Elijah Cabatic, Staff Writer
Once upon a time digital cameras ruled the world. The Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA), an organization whose members include the top 5 digital camera sellers Canon, Sony, Nikon, Fujifilm, and Panasonic as well as many smaller brands, was mainstream. At its peak in 2010 they sold over 120 million cameras annually, but by 2023 it had fallen by 94% to only 7.72 million units yearly. Many saw this as the downfall of digital cameras with smartphones largely replacing them through their convenience and accessibility in one’s pocket. A small minority of people held onto their digital cameras including me and some Mills students and they are having themselves a small cultural comeback.
My first “real” digital camera was a cute, but pretty terrible Sony Cybershot U20 (the silver camera pictured above), but what really got me into digital photography was when my dad gave me his Canon point and shoot camera. It helped me really start to enjoy photography as a hobby and it has only grown for me from there. For me at least, there is something more merited when you use a digital camera. On new phones you can do incredible things to photos, but when you use a camera it is more of your own work as you have more control over the photo and how it turns out.
One of the biggest things that people say about digital cameras is that there is more artistic merit to digital photography than if you took it with the phone. For Emily Anning (10), leader of the Mills Photo and Film Club, “Yes, definitely. I feel like when I’m using a digital camera I’m able to frame what I want the photo to look like… I like the fact that with a digital camera, I’m able to more closely control what the actual photo is going to look like, and I think that’s important for how you want it to turn out, what you want it to look like.” This sentiment is echoed by Violet Martin (11) of @violct.png who says, “In a way, I do believe so…I believe there is much more you can do with digital cameras than with phones, especially with all the settings and modes that a lot of digital cameras have. I also find that the pictures taken on digital cameras, whether taken in a professional manner or not, have a lot more life to them than they do on phones.”
Kaylin Lam (11) who runs the Instagram page @kaylincam_ has a different view on the subject as she says, “I wouldn’t say more artistic merit, but more like a different vibe. Phones are super convenient, but with a camera, you’re forced to slow down and think about the shot. That intentionality feels more artsy to me, but both have their place.”
There also seems to still be a lot of ways to get into the hobby of digital photography as some, like me, and senior Jeffery Taumalolo get into it through pure curiosity and find out they enjoy it. For Taumalolo he said when he started,“It was my first time ever touching a camera but being able to play with the exposure and angles that I took my pictures at gave me a sense of creativity in a way that I never thought was possible.” Some discover it through programs like Anning , “I became more interested in photography when I did a photography summer camp, I think it was before seventh grade.” These have always been available, but can be inaccessible to some due to cost or location.
One of the things that has recently led to a renaissance in digital camera use is social media. Love it or hate it, social media is a place where people of similar interests can post things for others to see. “Social media was a really big influence on why I got a digital camera. I kept seeing a lot of creators take pictures with their digital cameras and I thought it was really cool, so I got one!” Lam said this proves how social media can get people into the hobby more effectively than previous methods, or just organic interest. The #digicam trend has significantly contributed to the renaissance in digital photography.
Digital cameras, even before this revival had a steady market among professionals whose cameras can go for in excess of $2000, not including the multi hundred dollars lenses making them accessible to most casual photographers. Even as interest in digital cameras has increased recently, it has only led to around a 9.6% increase in sales among CIPA members. Which is in part due to the fact the point and shoot cameras which are favored by many had basically been discontinued. Canon, Sony, Nikon, and Panasonic’s last releases of point and shoot cameras all came in 2019 meaning most retailers have sold all of their stock leading to prices to skyrocket as scarcity hikes the prices.
If you want to get into the hobby of digital photography, ask your family if they have an old camera which you could use as that was the way in which I, and many other photographers, started. If not you can get a good starter DSLR from Nikon, Canon around $400 to $500 dollars new. If that is too much you can scour used marketplaces like Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, or Ebay for an older DSLR or a decently priced point and shoot.
Can this new demand for these cameras convince manufacturers to produce new models, or will this be a fad which these manufactures will fail to take advantage of? Could it be a true revival of the digital camera which could lead to a new healthy digital camera market? Only time will tell.
