More than a quarter of photos and videos shot by individuals in the U.S. are now being captured by smartphones, according to an online survey of 3,300 Internet users ages 13 and up. Sales data suggest smartphones are replacing consumers’ need for low-end point-and-shoot cameras and camcorders.

According to Mashable, the percentage of photos taken with a smartphone went from 17% to 27%, a 44% increase from the previous year, according to a survey conducted by NPD Group. Meanwhile, sales of point-and-shoot cameras dropped 17% in volume and 18% in revenue in the first 11 months of 2011. Individual sales of pocket camcorders dropped 13%, with a 10% decrease in revenue.

Higher-end items performed better: Sales of cameras with detachable lenses (average price: $863) increased by 12%, and sales of point-and-shoot cameras with optical zooms of 10x or greater (average price: $247) grew by 16%.

Liz Cutting, executive director and senior imaging analyst at NPD, acknowledged that smartphones are taking the place of point-and-shoot cameras and camcorders in many instances - particularly “spontaneous moments” - but for important events, single-purpose cameras and camcorders remain the device of choice.

Flickr said traffic to its mobile site doubled this year, and uploads from mobile sources has increased eightfold in the last two years.