That mobile phones have replaced the most basic cameras is a mantra that cannot be repeated. Many people who have used cameras of this type, and some who have never used them, no longer think of using a camera other than a smartphone. But it’s hard to believe that no one wants to use compact cameras anymore: is there something we don’t know behind their extinction?
By design we tend to hold a compact camera horizontally and not vertically. But just as phones don’t usually have an optical or electronic viewfinder (especially the most basic models), it’s easier to use a small tripod with them and some can be linked wirelessly to a mobile phone to receive the photos we take.
Its main advantages compared to phones are four: its zoom is usually much better than that of the vast majority of phones; They don’t play us the trick of running out of battery so easily; they have a xenon flash, much more powerful than the led type of a phone; and allow us to concentrate better. We do not receive notifications while using the camera!
It is clear that most people are not going to use a camera other than the one on their phone. Although most people are not all people. That is why it is striking that if we take a look at the catalogs of the large photography companies (Canon, Sony, Nikon, Panasonic, or Pentax) we see almost no basic compact cameras. Although some of the advanced range remain, with a price that is above 400 euros.
How is this possible? Does anyone really want to use a simple and cheap camera anymore? We talked about cameras of this type having affordable prices, between 100 and 200 euros. But today for that price it is difficult to find other cameras than some from unknown manufacturers.
We called Fotocasión, one of the main photography stores in Spain, to ask them if nobody is really interested in compact cameras anymore. Our surprise is great when a store spokesperson explains that “if we had compact cameras for beginners we would sell many, many people come asking for them.”
These same sources point out that since the pandemic began, the production of these cameras has dropped due to the shortage of components. Hardly any units reach the stores, because there are simply much fewer produced. Even if they appear in the catalogue. As they explain to us, some of their chips are the same ones used to make more expensive cameras, which is why manufacturers prefer to dedicate themselves to making more advanced models with a higher price.
Jorge Gallego, Sony’s communication manager for Spain and Portugal, confirms that the company currently only produces a basic compact camera: “We are currently selling the DSC-W810 model in three different colours. This camera is priced at 130 euros”.
If we turn to the Idealo price comparator, something very curious happens with this camera. There is no store, including Amazon, where it is sold at its official price. Right now this camera costs on the Internet between 204 and 288 euros. Which seems to indicate that the sellers know that they are facing a scarce merchandise.
In fact, Gallego gives us a revealing piece of information that breaks with the false belief that compact cameras have lost their meaning in 2023: “It is true that we are in high demand for all compact camera models, but there are specific moments in which this demand grows and, sometimes, we cannot cover it”.
In fact, he stresses that “we continue to sell compact cameras precisely because there is a public that appreciates them, either for their quality or for their vintage nostalgia. But if you ask my opinion, the RX series is wonderful because the sensor is bigger than a mobile phone and we can also work with all the manual settings.”
In Fotocasión they also explain to us that Panasonic is another of the companies that continues to be very dedicated to this sector. Although the shortage of components means that not too many basic compact cameras reach the shop windows. In any case, this alerts us to the fact that many of the things that we consider established truths in the world of technology are based on erroneous beliefs.
Proof that cameras that offer something a mobile phone can never offer sell well. We find it curiously in analog photography. The Polaroid Go is a camera that for 100 euros allows you to relive the magic of Polaroid. It is true that this is a company that takes us back to nostalgia, but that is quite fashionable again.
They have even launched a collection of sound equipment with the Polaroid aesthetic, which, like their new cameras, seems to want to connect with those who used them before the old Polaroid went bankrupt, but also with the younger ones. Something that also happens with the Fuji Instax.
But the Polaroid Go is a camera that is designed to be above all economical. Its price is 100 euros and the film to take photos with it costs half that of standard Polaroid cameras. When Pedro Sánchez was interviewed by La pija y la quinqui, the meeting was immortalized with a Polaroid (as the square format of the photo reveals).
In short, the basic compact cameras have not vanished because of the phones. At least not just for that. A sum of circumstances, economic and business, have been what have caused the cameras to be more valued than ever because there are fewer than ever. Will the compacts return or have they never really left? This doubt, by the way, is not the first time we have it.
