 |
| Photo taken by my wife at the Colosseum in Rome in 2011 |
Me and my Camera
For over 20 years I have been a serious photographer. The question I always get asked from my friends when they hear I am travelling somewhere is “How many cameras are you bringing?”. Normally I travel with a minimum of two cameras plus 3-5 different lenses, flash and tripod. I am a serious "gear head" when it comes to photography, mostly from the standpoint of what new equipment can I use to take better pictures. I am always striving to get the best quality photographs with the equipment I have. When digital cameras started entering the amateur market in the late 1990's I wasn't impressed with the image quality when compared to my film cameras. Today is a very different time and I am really excited where current photographic technology is going and how much easier it is to take really good high quality pictures. Over the past three years I have seen impressive improvements in camera technology in cell phones and if this trend continues, your smart phone will soon be taking pictures just as good as a dedicated camera. This prompted me to think of what people’s expectations are when it comes to cameras and photography.
For over 20 years I have been a serious photographer. The question I always get asked from my friends when they hear I am travelling somewhere is “How many cameras are you bringing?”. Normally I travel with a minimum of two cameras plus 3-5 different lenses, flash and tripod. I am a serious "gear head" when it comes to photography, mostly from the standpoint of what new equipment can I use to take better pictures. I am always striving to get the best quality photographs with the equipment I have. When digital cameras started entering the amateur market in the late 1990's I wasn't impressed with the image quality when compared to my film cameras. Today is a very different time and I am really excited where current photographic technology is going and how much easier it is to take really good high quality pictures. Over the past three years I have seen impressive improvements in camera technology in cell phones and if this trend continues, your smart phone will soon be taking pictures just as good as a dedicated camera. This prompted me to think of what people’s expectations are when it comes to cameras and photography.
Speaking for myself, I am an advanced amateur
or semi-professional photographer and I will never give up my large and complex
Digital Single Lens Reflex camera (DSLR) with multiple lenses and external
flashes. That made me think of what the average person expects from new cameras. The divergence in
photography where smart phone cameras are taking many more photos than they used
to made me think of the differences between a smart phone and a dedicated camera. I love using my IPhone 4GS and the 8mp camera is really great for taking snapshots. But what
I really love about it is the ability to transfer images right away through
WiFi or 3G. The majority of cameras today, although
being very sophisticated, lack connectivity to the Internet. With almost everything electronic these days having some means of
connecting to a WiFi hot spot, cameras are actually lagging behind. If the last
three years have taught me anything about what people like in their electronic
gadgets it is the accessibility to the Internet and specifically to their
favourite sites. Why can’t cameras have
that connectivity, and do people expect future cameras to be connected?
In order to test my curiosity I developed a short survey and administered it using the NPolls App. This poll was conducted on June 22nd, 2012 and sampled 500 people. This survey is not representative of any particular group, unless you count the people who have the NPolls App and want to participate in regular polls. The questions for this survey related to what features people expect will be part of new cameras.
Age
|
Number
|
Percentage
|
< 15
|
20
|
4
|
15-24
|
184
|
36.8
|
25-39
|
225
|
45
|
40-54
|
65
|
13
|
55-65
|
5
|
1
|
65+
|
1
|
0.2
|
Total
|
500
|
100%
|
Table 1: Age breakdown of survey respondents
Survey Results
Some of the highlights and interesting results from the survey are below. The survey asked people to consider a series of statements on a 5 point scale from Strongly Disagree (1) to Strongly Agree (5). The results were grouped by the first 3 points on the scale (1-3) as Disagree and the last two points (4-5) as Agree. The first question I asked was what type of camera do you regularly use to take pictures with? The answers for this first question are not mutually exclusive and the results are not very surprising with the overwhelming number of people using their cell phone cameras most often (Table 2).
Table 2: What camera do you regularly use to take pictures with?
The second question prompted people to consider "Cell phone cameras will replace dedicated cameras for everyday use." Out of 500 people 290 disagreed with this statement that cell phones will replace dedicated cameras (Table 3). I am a little surprised at this number, I would have thought a majority of people would have agreed. There is already talk among the photography blogs and from other professionals that cell phone cameras are already replacing point and shoot cameras. There is already speculation that as a category, point and shoot cameras will disappear in the next few years.
Table 3: Cell phone cameras will replace dedicated cameras for everyday use.
