Some photo experts at the Abuja International Photo Festival Don Barber, Khalid Abdul and Amina Saleh on Tuesday noted that smartphone cameras are gradually catching up and cannot be overlooked.

In a session tagged: ‘The future of photography: Are smart phone cameras a threat to DSLR?’, Abdul, who started out professional photography with a smartphone, said that phone companies are working hard to make their cameras more preferred than the professional cameras.

He however noted that although the threat of smartphones is looming over the business, they haven’t conquered the affordability problem yet.

“Not every smartphone can do the job and it cost a lot of money to get a smartphone that can take good pictures; the price of a good smartphone is almost the same as a professional camera. To get a good smartphone is almost the same price as a DSLR. I believe that there is still a journey for the smartphones but they will get there soon,” Abdul said.

Similarly, Saleh, who takes more pictures with smartphones, said that smartphones are a convenient alternative to professional cameras.

She said: “It is more convenient to take pictures with your phones, especially in a hostile environment where the photographer doesn’t want to it obvious that a picture is being taken.

“If DSLRs keep on being expensive, smartphones will take over. They are working hard on better picture quality and other photography features,” Saleh said.

She added that although professional camera fanatics might want to ignore the possibilities of smartphones taking over, they need to familiarise themselves with the growing technology.

Meanwhile, ace photographer, Don Barber pointed out that the term ‘photographer’ should not be used loosely because of the availability of smartphone cameras.

According to him, smartphone cameras are here to stay but they cannot take away the importance of professional cameras.

“The term ‘photographer’ is not the equipment. It is the vision and the job. So, regardless of the equipment used, a photographer will always differ from a phone user.”

The ongoing Abuja International Photo Festival will continue to lead conversations on the application of photography to socio-economic development.

(NAN)