During those days when we had to use films in our camera, there is always this conscious effort to ration the film for fear that you run out of film at a location you would like to take a photo of. Also, as there was no way to check your photos, a number of them would turn out bad which would leave you with no photos (since you only took 1 or 2 at each spot).
Then came the digital camera. My family's first digital camera was a Canon Powershot. My father consciously chose to buy a camera which did not come with those rechargeable lithium type batteries. In his words, "those batteries cannot last and will spoil faster than the camera". You must remember that this was more than 10 years ago, and replacement lithium batteries are not as cheap and easy to find as compared to the variety of "replica" models we have today. The camera is still working today - but has become too cumbersome to carry around, especially the spare AA batteries.
With the SD card, we can take more photos at each location and delete the bad ones immediately. Storage capacity has become less of an issue nowadays as you can easily afford a 4/8GB SD card - which allows you to store more than 500 photos taken with a compact camera.
In the 2000s digital cameras became affordable for the mass market. Brands competed with one another to produce the trendiest, slimmest, lightest and smallest digital camera. It was convenient to bring the camera with you to town as you can slip it in your purse or pocket. Shops that used to develop the film negatives have also innovated with kiosks for you to browse and select the photos you wish to print. Most likely you will end up selecting a lot of photos, making album-"ing" them a chore, and you end up leaving them in their original stack, somewhere on the shelf.
Around 2010, prices for the DSLR dropped significantly, paving the way for mass market consumers. Though their prices still double the compact cameras, photography enthusiasts see the value in owning them. The added features include high-resolution photos, wide lens, great zoom, etc. The community is also growing, making resales and rental of equipment very accessible.
More recently, when I was on holiday, I noticed the increase in the number of smartphone/tablet-camera users. I can think of some reasons for this:
1) Convenience. Your phone is likely to be in some place more accessible than the camera
2) Quick set up time. For iPhone users, you can even take a photo when your phone is locked.
3) Social media. You can upload your photo to Facebook or Instagram at the next Starbucks. Not to mention you can enhance the photos using the apps on your phone.
4) Cool features like panaroma and the new Samsung one that can add your face in the pic you are taking.
5) My iPhone 5 takes better nightshots than my Lumix Fx-5. (Or maybe it's just me)
6) Selfies. Unless you have those expensive cameras that come with the big screen at the front, the phone or tablet is the best tool available.
To build on an earlier point about album-"ing", Facebook becomes a convenient location to house and share your photos. You can upload the photos when you get back to your hotel at night to tell your friends what you have been up to for the day. I have even come across this status update on Facebook: "Will be traveling to XXX for the next few days. I don't think I'll have Internet access so you won't hear from me. Pls don't think I've gone missing. However, please send a search & rescue team if you don't see me back online in 3 days."
So what can we expect from the future? Compact camera manufacturers have already begun to innovate. We can now find wifi-enabled cameras (that lets you upload your photos to Facebook or share with your friends) and compact-DSLRs (for those who find the traditional DSLRs too bulky). The smartphone/tablet camera will still continue to innovate (higher resolution?) and can possibly replace the standard compact cameras that we have today. Only time will tell...
Here's some photos using my iPhone 5. I have more photos in my camera, but it's just too inconvenient to transfer them to the PC especially since I'm blogging from my phone...
Selfie - evidence that I climbed all the way up to the pedestal and had no one to take a photo of me.
Panaromic shot on board the Chicago Architecture Cruise.
Night shot of the Empire State Building from Top of the Rock
Photo collage of sightings at the American Museum of Natural History.
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