Mobile phone cameras vs compact digital camera

[Guest2]

For many years I had compact digital cameras, a few different Canon powershots, Panasonic DMC-TZ4, a larger FinePix S1000fd, Kodak easyshare C813 and some others.

Looks at photos of my travels in 2008, the pictures are way better on the C813 than with my iPhone 13! I just presumed that phones overtook compact digital cameras at some point but it seems not.

The shutter speed on my iPhone 13 is often sluggish and colours and no where near as good as with a proper camera. Optical zoom is also poor.

Are compact digital cameras now at the point where they are not so big, shutter speed is good and picture quality is way better than phones. Preference is Canon Powershot

 

[Shadowness]

Depends what you want to use the photos for. For many a smartphone these days will do, but for any 'serious' photography, even a point and shoot will easily out perform a smartphone.

 

[LiE]

The biggest barrier for me is actually wanting to take an extra thing with me. The phone is always with me and can take decent photos most of the time. The majority of photos are used for sharing on social media or with family and so any short comings of image quality aren't really an issue.

I did have a dedicated camera for many years and I adore the photos I've taken with them, but it was always a constant internal struggle whether I wanted to bring it vs being more present and just taking a few snaps/videos on my phone. When I took my camera I would always be in photography mode and this removed me a bit from what was happening and the experience I was trying to capture. My wife and son would run off along the beach and I'd take photos, instead of running too

 

[dave28]

Depends because like all things there are budget ones and top class.

A Sony RX100 will destroy any phone, it has a 1 inch back side illuminated sensor and far superior lens etc....

Not sure about Canon, I always bought one of the 7 different mdels of rx100, they date back 10 years or so

 

[Merlin5]

I really want a pocketable camera. I'll still keep my Sony a6600 but I also want something that will be with me at all times. I've been considering the Sony RX100 version 5, an older version but with a faster lens than the later iterations. I'd really like the Ricoh GR lll or lllx as it's the most pocketable, has snap focus and produces super sharp images, but just don't think I could live without an EVF or tilt screen.

 

[Guest2]

Depends what you want to use the photos for. For many a smartphone these days will do, but for any 'serious' photography, even a point and shoot will easily out perform a smartphone.

Gigs, festivals, holidays. Indoor dark photos at gigs are often quite poor on a phone. It was my pics from 2006 with the cheapo Kodak that made me think "wow, phones are still crap at taking good pictures"

The biggest barrier for me is actually wanting to take an extra thing with me. The phone is always with me and can take decent photos most of the time. The majority of photos are used for sharing on social media or with family and so any short comings of image quality aren't really an issue.

I did have a dedicated camera for many years and I adore the photos I've taken with them, but it was always a constant internal struggle whether I wanted to bring it vs being more present and just taking a few snaps/videos on my phone. When I took my camera I would always be in photography mode and this removed me a bit from what was happening and the experience I was trying to capture. My wife and son would run off along the beach and I'd take photos, instead of running too

This is very true and the reason I have been using phone cameras for years. I always had pocketable compact cameras but it was still carrying something else. Though back then no-one really used phone cameras because they were terrible.
You could still run on the beach with a good waterproof compact digial camera and phone. I wouldnt buy anything that didnty fit into a jeans / shorts pocket.

I did buy a Nikon COOLPIX P900, which had an 83x optical zoom. I took it out with me once as it was so big! Fantastic at taking photos of the moon and reading the ingredients on a drinks can from over the road

 

[kona786]

Depends because like all things there are budget ones and top class.

A Sony RX100 will destroy any phone, it has a 1 inch back side illuminated sensor and far superior lens etc....

Not sure about Canon, I always bought one of the 7 different mdels of rx100, they date back 10 years or so

Don't know about destroy...

Pixel 6 is the benchmark in mobile phone photography. Here's it pitted against a Sony dedicated cam with a 1 inch sensor.

Watch all the way through. It's impressive, and optical zoom too. HDR and night mode is where a good phone shines. Pixel is great as it doesn't over sharpen like most phones making them look brittle and over processed. Colours etc are easily fixed in post.

 

[ChrisUK1983]

I've not owned a phone yet that id choose over my almost 11 year old Fuji X100. Had the flagship Apple and Samsung offerings for the last few years and found the cameras underwhelming (especially the Samsungs).
The Pixel 6 Pro and The Sony Xperia Pro do look interesting though.

 

[OspreyO]

I have an ancient DSLR which I stopped using because it was always something extra to carry. But one area it still wins is shutter speed. It still captures moving subjects better than any phone I've owned, and zoom even though I've only a stock lense on the DSLR.

 

[Cleisthenes]

I did have a dedicated camera for many years and I adore the photos I've taken with them, but it was always a constant internal struggle whether I wanted to bring it vs being more present and just taking a few snaps/videos on my phone. When I took my camera I would always be in photography mode and this removed me a bit from what was happening and the experience I was trying to capture. My wife and son would run off along the beach and I'd take photos, instead of running too

This is me in a nutshell. I love to take a beautiful (imo) photos but would I rather do that or be present in the thing I am taking a photo of? It's almost always going to be the latter for me.

 

[OspreyO]

I found people are intimidated with a DSLR pose differently but far less so with a phone camera.

When kids were small I had to much to carry that the camera got left behind.