cyclespeed Loc: Calgary, Alberta Canada

My question: If I decided to buy the latest Samsung or Apple phone what would I miss?
I plan to finance it buy selling all my lenses kit -16 - 50, 10 - 18, 55 - 210 and Sony a6000 camera.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Not much, unless it's hard to see in the sun.

They work for a lot of people.

I personally like to be able to easily set a focus and exposure.
To me, I can do that on my DSLR much easier.

Everyone is different. I grew up with an SLR. Many people using phones never touched a <D>SLR.
Many don't want to be bothered buy the bulk of a DSLR.

RiJoRi Loc: Sandy Ridge, NC

Well, I can only speak of my Samsung Galaxy J2 - one thing I miss is depth-of-field control via the aperture. Also, I got my DSLR so I could see the picture I was taking! (Putting a dark cloth over my head as the old-time photogs did has NO! appeal to me. 😉)
One other thing is to check if the images saved are large enough for you. My DSLR's pictures are 3x the max size on my phone. But because I only share here, it doesn't really matter...

HTH,
--Rich

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

Unless being able to take manual or semi-manual control of your camera, about all you’d miss a long zoom range. You’d have to rely on your feet to “zoom” in on something. I suppose if you like to make very large prints there could be an issue with image sharpness. But 8x10’s would be great. However—there are some apps for smartphone cameras that give you some degree of manual control and artistic control.

I have three cameras, but most of the time I use my iPhone 13 Pro Max. I don’t seem to have much of a problem with seeing the screen in bright light. Something else that might be of interest is that you can get smartphone adapters to mount on a tripod. Some, like the one I have, even come with a wireless remote shutter release.

I guess the last thing I should mention is how serious you are about photography. If it’s more of a casual thing, a cellphone camera may suffice for you needs. If your interests lean more toward the serious amateur or pro level, then a cellphone camera might be more appropriately used as a secondary image maker.

srt101fan

I am also interested in this topic and appreciate the comments from users.

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

This might get more input in the Smartphone Photography section.

Fstop12 Loc: Kentucky

Started with film back right after the earth was cooling, eventually switched over to digital, packing around everything from wide angle to telephoto. Eventually, I got tired of packing around all that gear. I still use my DSLR but mostly for astro photography. Currently, I’m using an IPhone 13 Pro max. For me, it’s fun to shoot with and pushes me to get creative on pushing it boundaries.

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

My son and his wife just returned from Aruba and showed me his photos, taken with the latest iPhone, whatever that number is. The shots were stunning! I don't think you could go wrong with the iPhone.

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

DSLR's and mirrorless are what I call "system" platforms, designed to take a range of lenses, flashes, and many other accessories for use by the demanding advanced amateur and pro. A smartphone is a good photo platform, capable of great pictures within its limitations. With apps you can operate in Manual mode and record in RAW. With a few accessories you can also create high quality "v-blog" videos with relative ease if you’re in to that sort of thing. They contain an amazing amount of "computational imaging" technology to make up for lack of a diaphragm.

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

OOPS!!! I screwed the pooch here. Somehow I thought this was originally posted in the general photography topics section. I already contacted the OP with an apology for this post. Senior moment?

ChrisKet Loc: Orange, CA

My photography is mainly for my own enjoyment, especially since I’ve retired and have had more opportunities to travel. I like learning the technical aspects of shooting, and creative composition. But, truth be told, I enjoy most the developing - teasing out a so-so kinda nice picture to a keeper, using Lightroom and Photoshop.

That said, on my recent trip to Miami and a short Caribbean cruise I used my iPhone 12 Pro-max almost exclusively to test whether I really needed to carry my DSLR. In the end, while I did get some fairly decent shots with the phone; my reaction after finishing my post-processing was, “I didn’t have fun developing these like I usually do.”

My conclusion to this was to review the lenses I used most frequently on previous trips that yielded the best photos. On our upcoming cruise through the Canary Islands, I plan to take my DSLR with one lens only and use my iPhone as a second camera on-board the ship.

Meantime, I continue to follow the UHH folks who provide insights into how to take better pictures with whichever camera I have with me. (And, I also highly recommend the Smartphone Photography section!)

SalvageDiver Loc: Huntington Beach CA

I think, like everything else, it depends on you intended applications.

I use an iPhone 12 and a Sony a6000 among other cameras.

If your looking to photography the action in your child's/grandchild's soccer games, volleyball matchs, football games, etc., where a good tele is required to capture fast action events, or where fast action wildlife coupled with significant cropping such as BIF, then a smartphone is probably not going to be your best solution.

If camera equipment is a passionate hobby, then your smartphone isn't going to give you much satisfaction either.

If you like post-processing, then smartphones shoot in raw. If you just like SOOC, the phones internal post-processing can make stunning images and small apps for editing on your phone or special effects are ubiquitous.

If your intended use is to document family events and vacation experiences or you're interested in landscapes, portraits, still life, etc, where very high speed and significant cropping aren't required, then a smartphone may be your best solution.

Another issue that's always brought up is the ability to print a 20x30" image for the wall. If you take a D850 and compare it to a smartphone image, you'll definitely see a difference, up close. But consider, of all the photo's you capture, how many large prints actually end up on your walls. For myself, most of my printable images, that's really important to me, end up in photobooks. Prints in a book made with smartphones are just as good as anything made with a larger camera.

And in the end, it's those photobooks that are likely to endure for future family. When my wife and I are gone, it's those photobooks that will be passed on. My wall art will be filed away in the same place my dad's wall art ended up when he passed, in the round file.

Additionally, computational photography, is the future. The world agrees with this. For every camera sold today, 99% are smartphones and only 1% are ICL cameras. and this gap is only widening as smartphone cameras only get better. There must be something to it.

I'm sure you're quite familiar with the quality of images with ICL cameras. If you want to see some of the quality possibilities with smartphones, check out this section, then go to 500px and Instagram, searching on iPhone or smartphone, to see what's possible. You might be surprised.

There are pros and cons to either approach. Only you can decide what's right for you. But you need to be able to see thru the bias's about either approach to make an informed decision.

Fstop12 Loc: Kentucky

Great commentary!

Fstop12 Loc: Kentucky

Thanks for giving a shout out to the Smartphone Photography section!

Dan Thornton Loc: Corpus Christi, Texas

I think quite a lot, but something that has been overlooked by some is the Samsung Galaxy 10x optical telephoto. Attached is a sample photo taken at about 20 feet with the 10x telephoto lens. The image is cropped.

(Download)