Phone vs Cell Phone for Photos

[Kathryn777]

If you're printing them, in anything larger than 4x6 I like a real camera.

That said, we had memory maker and we quickly came to rely on it and not use a camera or phone camera

 

[SeilerBird]

Last year I sold all my DSLR gear and I now shoot with a Fuji S1 and an iPhone 6. I have never looked back. I am madly in love with both cameras. I use the S1 for rock concerts, birds, rocket launches and wet rides at Disney World (I live close by). The iPhone for everything else. I love the fact my iPhone is always in my pocket and I no longer miss shots.

I just got back from a 5000 mile trip to the Grand Canyon and Zion National Parks from Florida. Here is a link to my photos from the trip. Go ahead and try and guess which camera shot each photo. You won't be able to tell. In fact you can't tell by looking that they were not shot with a DSLR. Of course severe cropping is out of the question for either camera, but the out of camera shots just blow me away. Most shots have zero post processing.

https://picasaweb.google.com/108464110929132780547/July?authuser=0&feat=directlink

 

[phillymummer]

I have an iPhone 4s (yes, you read that right, FOUR-S! ) and a really old digital camera. I used both on my last vacation and some of the pics on my 4s came out better!! Take the advice of the previous poster and take test shots with both. See which takes the better pictures.

 

[TinksMyGirl]

I use my iPhone 5s to take quick pics to post on social media, I have a DSLR - but too heavy for walking around Disney parks all day. I have two small point and shoot cameras and Nikon Coolpics - which was I used to take but recently got a Lumix waterproof camera. It's the one I take with me now. It takes great pics and I don't have to worry about the FL afternoon showers. If you are contemplating a new camera you may want to give it a thought.

 

[mom2rtk]

Not surprisingly, a DSLR will do better than a point and shoot and a point and shoot will do better than even the best cell phone.

Each of those choices comes with trade-offs. I prefer the DSLR because I print photos and enjoy photography. But it's heavier than the other options. The cell phone is probably with you anyway so requires the least extra weight. But you'll have trouble with indoor and low light shots, plus the shots don't look good printed.

Nobody here can tell you which trade-offs you will be happy with.

 

[richmo]

If high quality pictures are important to you, a camera is the way to go. Just look at the size of the lens on any smartphone...no way will you get the quality of depth you would on a camera. That being said, I've gone away from bringing a separate camera simply because I like to minimize what I'm carrying around. I'm going to have the phone anyway, so why carry a second camera around? Cameras on phones take decent pictures, but if you take the same picture with a decent camera, you can certainly tell the difference. Its all what is important to you...

 

[jec6613]

I'll always take a camera, both for quality and because it's either that, or carry around a Mophie for my phone, and my smallest compact is the same size.

I have 80 GB of space on my phone, so that's not the trouble, fortunately, but I have a photos taken with a vintage 2006 camera from a 2007 trip to WDW that are better than those taken on a Lumia 1020 or iPhone 6. Lenses, high ISO performance, zoom, and handling (taking pictures with a phone is fine, but you can't really hold and stabilize the camera very well, let alone change settings).