Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

Just curious:
Can phone cameras shoot in manual focus and/or manual exposure?

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

The best camera is the one that you have in your hands. Yes, smartphones can take, depending on what you are shooting, 70% up to 95% of what is out there to be photographed. But my camera, with just a mid range zoom, will take 85% to 100% of the pictures I want to take. It's like comparing a Swiss army knife to a set of chef's knives. Yes, they are both knives. But they have different purposes. Same goes for the camera world. In the recent past, most people had to buy a separate camera from their cellphone to get a decent picture. That is not so anymore, so why buy a separate camera? For most people, they are satisfied with the photos from their phones. And in many cases I am very happy with my smartphone photos. But there are times and photographic opportunities that I know my smartphone will not capture what I need or want. A major of people can live with that: a photographer like most UHHs cannot live with that. All this means is the single use cameras will become a tighter market.

2Much Loc: WA

So creativity and an eye for composition can be more valuable than megapixels and frames per second? Are ye daft, man, you can't even buy those things.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

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.

stardancer Loc: Winter Park, FL

I do not have a DSLR. wish I new how to use one. Smart phone can not take a good close up of an animal 600 yards away . Like your camera can.

hassighedgehog Loc: Corona, CA

No viewfinder is the deal killer for me. The reason for purchasing my Lumix ZS60 was the viewfinder. Just wanted a pocketable camera (purse camera) but needed the 3 point stability of viewfinder to get a sharp image. Had a Canon S pocket camera, but could not get any sharp images without the viewfinder.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Yes, my wife had three 16x20 prints mounted, matted, and framed for our foyer wall about five years ago. They were recorded with her iPhone at the time, a lowly 5c.

I can't find anything to complain about them. They serve their purpose: casual photos of our kids.

I've taken Micro 4/3 images up to 40x30 inches*. I'd never print that large with 35mm film, unless it was Ektar 100 or Pan F.

*Here's a senior portrait image, cropped and re-sized to 40x30 inches at 240 PPI. (View the 17.6MB download to see quality.)

(Download)

debwitter

Wow, there are other definitions for trolling. Either way, I thought it tongue in cheek. You accuse him of what you did, by calling him a name. I thought his answer was great!
It was a bit hypocritical. Oh well...

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

Oh gee, I’d never even try to do that. That would be pretty stoopid. Neither would I try to make a phone call with my DSLR. That would be really really stoopid. With my D7200 and a 600mm lens with a 2X extender, my field of view would be 24’ x 36’ at 600 yards, which is gonna give you a pretty small deer. I don’t know if that would be a good closeup. I might have to consider getting closer or find a much much bigger subject like a mountain maybe.

Rae Zimmerman Loc: Pine Island, FL

Besides my essential tremor, which makes it hard for me to hold and stabilize a cell phone camera, I find another drawback when shooting out of doors: the glare on the screen prevents me from seeing and properly framing my intended image. Think I will stick to my DSLR and save the Android camera for casual indoor snaps.

J.H.Carvajal

The DSLR is far more convenient and far more options than an iPhone. For example my DSLR has up to DIN 6400, noisy bu far less noise than an iPhone. For me the view finder is far superior to compose or take pictures under bright light. The iPhone has improved. I do not know what is the range of the iPhone, but I am sure is far below the 14 Stop range of my SLR.

FotoHog Loc: on Cloud 9

Yeah, but does it have a full frame? . . .

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

My iPhone has a fixed aperture of 1.8. I got the Camera Pro app and can digitally set the aperture just like on a "real" camera. These devices use what’s called computational imagery to make up for a lot of the mechanical parts that other devices have. They are what I call mirrorless lite. 😉😉

cabbageseed

Iphone has portrait mode as well as an short telephoto

cabbageseed

Some phones have stabilization, if that's holding you back. I agree with you about the screen being a problem in bright light. It's also very hard to read a book on the screen at the beach.