SmartMoney.com’s 10 Things Not to Buy in 2010: Why No Love for the Compact Digital Camera?

SmartMoney.com gives us 10 things that are heading into the obsolete category and thus we should not buy in 2010. (Link via TruePravda.) Most items on the list make sense.

CDs: While providing better sound quality than alternatives, it’s clearly more convenient to listen to online radio. When I want a track permanently on my computer, Amazon's MP3 store usually provides what I need.

External Hard Drives: Ones I’ve owned have been so fickle and unreliable that I don’t plan on owning another. Backups on CDs or DVDs, networked computers in the house, flash drives, and online solutions work for me. I highly recommend paying Flickr’s relatively cheap yearly fee for online photo backups.

Smartphone Also-Rans: It’s down to Blackberry, iPhone, and Android. I love my Blackberry. My wife has less affection for it.

Newspaper Subscriptions: I’ve never had one and I would say a lot of people my age have never had one.

But then SmartMoney.com’s list includes this curious one: compact digital cameras. They say Digital SLRs are increasingly popular and, impliedly, what to purchase going forward. Digital SLRs may be the tool of professional photographers, but for most people, compacts meet our needs and are more practical and economical. The bestselling digital SLR on Amazon right now is the Canon EOS Rebel T1i. It costs $664. It is 8 x 12 x 7 inches and weighs 1.6 pounds. Compare that with the Canon PowerShot SX120IS, which costs $200, takes fine pictures for amateurs, and is much easier to transport with dimensions of 4.4 x 2.8 x 1.8 inches and one-third the weight of the Rebel. It’s hard to see how SLRs are the better option for how most people use their cameras.