Table 4: Future cameras will have touch screens.
The next statement asked "Future cameras will have WiFi capabilities". This result is very interesting, with 75% agreeing with my statement (Table 5). This should be an indication of one way future cameras will really change how they work and what people will expect from them. At the time of writing this blog there were only a handful of cameras on the market with WiFi capability, and I expect by this same time next year (Dec 2013) the majority of cameras will have WiFi built in.
Table 5: Future camera will have WiFi capability.
Table 6: Future camera will have SIM card capability.
Out of 500 people 392 (78%) agree with this statement "Future cameras will upload directly to the Internet" (Table 7). This statement is related to the WiFi and the SIM card question but it’s more to do with the changing expectation of how people will get pictures off their cameras and be posted directly to the Internet without the need for a computer. Just imagine a camera with a Facebook, Instagram or Youtube button where files can go directly on line. Also for those professionals working in the field who do not need to post pictures quickly but want to make sure they have another backup before they leave the field, this would be a useful feature. You could be able to automatically upload directly to the Cloud, to your own personal FTP (File Transfer Protocol) site or your own home server.
Table 7: Future camera will upload directly to the in Internet.
The number of people agreeing with the statement "Future cameras will be able to use photography related Apps" was 354 people (71%) (Table 8). This result should not be a surprise since Apps are becoming a very important part of smart phones and tablets, and they should be part of cameras as well. At the time of writing Nikon had announced they were going to allow Apps to be downloaded to their Nikon Coolpix line of cameras. I’m delighted to see Nikon embracing Apps. This actually surprised me since none of the large camera companies are normally open to allow third party companies access to their camera software. Just think of the additional profits some companies and individuals can make supplying Apps for cameras.
Table 8: Future cameras will be able to use photography related Apps.
Out of 500 people 348 (70%) agreed with this statement "Future cameras will allow tethering to a tablet computer" (Table 10). Tethering does not only mean an actual physical cable connected to the camera but can also mean through WiFi. I personally love shooting tethered to a computer when I am doing studio work. It’s always better to see the photograph on a computer monitor right away than on the back of the camera. Since tablet computers are becoming very popular, I would expect to be able to connect my camera to a tablet computer for easier shooting and use additional portable computing power.
My overall impression from these results was that predominately the respondents agreed with my statements, which suggests I didn’t ask
anything too surprising. It wasn’t my intention ask anything out of the
ordinary, but merely to see if technology and features that already exist in
smart phones would be well received in dedicated cameras. Another aspect of
this survey is also to see where the future profits for the camera companies may come from. According to many photography sites, the mega pixel war has ended and
since most cameras take very good high quality images, how will camera companies entice
people to continue to upgrade. If mega pixels are no longer the driving
motivator behind upgrading cameras, then the connectivity features, along with Apps, and touch screens could be a big motivator for buying a new camera. Since cell phones are acting more like cameras then in order for people to continue buying cameras in large quantities, cameras should start acting like cell phones. Finally Facebook, Flikr and Instagram have demonstrated how important photographs and
video are to people’s everyday lives. If camera companies add some (or all)
of the features I have been talking about into new cameras there could be a significant increase in the volume of images flooding onto the Internet.
Just to reiterate the point of this blog is not
to talk specifically about technology but about how we use technology and what
we expect from our technology. The results from the survey suggest to me that
people want and expect all of their technology to be easy to interact with (eg.
touch screens) and be versatile to accommodate their busy lives (eg. use of
Apps) and constant connectivity to the Internet where much of people’s lives are
already and will be more so in the years to come.
Type of Camera
|
Number
|
Cell Phone
|
421
|
Point & Shoot
|
98
|
Bridge
|
48
|
Single Lens Reflex (SLR)
|
49
|
Film
|
10
|
Table 2: What camera do you regularly use to take pictures with?
The second question prompted people to consider "Cell phone cameras will replace dedicated cameras for everyday use." Out of 500 people 290 disagreed with this statement that cell phones will replace dedicated cameras (Table 3). I am a little surprised at this number, I would have thought a majority of people would have agreed. There is already talk among the photography blogs and from other professionals that cell phone cameras are already replacing point and shoot cameras. There is already speculation that as a category, point and shoot cameras will disappear in the next few years.
