A camera isn’t the same thing for every consumer.

Even though standalone cameras have become less popular for consumer point and shoot use, we still see an incredible variety of hardware and form-factors. There is no universal agreement on what a camera “is”. People still have entirely unique needs where those differences matter to the individual.

This isn’t just some oblique idea of specialty or “pro” use. At a basic level, someone’s specific needs will be better fulfilled by a tool designed for those needs.

Yet in the world of smartphone camera reviewing, we crouch a significant portion of the conversation behind some idea of “The Avuraj CunZoomer™”. We build phone camera conversations around a fallacy that there is some common or objective agreement on what a camera SHOULD be.

It’s only at the most regressively basic level that we might find some agreement.

You should be able to push a button that results in an image being captured.

Beyond that, cameras should specialize. We should see different pros and cons. That’s what makes cameras exciting. Continue reading “How techies get phone camera reviews wrong…”