film business was crushed by the advent of digital imaging. Camera companies rolled out digital cameras. Soon enough smartphones were eating away the lower end of the market. Now it’s just a matter of time that the middle and top end is threatened by technology.