Granddad Loc: UK

As somebody who has been taking images since 1980 with a Canon A1 film camera and lately with a Canon 7Dii and 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens. Ihave been taken more images with my iPhone 7 and been very pleased with the outcome. I have 'procamera' on my phone and I'm surprised how much alterations you can do on it after taking the image in 'Raw' format.
I would like your views on this subject.

Kmgw9v Loc: Miami, Florida

I am in denial about the improved quality of cell phone cameras.

SueScott Loc: Hammondsville, Ohio

I realize that cell phones are capable of taking good, and sometimes even excellent shots but I've seen way too many tourists holding them (as well as tablets!!) up in the air taking pictures, a sight that has jaundiced me toward them. Call me old school, but I like the feel of a "real" camera and the ability to use a view finder. Plus, living in the woods as we do where we can't get bars, the freedom of not being chained to a smart phone is a wonderful thing indeed.

Siennarose46 Loc: Pacific NW

Totally agree. I find many times that I see a shot and the one thing I have on my person at all times is my IPhone. I am often just amazed at the results.

oceanarrow

Been through the best of Nikon back in the 70s and Hasselblads,now digital.I have to say you can't beat having a lightweight camera with you all the times.Somehow I started to use my phone a lot,because it was there.no,it does not do everything,but what it does do is not bad.when I take my Nikon out now it feels cumbersome and intrusive when I shoot street scenes.I have a feeling that the "big" stuff is on the way out.Im old school,but it's happening.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

Even the best cell phone cameras have limited functionality and the sensors are quite small, but they are capable of rendering quite good images.

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thewags Loc: Phoenix

Obviously the phone pics can't compete from a resolution standpoint, but I have to say, the phone sometimes does a better job of dealing with high contrast situations. My wife uses her iPhone and I use a Nikon D750. It is not unusual for her photo to look better than mine right out of the camera, for purposes of posting to FB or similar.

oceanarrow

Sometimes the camera gets in the way.it always comes back to how good the photographer is.I got some stunning images of what I like to shoot,scenery,still life,even interiors of old buildings.it just seems to me it's all about the image.on the other side of the coin,I went to the top of a mountain to observe beautiful Hawks and scenery.it looked like it was all about how big my lens is.they all had expensive,large lenses,nothing wrong with that,I'm one of them,but hiking and taking it all it seems to be more important now.once I got a taste of lighter and almost as good,it's hard to think about going back to all the weight,etc.I purchased a Sony A6000.I know it's a good camera,I only shot about 100 images,doesn't do anything for me.hard wired Nikon guy I guess.I said enough,open to any and all thoughts,thanks

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

Here’s my take on it. A camera is a camera is a camera—has a lens, sensor and image processor. They come in different packages with different controls. Or few or no controls. In the end, they all produce a picture. The only question is what is a “real” camera? My answer to that is, they are all real cameras. A cellphone camera, in my opinion, is a throwback to those early era pocket digital cameras that had very few controls, and were all fully automatic, yet took decent images. There are different kinds of digital cameras for different purposes, and how one regards any camera depends on that person’s intended purpose. For the advanced photographer, a cellphone camera isn’t going to cut it, but for the person who just wants to capture a moment or a scene, I think a cellphone camera works well. That doesn’t make him or her a lesser person no more than does someone with a D850 make them superior. The camera doen’t make the photographer, the person does, as is often stated here. Of course there are many who simply can’t afford a big DSLR or high end mirrorless or bridge camera, but nearly everyone has a cellphone, and for many, that works just fine for a camera.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

There is an article in the latest issue of Model Railroader detailing how to use a cell phone to produce publication-quality photographs. In model railroading, the two biggest problems are close focus and depth of field. The results published in the magazine are pretty stunning. Two key subjects addressed were camera support and focus stacking. Kmqw9v--I've been living in denial also, but the examples accompanying the article are pretty impressive.

Just as a side note...serious model railroaders as a group are probably the only folks who are worse nitpickers than this group.

brentrh Loc: Deltona, FL

It is all about the eye of the photographer and using the right tool for the job cel phone will never replace a good SLR but it is a excellent tool to have in your acenole

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

It all depends on the situation. Smart phones have small sensors, but they have prodigious computing power, which allows them to compute their way out of a lot of issues. Of course, some of this computing may nibble away at sharpness, but sharpness is not the only criterion by which photographs should be judged. My smart phone must have built-in HDR, for example, because it does the best job by far of quickly handling pictures that include glaring light that would confuse any other camera I own.

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oceanarrow

Thank you for that,very well laid out.maybe the waters are churning with so many ways to get an image.it will work itself out.

oceanarrow

That is impressive stuff.and worse nitpickers than us,that's saying a lot.

oceanarrow

I noticed that with my phone.slight learning curve on how the camera reacted to certain light,but after that,fire away.it feels cumbersome to me because there is no grip and I always feel I will drop it.