<p>Smartphones essentially replaced small, low-end, pocket-sized cameras years ago, but now, they are taking a hatchet to another market: advanced interchangeable-lens cameras.</p><p>Why buy a phone and a camera separately when you can get both in the same sleek package? That's the question that many consumers have been asking this year, and according to a new report from Information Week, smartphones are beginning to take a toll on the sale of high-end camera devices.</p><p>The news is hardly surprising. Smartphone cameras have been improving at a steady clip over the past few years, and their overall convenience of always having a camera in your pocket, of being able to upload photos directly to Facebook or other social media networks, and of being able to easily send pictures to friends via text message outstrips the conventional camera in nearly every regard.</p><p>Smartphones essentially replaced small, low-end, pocket-sized cameras years ago, but now, they are taking a hatchet to another market: advanced interchangeable-lens cameras. Such cameras, which allow photographers to switch out different lenses in order to attain the highest quality image possible, are expected to drop nearly 10 percent in sales this year, tumbling from 19.1 million units to 17.4 million. While photography enthusiasts and professionals are still buying the high-end products, most everyday picture-takers have gladly traded the extra bulk of interchangeable-lens cameras for the convenience of smartphone cameras. For most, the decrease in image quality just isn't a cause for concern.</p><p><a href="http://natmonitor.com/2013/11/10/high-end-camera-sales-drop-smartphones-to-blame/">Keep reading...</a></p>