With the release of the iPhone 7—and especially the iPhone 7 Plus—an interesting debate emerged: did Apple’s newest smartphone, equipped with an impressive 12-megapixel camera, herald the beginning of the end for consumer cameras?
Supporters and critics agreed that the camera was the iPhone 7’s most important improvement over the previous model. Apple clearly wanted people to take even more photographs with the iPhone—and better ones that would then spread across the world through Facebook and Instagram.
The smaller 4.7-inch iPhone 7 already had an improved camera, but this was even more true of the larger 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus , which featured a more versatile camera setup—or, more precisely, two separate lenses and two separate sensors. The two cameras worked together to create an image. One was the traditional iPhone camera with a 12-megapixel 28mm wide-angle lens (f/1.8); the other had a telephoto lens (f/2.8), enabling greater zoom—2x optical and 10x digital—to capture distant subjects in more detail.
There were other welcome details. The lenses in both iPhone 7 models had been refined to produce sharper image edges, addressing a familiar weakness of the average smartphone camera. Optical image stabilization (OIS) was also noteworthy, helping prevent blur from small movements.
In Practice
What did real-world use show? Tests appearing across the web found—unsurprisingly—that the iPhone 7 camera performed considerably better than the one in its predecessor, the iPhone 6s. Other online responses indicated that both the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus were well suited to quick snapshots as well as photographs in lower light, such as in the evening or indoors.
The renewed True Tone flash, with four LEDs instead of two, helped improve illumination. Portrait mode also deserved praise and worked well despite a few minor flaws. For more demanding, realistic photographic work, however, the iPhone fell behind. Even so, images produced by the iPhone—especially the Plus camera—showed just how capable Apple’s smartphone had become when compared with a DSLR.
The Numbers
Before deciding whether the iPhone 7 was squeezing the compact camera market, it was worth looking at the figures for 2015. They were sobering. Research by CIPA, the trade association representing camera manufacturers, showed that the digital-camera market was under considerable pressure from the rise of the smartphone—and that pressure was increasing. Compare 2010 with 2015: in 2010, 120 million digital cameras were sold, but in 2015 only 35 million were sold. Other figures suggested that not only compact cameras but also, to a lesser extent, DSLRs were gradually losing ground. One notable exception was the continued growth of mirrorless cameras—digital cameras with interchangeable lenses but no reflex mirror system—relative to traditional DSLRs.
Conclusion
Yes. To add some nuance, the decline of consumer cameras was already underway, and the iPhone 7 may have delivered another decisive push. Professional photographers working on location were not yet likely to rely entirely on Apple’s newest—and, to be fair, excellent—gadget. A small segment of professional cameras therefore continued to hold out. The article ended by asking whether they could still do so once the iPhone 8 arrived.
