One of my friends is waiting for me to sell him my Nokia PureView 808. No, he doesn’t need a phone. He already has one. He may use this as a secondary phone. But the primary reason for him wanting the PureView is for the camera.

It all started a few weeks ago when I accompanied him to a multi-brand retail showroom to help him buy a digital camera. His budget was Rs 20,000. We told a store guy we were looking for a digital camera. The sales executive paused while we were passing through the mobile phone section (that was before the camera section) and asked, “Why don’t you go for a mobile with a good camera instead of a standalone camera sir.” He then proceed to show some mid to high-end mobiles with great cameras. He showed us a dummy piece of 808. “This is the phone with the best camera. Unfortunately, we are out of stock,” he said. The price had crashed to around Rs 18,000, he said, but he wasn’t sure when or whether he would get fresh stocks.

My friend was bowled over the look and feel of the dummy phone. “Looks great. I wish I could see a real one,” he said. It was then I proudly fished out my 808 and showed it to him. I told him I was using it mainly as a camera than as a phone. He wanted to know whether I intended to sell it. I was noncommittal.

At that point of time, he decided not to buy a camera, but a mobile with a good camera - like the 808. But his budget remains at Rs 20,000. So, I have become his target.

More and more people like him prefer getting a mobile with a good camera instead of a digicam. The sales guy in the store said he “was sure” that people would stop buying ordinary digicams in five years. The market was already on the downslide. Now with mobiles like PureView supposed to be on par with entry-level DSLRs in some tests, will the DSLR market also under threat - maybe in 10 years?

dinakaran.rengachary@thehindu.co.in

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