Cellphones are slowly killing inexpensive digital cameras. The latest crop of smartphones such as the Google HTC Nexus One and the Motorola Droid sport 5-megapixel cameras while some Sony Ericsson phones have cameras in the range of 8-megapixel to 12-megapixel.
As a result, low-end digital still cameras are feeling the pain, says research firm iSuppli.
“Handsets soon may begin to cannibalize the low end of the digital still camera market as they incorporate higher megapixels and flash capabilities,” says Pam Tufegdzic, consumer electronics analyst at iSuppli in a statement. “This is likely to occur first in Asia and Europe as consumers in these regions seem to be more comfortable with taking pictures using camera phones.”
The megapixel race may be petering out among compact camera makers but it is just picking up steam in the smartphones category.
The average resolution for the CMOS sensors in mobile handset cameras is expected to rise to 5.7 megapixels in 2013, up from 2.1 megapixels in 2009. In comparison, the megapixels in digital still cameras are expected to go to 13.9 in 2013, from 9.5 megapixels in 2009.
Handset makers are likely to add tricks such as optical zoom, auto focus, improved flash and more sophisticated image processing electronics to smartphones, believes iSuppli. The firm says features such as image stabilization, automatic judgment and multiple image capture will migrate from digital still cameras to camera phone modules in the next few years.
But as any camera enthusiast will point out, a good picture is not just about having more megapixels. Increasing the megapixels in a phone’s camera can make photos smoother, but overall image quality depends on factors such as level of noise and low-light performance.
Still for low-end compact digital camera manufacturers it will be a tough fight, says iSuppli.
“Manufacturers of camera modules are firing back with increasing resolutions in smaller form factors to counter the mobile handset’s encroachment on the camera’s territory,” says Tufegdzic. “One thing’s certain: camera OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) won’t go down without a fight.”
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Photo: (Stitch/Flickr)
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