The end?

richarddd wrote:

1) How are you viewing pictures? On a phone or small print or screen or most casual viewing, you're not going to detect differences anything other than huge differences in image quality. Even under more critical conditions, people have done blind comparison tests for years and found much less difference than might be expected between all sorts of cameras.

MacBook Pro 15" Retina screen.

On a similar note, look at the m43 forum where many say that there's no image quality difference between m43 and FF. There's a 2:1 sensor area difference between m43 and FF. The relative difference between powershots and phones can be the same if not smaller.

2) Are you trying to freeze action or blur moving water? Your phone is not likely to know and few have shutter speed controls.

Almost never.

3) Do you want shallow depth of field? Phones can simulate background blur, but cameras do it better.

Arguable. Cameras need lots of glass to achieve a simulated look that has become difficult to distinguish.

3) Remember that at the same framing, depth of field, shutter speed and subject lighting, noise will be the same regardless of sensor size.

Dedicated cameras don't do multi-shot noise reduction (well) or AI/deep learning-enhanced noise reduction. Now they could (getting to that in a bit).

4) Lenses can be better on cameras. If nothing else, larger sensors require less enlargement to get to the same picture size, so a lower lp/mm lens can yield a better result.

No argument.

5) Cameras can have a much wider range of focal lengths. Digital zoom doesn't work as well. OTOH, some phones are multiples lenses, lessening the camera's advantage.

No argument.

It would be nice if some powershots went wider than 24mm FF equivalent.

6) There's no reason a camera can't have the same computational photography capability as a phone has. Even if the camera doesn't, it can shoot bursts and you can do computational photography as well or better than a phone with software.

Software advancements of Smartphones are due to years of dedicated software teams and fast readout sensors to exploit tricks of both large database access (via always-connected device) and multi-shot noise reduction courtesy of silly fast readout sensors (being both small and modern). Canon is catching up with stacked sensors, but, hasn't caught up, and probably never will with the deep-learning NR. They don't want to simulate bokeh; less lens sales.

7) Cameras can do much better on moving subjects - sports, wildlife, toddlers, etc.

Autofocus on modern smartphones is "better" (phase detect autofocus plus auto-culling of shots for most in focus, courtesy of smart software and silly fast readout). Now reach? Depends which smartphone model you have and if it has a telephoto lens, or better yet, telescopic telephoto lens. They do have limits of course, 120mm to be precise (without digital zoom last I checked)

8) Good technique is easier on a camera, at least for me. I have a harder time holding a phone still, which matters both for limiting blur and not changing framing.

Agreed.

People tend to not be as careful with phone photography as with cameras - composition, technique, etc.

Agreed.

The trouble is Camera makers either won't embrace certain technology (bokeh simulation) or can't (need software development progress of smartphone makers, which just isn't going to happen with much smaller teams and much less lead time which we're talking YEARS of development at that).

This is where smartphone technology has advantages unique to smartphones, and will hold that advantage for some time. Said advantage means you need much larger sensors (to cancel out the software NR advantages) or aggressive optics (to cancel out simulated bokeh) to compete with those smart-phones.

They're good enough now to replace even most premium point and shoots, which is a good problem I suppose. I'm not thrilled about it personally as I prefer the experience of shooting a dedicated camera. But, the resultant output begs the question is 1" still relevant? You pretty much need to hit 4/3 or APS-C now to maintain an advantage without the added smart-ness.