Last month, I finally decided to replace my camera. It had served me well for close to a decade, but technologically it was a bit outdated — and after an unfortunate fall off a cruise ship bed in Alaska, it was literally being held together with a rubber band. The time had come.
When I mentioned to a coworker that I was purchasing a new camera, she told me she no longer uses one, but instead relies exclusively on her iPhone. And she’s not alone. European market research company Mintel released a study earlier this year showing that digital cameras are losing popularity in the U.K. as more people turn to the increasingly sophisticated cameras built into smartphones. The study found that U.K. sales of digital cameras fell 29 percent between 2006 and 2011.
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In a recent informal poll of IndependentTraveler.com readers on Facebook and Twitter, several respondents seemed to corroborate this trend. “With the megapixels in cell phones being about the same in a regular camera, using a cell phone works for me,” James Jones told us on Facebook.
“I use my iPhone for vacation photos,” wrote @BetsysBFF on Twitter. “I’m happy with the quality and can tweet or message them easily.”
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“Dropped DLSR for [Samsung Galaxy] S3 on short trips. The quality [is] great. Only switch back for safari/specialist trips,” said @swalwell on Twitter.
But the majority of IndependentTraveler.com readers weren’t ready to ditch their cameras just yet, many arguing that the quality still isn’t up to the standard of a traditional camera. “I have tried numerous times to not use [a] real camera,” @StevePariseau told us on Twitter. “iPhone still no match for the real thing. Zoom, flash, night shots, etc.”
Twitter user @alisonashley7 agreed: “Still using the camera. Better range of settings. Next one will have SLR lens. You don’t get those with a phone!”
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For me, given my current options, it was a no-brainer. My aging flip phone takes small, grainy shots that can’t compare to the beautiful photos I can snap with my new Panasonic Lumix. At least for this traveler, a camera is still the picture-perfect choice.
– written by Sarah Schlichter
Thanks to everyone who participated in last Friday’s 
Thanks to everyone who participated in last Friday’s 
Thanks to everyone who participated in last Friday’s