The poll of 2,000 consumers across the UK, Germany, Russia and the US shows that 71% used a ‘fixed-lens’ camera compared to 67% who say they take pictures using a smartphone.
Arun Gill, a market analyst at Futuresoure Consulting, which carried out the survey, said: ‘Although more people own a fixed-lens camera than a smartphone, smartphone owners are capturing photos more frequently, on a daily or weekly basis, with almost 60% of all respondents capturing photos at least once a week on smartphones.
‘Only 34% capture photos at least once a week on a fixed-lens camera. Instead they are more often used on special occasions such as birthdays and holidays.’
The ‘always connected’ nature of a mobile device, and the ability to share images on social networks, is a key reason for smartphones catching up compact cameras on image capture.
The survey also revealed that longer battery life, better image resolution and a longer optical zoom are areas consumers want camera makers to focus on.
The survey found that 50% of people share their photos via a laptop, 42% using their phones and 38% with cameras.
Meanwhile, around one in three consumers (32%) are still printing out their pictures, though this is fewer than last year according to Futursource.
