As I was packing for a recent trip, I seriously debated whether I should bring my digital camera. I knew where it was…in a drawer, untouched in months with a ton of pictures on the SIM card from past occasions that I hadn’t bothered to download. When I thought more about it, I wasn’t even sure I knew where my charger was. The truth is that I really only use my smartphone’s camera to take pictures these days, and I felt good enough about the quality of the photos I’m able to take that I decided to ditch the digital camera this time around.
Have you run into that situation yet? If the answer is yes, we’re not alone. Shutterbugs around the world are trading in their point-and-shoot cameras for the built-in cameras available on their smartphones. With 1.4 billion smartphones expected to be in use around the world by the end of 2013, they have become the new go-to camera for many.
For example, in a recent stroll by the White House, I saw people all along Pennsylvania Avenue using their smartphones and tablets to snap pictures documenting their trip to the nation’s capital.
White House tourists capture vacation memories on their smartphones and tablets
Using a smartphone camera over a point-and-shoot is an easy choice, especially for the 80% of U.S. smartphone owners who don’t leave their home without their device. By using smartphones as a primary camera, people capture millions of moments that likely never would have been photographed in the digital point-and-shoot or film eras. Then, with a click of a button, users can wirelessly share their photos across social networks. In fact, USA TODAY notes that 300 million photos are uploaded to Facebook every day, and an additional 40 million are posted daily on Instagram.
Check out the infographic below for more on the rise of the smartphone camera over the digital camera, and let me know of a time when having a camera-capable device really came in handy for you.
Image source: Best Choice Reviews
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