iStock_000018661608XSmallThe immediate demise of point-and-shoot cameras, and their replacement by the cameras on smartphones, is very premature, according to Steve Morgenstern, TechNewsDaily contributor to Today Tech on MSNBC.com.

Morgenstern agrees that smartphone cameras are easy and convenient for casual images, which can then be quickly uploaded for sharing via social media. He states in his online piece, however, that there are four features of point-and-shoot cameras that have yet to be built into smartphones, and are important to the digital photography experience.

These features are the optical zoom lens, sensor size, flash power and image stabilization. The “zoom” on smartphone cameras actually enlarges a portion of the overall picture to create a low-resolution image. The “true” zoom of a point-and-shoot camera physically moves the lens to fill the frame with distant objects/subjects and capture them at full resolution.

Even low-priced compact cameras have much better sensor technology than what is found in camera phones. The compact’s sensor eliminates much more of the digital noise that is often easily seen as graininess in camera phone images, and produces good quality photos in low-light conditions that camera phones can’t duplicate.

Morgenstern added that the flash capabilities of a point-and-shoot camera are far superior to the artificial light source on a camera phone. Especially important for casual digital photographers is the image stabilization technology found on most compact cameras. It helps to take sharper images by counteracting any camera shake.