Compact cameras losing out to smartphones

Smartphones are replacing point-and-shoot cameras for many people, according to new figures.

Sales of point-and-shoot cameras fell by 30% in value last year and the growth of smartphone camera usage is thought to be to blame.

Photo sharing websites such as Flickr are seeing growing numbers of users uploading pictures taken using their smartphone. Last summer the iPhone 4 became the most popular camera on Flickr, significantly ahead of the Nikon D90, which was in second place.

Research firm GfK said that 48 per cent of camera manufacturers' revenue in 2010 came from basic fixed-lens cameras. Last year that had fallen to 37 per cent.

"2011 was when sales of basic cameras seriously started to decline," GfK analyst Zhelya Dancheva told the Guardian. "It's about how consumers are using cameras, and on what occasions. The smartphone is popular because it's always in your pocket, and you are connected so you can directly upload to the internet whenever you want."

When Apple launched the iPhone 4S last autumn, the company emphasised the improvements to the camera. The iPhone 4S has an 8-megapixel camera compared to the 5-megapixel version in the iPhone 4 and it has considerable improvements in its lenses and photo software.