Singer Ed Sheeran ditches his iPad for a new gadget

Ed Sheeran in India

A gadget from yesteryears has won over pop singer Ed Sheeran, and it’s the compact camera. Sheeran liked the compact camera during his recent tour so much that he’s using it in place of his iPad.

“Got rid of my ipad and now i just walk around with a camera like its 1997. heres a dump of Bhutan trip. lots more camera guy dumps to come i promise”, Sheeran said in an Instagram post.

The British singer, known for tracks like ‘Photograph’, ‘Thinking Out Loud’ and ‘Shape of You’, is currently visiting places in South Asia as part of his tour. Sheeran has been sharing short video clips taken in Hyderabad and also group photos on Instagram, many of which are shot with his compact camera. The camera model Sheeran is seen using is believed by some to be the Sony RX100.

Sheeran is not a big fan of smartphones and in an earlier interview with the BBC, had admitted that they caused him mental health issues. While touring, he may have found the minimal functions and the small form factor of the compact camera appealing. Also, the distractions are quite less when you compare a compact camera to the iPad. You can’t do a lot apart from point at something and shoot. A compact camera is a travel-friendly gadget that can fit in a small bag and even a large-sized pocket.

Compact cameras or point-and-shoot cameras, used to have a very high demand in the 2010s, a time when the reach of smartphones had started widening. Now, smartphones have cut down on the demand, but as per Japanese retail analyst firm BCN+R, “compact cameras still account for more than 60% of the number of cameras sold.”

In fact, Japanese camera brand Canon stated in its financial results that the “popularity of compact cameras that can easily capture images that differ from those of smartphones is growing among young people. As a result, we are seeing a buildup of orders, mainly for higher priced models like the PowerShot G7 X Mark III.”