Serious question time: Do people actually use digital cameras anymore? You know, the ones that have a viewfinder, a strap that goes around your neck and don't enable you to instantly share pics on Instagram?
Apparently, yes, people do still take photos on digital cameras. But if some recent data from Flickr is any indication, they may soon become a thing of the past.
The photo-sharing website and app recently released a list of the most popular cameras among its users in 2014, and the results are pretty fascinating. While well-known camera company Canon held onto the top spot from 2013 with 13.4 percent of Flickr users owning that brand, Apple is creeping up behind. Last year, 9.6 percent of Flickr users owned cameras from Apple, i.e. iPhones, up from 7.7 percent the year before. What's most astonishing is that more Flickr users now own Apple cameras rather than Nikon cameras, which is now in third place with 9.3 percent of users, although that is still up from 2013 when 8.8 percent of users owned cameras from that brand.
Unsurprisingly, Apple iPhones topped the mobile camera category as well with the iPhone 5, 4S, 4 and 5C claiming the first four spots on the list. However, the company also dominated the rankings of the top individual cameras owned on Flickr in 2014 with the iPhone 5, 4S and 4 making up the top three.
This just goes to show how much smartphones are taking over the digital photography market. Smartphone cameras have increased so much in quality since the days of the flip phone. That, coupled with the fact that it's so easy to whip your smartphone out of your pocket to snap a pic and then instantly share it online, makes the iPhone's increase in popularity among Flickr users make a whole lot of sense.
Knowing that people are increasingly using their smartphones to take high-quality photos, companies have answered that call to up the smartphone camera game. More and more users are turning to apps like VSCO Cam and Litely to help them take professional-looking photos. Polaroid recently announced at CES its new Wi-Fi-enabled iZone Camera that pairs with a smartphone. Tools to help you take better selfies are even popping up, such as Lenovo's new Vibe Xtension Selfie Flash, which was also announced at CES this year.
As smartphone cameras improve and become more sophisticated, we can only expect this number to grow. Apple may even overtake Canon one day. Who knows? You almost expect that to happen at this point.
[H/T Fortune]
