Journalists have expressed fears that amateur photographers could undermine the work of professionals by ?ambushing celebrities or interfering with police work at the scene of an accident?.
The comments follow a partnership struck between discount supermarket chain Lidl and Germany?s largest newspaper, Bild.
In Germany the store is reported to be selling a special compact camera equipped with 2 gigabytes of memory and software that allows ?reader-reporters? to upload still images and video direct to newspaper editors.
?The editors will be assigned specifically to review it for publication to Bild?s website or in print,? according to an article published by Associated Press.
But German Journalists Association spokeswoman Eve Werner told the agency: ?It poses a threat to quality journalism, the more images from non-professionals that are pushed onto the market even though professional images are available.?
A spokesman for the paper hit back: ?Every contribution will be viewed, reviewed and journalistically evaluated,? he said.
The move is designed to ?streamline? the paper?s existing system which already pulls in thousands of images each day by email and text message.
The Lidl camera also allows users to upload video direct to the YouTube website.
