ga6742 wrote:
It's mid 2020. Are our expensive dslr's going to become worthless? I just saw a full set of graduation photos that were excellent all taken with a phone. These phones can do 95% (my guess) of dslr functions. That along with post processing that does a complete photo makeover seems to be shrinking the dslr into oblivion. Is this the passing of an era?
Well, it seems that everyone has an opinion here so here's mine.
Cell phones have cameras. They work if the light is good. The best camera is the one you have in your hand.
I went to Italy last year. Did not take my DSLR, but had my iPhone. Took lots of pictures.
Got some pretty good ones looking at the scenery. Indoor photos left a LOT to be desired, even when using the "flash".
My wife took some shots of the flowers in our garden this spring. I took some with my DSLR. She got some nice shots but I got some better ones. They are better because they don't have jpg artifacts and my shots have more pixels so they can be blown up more. Of course, neither of them is an award wining photo but they aren't used that way. They are getting sent to the family via the iPhone and viewed on the tiny iPhone screen. Rarely are they expanded on the screen to look at details.
My iPhone will take shots in low light. They are noisy, washed out, and unsharp. My DSLR does a much better job there. Larger sensor, lower noise.
My iPhone will take panoramas. They sometimes look pretty good but there are examples of really comical results. I saw one online of a panorama taken in the direction a cat was walking. The cat wound up about 6 feet long and had 10 legs. My DSLR will take panoramas, but by using individual shots, combined in software after the fact. I wouldn't be surprised if I could obtain a photo of a 6 foot 10 legged cat with my DSLR, but at least I can control things in the individual shots before I combine them. Sometimes even after I combine them.
My iPhone will take videos. My DSLR will take videos also, but I have yet to master that, since the iPhone keeps focus much better than my DSLR. It could easily be my DSLR video technique, or lack thereof.
So will the phone replace my DSLR? The answer is "it depends".
It depends on the end use of the photo.
It depends on the lighting or lack thereof.
It depends on who is viewing the photo, and on what medium.
Both instruments have their unique strengths and weaknesses.
PS: My stepdaughter just got her MBA, so I got her a D7500 to replace the graduation that didn't physically happen. She has been using an iPhone for many years now. We will see what comes of it.