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Question from Barbara: Hi, Rick. I love your site and all the great info you provide. I have a quick question for you.
I recently started shopping for a new camera and I’ve noticed how few there are in the stores these days. Places like Walmart and Best Buy used to have dozens of them to choose from but now they only have three or four.
It seems like actual cameras are on the verge of becoming obsolete. Am I right?
Rick’s answer: Thanks for your kind words about my tips, Barbara. I’m glad you find them useful.
In regards to your question, I believe you might be on to something. The proliferation of smart phones with high-quality cameras has virtually killed the demand for compact cameras. And it’s easy to understand why. After all, there’s really no reason to bother with carrying an actual camera around when you already have a really good one inside your phone.
This huge drop in demand has of course been noticed by the camera manufacturers, prompting them to severely cut back on the number of compact cameras they’re making, with most of them only producing a few models these days.
The DSLR/removable lens camera market seems to be successfully dealing with the downturn for the time being, but I expect sales of those higher-end cameras to continue dropping off as well as the cameras in smartphones become ever more powerful.
But unlike the compact camera market, I believe there will always be enough demand for DSLRs and other removeable lens cameras to keep them from going the way of the floppy disk simply because of the flexibility they offer.
Bottom line: I do believe the market for compact cameras is destined for the dustbin of history, but I also believe their more flexible (and more expensive) cousins will be around for a good while.
As you mentioned above, Walmart, Best Buy and a few other local retailers are still keeping a limited number of compact cameras in stock.
And as you would expect, Amazon has a decent selection at the moment as well. Since you’re in the market for one you might want to get one while you still can.