How do modern phone cameras compare to (good) compacts now?

[dowie]

Just curious on people's thoughts here. (Can't check with the latest myself as I'm often slow to upgrade my phone so not familiar with the latest ones, I had the iPhone 4 for a while and even repaired it then finally got a 7 when the 8 had already been released etc.. still works fine though battery flagging a bit now - am tempted by the iphone 13 models).

For example, I just came across a couple of old compact cameras I've had for a few years in a drawer - my old Canon IXUS 120, which was a replacement for my broken 30, used to take it to festivals etc... as it was so small/easy to fit in a pocket - I guess those sorts of compact cameras have generally been surpassed/made a bit redundant by modern phone cameras for a while now.

But I also have my old Olympus XZ-1, now that was a nice little compact camera back in the day (f1.8 etc..), I bought it before a friends wedding as I didn't fancy taking my DSLR along and though the pics obvs weren't anywhere near as good as a DSLR with good prime lenses it was better than the typical compact. Could do low light without the flash, also put a crude flash disperser on it for nighttime stuff, v.nice little camera.

How would the latest iPhone, Samsung or Google Pixel etc.. phone cameras these days compare with say a good compact like that? Is even that sort of compact becoming a bit redundant? Like would you have to go to micro four thirds or decent bridge cameras to beat phones now and at that point, if you're not using a phone then (budget allowing) you might as well get a modern mirrorless camera of a similar size?

Would be interested in your thoughts.

 

[bimbleuk]

I can't comment on the phone vs camera but you might find this vid by Corridor Crew interesting as it compares the original iPhone to a recent model. The hardware may have stalled a bit but AI driven software is a big part of the continual improvements.

 

[Minstadave]

A decent compact will have a better sensor and optics compared to even to a modern phone camera. Phones lean heavily on computational multi-shot photography though which helps reduce the noise from the small sensor and increases dynamic range, often beyond what you'd get from a compact.

The fact the compact camera market is dying is quite telling. Although compacts are likely still better overall, the hassle of carrying an extra device has rendered them largely unsellable.

The difference becomes more obvious when you display the images on a larger screen. On a phone screen phone photos look pretty good, aided by aggressive sharpening, software correction and HDR effects. When you view them on a proper monitor the quality difference is usually clearer, however that's not what you do with the vast majority of phone pics.