Disagree
|
Agree
|
Total
|
|
Female
|
135
|
90
|
225
|
Male
|
155
|
120
|
275
|
Total
|
290
|
210
|
500
|
Table 3: Cell phone cameras will replace dedicated cameras for everyday use.
One thing I find interesting about this result from the statement "Future cameras will have touch screens", even though 60% agree with this statement, all of the people who filled out this survey were using touch screen smart phones or tablets (Table 4). This is one more result I would have expected to be a much higher number.
Disagree
|
Agree
|
Total
|
|
Female
|
86
|
139
|
225
|
Male
|
116
|
159
|
275
|
Total
|
202
|
298
|
500
|
Table 4: Future cameras will have touch screens.
 |
| WiFi made more ubiquitous if included in your camera |
Disagree
|
Agree
|
Total
|
|
Female
|
58
|
167
|
225
|
Male
|
67
|
208
|
275
|
Total
|
125
|
375
|
500
|
Table 5: Future camera will have WiFi capability.
 |
| A SIM card in every camera |
The number of people agreeing with the statement "Future cameras will have SIM card capabilities" is about as high as I expected at 57% (Table 6). I really like this idea of cameras having a SIM card. One great benefit of this is for photojournalists where there is no WiFi. Instead of your camera having a phone number (like your cell phone) it would have an address on the Internet from where you could be connected. Recently the world was captivated by the coverage from the streets of Cairo and other Middle Eastern cities during the Arab Spring. Just imagine if all that footage was in 1080 HD video rather than the small cell phone cameras and was streamed live.
Disagree
|
Agree
|
Total
|
|
Female
|
79
|
146
|
225
|
Male
|
135
|
140
|
275
|
Total
|
214
|
286
|
500
|
Table 6: Future camera will have SIM card capability.
Out of 500 people 392 (78%) agree with this statement "Future cameras will upload directly to the Internet" (Table 7). This statement is related to the WiFi and the SIM card question but it’s more to do with the changing expectation of how people will get pictures off their cameras and be posted directly to the Internet without the need for a computer. Just imagine a camera with a Facebook, Instagram or Youtube button where files can go directly on line. Also for those professionals working in the field who do not need to post pictures quickly but want to make sure they have another backup before they leave the field, this would be a useful feature. You could be able to automatically upload directly to the Cloud, to your own personal FTP (File Transfer Protocol) site or your own home server.
Disagree
|
Agree
|
Total
|
|
Female
|
42
|
183
|
225
|
Male
|
66
|
209
|
275
|
Total
|
108
|
392
|
500
|
 |
| Coming to a camera near you |
Disagree
|
Agree
|
Total
|
|
Female
|
59
|
166
|
225
|
Male
|
87
|
188
|
275
|
Total
|
146
|
354
|
500
|
The next question prompted people to consider the following statement, "Future cameras will allow more in camera editing" and out of 500 people, 354 (71%) agreed with this statement (Table 9). This result should not be a surprise since many cameras are already offering limited in-camera editing. Just imaging a mini version of Photoshop on your camera with greater editing tools. This would also require more processing power and more memory in your camera for needing to work on and save files. One thing to consider is what will be the role of computers to edit and modify pictures, if more editing will be done in the camera?
Disagree
|
Agree
|
Total
|
|
Female
|
42
|
183
|
225
|
Male
|
64
|
211
|
275
|
Total
|
106
|
394
|
500
|
Table 9: Future cameras will allow more in camera editing.
Disagree
|
Agree
|
Total
|
|
Female
|
68
|
157
|
225
|
Male
|
84
|
191
|
275
|
Total
|
152
|
348
|
500
|
Table 10: Future cameras will allow tethering to a tablet computer.
I still use film occasionally and I had to ask this question "Do you expect film will still be available in the future?" which has nothing to do with the future of cameras but indulged my own curiosity. Although I was surprised that 38% of people agree with this question (Table 11). When people find out I still shoot film I always get asked "You can still buy film?" which is why it surprises me that 189 people still think film will be available in the future.
Disagree
|
Agree
|
Total
|
|
Female
|
148
|
77
|
225
|
Male
|
163
|
112
|
275
|
Total
|
311
|
189
|
500
|
Table 11: Do you expect film to still be available in the future?
The future of cameras…
 |
| The next camera you buy could have all these features |
