Camera vs cell phone
 

You know it's funny... my whole 'scrapping' career has been in pursuit of a camera that I could afford that would give me the best photos ever. I could never justify those really great cameras, but always wanted the best I could do.

And now I'm so very happy with my 2MP cell phone photos :D

Sure, the pursuit will be what's the best cell phone I can get with the best camera. That's how I shopped for the tablet I bought at Christmas. The one that won out was the one with the best camera !

OMG Darcy, I took our entire vacation on my Samsung Galaxy S4 and my photos turned out beautiful day and night!! I am totally happy not lugging around a "camera" now. It's the best thing. I picked it specifically for the camera, and I wasn't disappointed!

That's my dream cell phone, Robin!

If you can make it happen, do it! You wont be disappointed!

That's great, Darcy! My sister raves about her phone's camera and takes much better pictures with it than her point and shoot.

I'm a camera phone failure! The camera on my Galaxy S4 is much better than the one on my cheapie old phone, but I still can't get photos anywhere near as good as I can with my mirrorless camera. :( It's so convenient that I use it a lot anyway, but I still shoot 50% or more of my photos with my big camera and don't see that changing.

I have a Canon 5D mII camera that I *love*. And I love the photos that I get with it. Whenever I know the lighting is going to be good, I'll make the effort to bring my 5D. BUT, for quick shots and "slice of life" pictures, my iPhone gets the most use. And if we're going somewhere where a good shot will be next to impossible anyway (like a dark museum), I just bring my phone. It does the job with none of the hassle.

LOVE my S4 too! Thanks again, Robin, for encourage me for that phone! no regrets here!

I was just researching this. I'm an iPhone girl but I wanted to see what had the best camera. The Nokia Lumia 1020 is supposed to be the best. Galaxy 4 and iPhone 5s are the next in line. My upgrade date is in February. The Lumia is AT&T only so I'll probably just go with the 5s since I've already invested so much in apps. I also use my phone almost exclusively for photos.

and totally agree, Darcy - but still wanna have a good camera since mine has something wrong and I am not using it anymore. :P

What I do love about my phone camera is that it's always with me and the photos are good enough even if I could have gotten a better shot with my mirrorless. Twice on vacation last summer I forgot my big camera in the hassle of getting everyone ready for the day's activity, and I was still able to get a few nice photos. And when I'm doing things like volunteering at the kids' schools I feel awkward bringing a camera so I don't (like I'm there for the photos rather than to help), but somehow taking a few phone photos seems more acceptable.

I have a mark ii but am shopping for a decent point and shoot to bring along on vacations. i also have a 7d that i brought to mexico and disneyland but that is still too bulky. when on vacation i want to be in the moment and not worry about the safety and weight of my camera.

Darcy, Go for it! Get the phone with the best camera you can afford. Seriously, having a good camera on your phone is well worth it!!! I have the iphone 5 and Paul has the 4s. It's so easy to pull it out and get GOOD pics!

The fact that I now have my husband trained to take pictures is awesome!! (He has no problem pulling out his phone to take pictures. Whereas if I sent him with a camera, it would stay in the car.)

I do have my mirrorless camera which I LOVE, but I don't want to lug it around for those small everyday moments, kwim?

I just upgraded to the iphone 5s from a Galaxy S4 and both have amazing camera's. We went to a festival of lights/hot air balloon's last night and used only my iphone to take pictures. I was blown away by the quality and sharpness in them. I rarely use my P&S or my Rebel Xsi anymore lol

It is funny how many photos I take with the iphone... haha... don't get me wrong, I still love my G12 and the big boy Rebel - that has been seeing more action since Christmas... but my iphone is always with me and it's so quick to sneek in a pic... I have never been on to excel at getting the best photo in the best light, etc - I just want to capture the moment... and hope it's not too blurry... :D

I don't have a smart phone and don't plan on it until my kids are a bit bigger. they have a history of breaking my phone long before I'm due for an upgrade so I tend to have the cheapest phone I can get my hands on lol! I do sometimes take pictures with the iPad, but they never come out as nicely as my DSLR

I am eligible for an upgrade and am looking more at the camera than the phone aspect specifically because I have that mostly with me for photos. However, my husband has the iphone 5 and takes the most amazing photos with his - I am in awe.

yes... Mark has the Galaxy S4 and I LOVE the pictures he takes... I still use my dSLR for the nicer bokeh with my 50mm f1.4, but for normal everyday shots and most vacation pics, we totally use our phones

I have he s4 too and i'm so inlove with it, starting project life this year i'm seeing that my "real" photography skills need some serious work, but my s4 is pretty dummy proof! Also it is amazing to me the photos I can get in low light with that thing, the "night" setting is crazy awesome!

Many a time I have had my big dslr camera out in the past few weeks and put it down to get a far better pic with my phone!

HA~ This is really me, too!

I don't have a smartphone, either, just my blackberry-esque pay per month phone :) I just can't justify lugging my camera around with me all the time anymore.

I love my S4. It takes fab pics.

I take far more photographs than I've ever done by using my iPhone 5, it takes gorgeous images and I always have it with me. My big Canon and even my lovely Lumix point and shoot haven't seen the light of day since our summer holiday and they are so big and just inconvenient

OMGsh. I was just writing about this on my blog. I tried to force myself to use my camera in December, but my phone is so much better with low light. I've used my phone for PL for the last two years and I love it. :)

I hardly ever use our camera. Only for posed photos of the kids. We're away right now & I didn't even think to bring the camera along. I'm loving my Samsung S3 photos (although I'm stuck with the iPhone 4S till it's fixed). I know my canon takes much better photos. But having to plug in & edit is a pita. I'm a iphoneographer for sure.

I love my Note 2's 8MP camera. I use it constantly when we are out and about generally, though I take my D3100 with me to ball games & events and use it around the house. I have 'low light levels' all day except from 12-3p in the kitchen, in summer, and I need the f1.8 on my Nikon to combat the noise issue.

I still have my old Samsung Fascinate and am saving to buy a new smartphone. I don't plan to upgrade through my carrier because I am holding onto my unlimited data plan ;)

I take 90%+ of my photos with my Canon 5d classic. I always have that camera on me so I can grab shots and also practice. I only use my camera phone for those rare times I don't have my big camera. I think once I have a more current smartphone, I'll probably take more shots that that :)

so for the girls who have an iphone are you just using the camera app that is built into the phone? I have an iphone 5 but my pictures are not that great. How do I get these awesome pics that everyone speaks of?

I've been taking photos as a hobby for so long that my camera (SLR and then DSLR) is like my third arm. As big and cumbersome as it is it goes (almost) everywhere I'm likely to take pictures. When smart phones started coming out with good cameras I asked hubby for one for my birthday - the only stipulation was a decent camera, so I could take photos when I didn't have my DSLR with me. What did he do - bought me the tiniest smart phone (because he thought it was nice and girly) with the worst camera! So, I'm still lugging the DSLR everywhere... I just got a new one of those for my last brithday/Christmas (Canon EOS 600D) and it takes the most awesome photos. The phone just can't compete with that but I still like the phone (bad as it is) for spur of the moment pictures when I'm out and about.

I use Camera+ to take photos on my iPhone and I edit them using PicTapGo. My pictures get better the more I use my camera phone. It's partially just being comfortable with it, knowing where to set focus and exposure, etc.

I upgraded to the new iphone specifically due to picture quality. I'm also treating myself to a Sony NEX 3n for my birthday in a week. I used to have a DSLR but hated lugging it around. The Sony has the sensor of a DSLR with the portability of a P&S. It's also under $400. I'm in love.