Originally posted 8/8/2011 - I recently saw a headline that read “World’s Largest Stop Motion Film Made on a Camera Phone.” I had to see this.

The video titled, “Gulp”, is the story of a fisherman, who falls on some bad luck when he takes a trip to the bottom of the ocean. The film is only one minute and forty-six seconds long and includes a life-sized fisherman and fishing boat. The kicker is it was shot entirely with three Nokia N8 camera phones that were suspended in air. The phones were equipped with a 12-megapixel camera that sat above the life size boat on the beach in South Wales, UK.

This had me thinking, are digital photo and video cameras going to be the way of cassette tapes and VCRs?

Most households have at least one digital camera lying around to capture those birthdays, holidays and other special events. But if you’re like me, I might have to wipe some dust off of mine the next time I go to use it. My iPhone, which currently has over 1,500 photos on it has replaced my need for lugging around a digital camera. I can upload photos instantly to all kinds of social media without the need of an SD card.

And if you are thinking but cell phone pictures never turn out as crisp and clear as normal digital photos, think again. New photography apps are coming out every day to help turn ordinary camera phone shots into beautiful award-worthy photographs. Apps like Hipstamatic and Instagram are finding huge followers in photosharing. Apple’s iPhone app, iMovie can also help you produce a well-polished video on the go. And other apps like TiltShiftGen and CameraBag are playing their part by aiding in the photo beautification process.

So with technology moving faster than anyone can comprehend, do you think that the digital camera has reason to worry? At some point will professional photographers give up their DSLR’s for a cell phone equipped with the right apps and lenses? Will movies be shot and edited entirely on smartphones?

P.S. Watch the making of “Gulp”, it’s just as interesting as the movie.