Is the iPhone killing digital cameras?

What used to be a purse staple on a Saturday night is fast becoming an item of the past: the digital camera.

To be sure, a recent survey indicates the iPhone 4 is fast becoming the number one device used to share photos on Flickr.

According to the company, users upload around 130 million photos to the site each month.

As you can see on the corresponding graph, digital S.L.R. cameras were still regularly used by people uploaded to Flickr, probably because the site allows for high resolution photos unlike Facebook or Twitter.

In terms of sharing, the iPhone 4 is only slightly behind the S.L.R. camera, the most popular being the Nikon D90. 

Rumor has it that perhaps the next iPhone will boast an 8-megapixel camera, which may give the $900 Nikon D90 a serious run for its money, along with digital cameras in general.

Clearly, the the iPhone seems to be seriously challenging point and shoot cameras.

Yes, fancy S.L.R. cameras represent a certain niche within the market – those who want to capture professional grade photos on vacation or in general.

However, for the most part, people don’t travel on a day-to-day basis with a giant camera around their neck.

Instead, most prefer to snap pictures on-the-go with their smartphones. Carrying an additional digital camera that requires uploading rather than instant sharing seems so… 2010.

(Via NY Times