is now the right time to buy a phone rather than a small 4/3 camera?

I think we should look at this in a few fronts.

1st: How much of your skill and experience on photographing from handling of a camera prepare to be replaced by phone? i.e., do you edge towards to have an output or do you value the joy of operation and processing of making a picture? If an output is everything you want, a phone could be good enough.

2nd: What would you do with your output? FB posting, view on tiny phone screen or you would insist on the quality? If any image looking good would be good enough to you, a phone could be enough.

3rd: Would you happy with limited focal lengths, or would you need specific lenses, e.g. fisheye, ultra wide, macro lens, tele lenses? If you would not need lenses options, phone could be enough for you.

4th: Would you take picture in more extreme lighting condition? If not, phone could be good enough.

5th: On the cost, a phone having a good camera, could cost more than than an entry~mid range class camera. And phone technology is advancing faster too (looking at the GSM, 3G, 4G, 4.5G and 5G, likely 6G soon). While I can keep using my 8 years old cameras until it will break a few years later, not to mentioned every lens I bought could be used, I have to upgrade my phone a few times for the period of time already because of the battery, or I need a later OS for the Apps, and also simply because of the standard was outdated.

4/3 (indeed it should be M43 system nowadays?) or not is out of the question. I am shooting with EFL of 14mm ultra wide to 400mm tele. I could add lenses of EFL 600 ~800mm if I will do wildlife or birding. No phone can satisfy me on this. Not to mention the speed of shooting, accuracy of AF, degree of control etc...

Phone and camera are tools for different purposes. Depending on your need, one can't replace the other. At least not to me. Therefore I shall keep on using low~mid price smartphone for everything other than photography. Hence I can keep my phone updated at a small cost. Phone camera will be used in case no camera around, mostly for recording purpose. I shall use my camera for my photo.

My 2 cents.

No text.

There is a wide range of reasonably possible and remotely interesting photography and video situations. Birds. Space shuttles. People at weddings and birthday parties. Buildings. Mountains. Insects close up. And in these situations, varying desires for added flexibility - the ability to see details in shadows, the ability to crop into the image, the ability to retouch or remove color casts.

The part of this field which can be covered well by a smartphone, with the added benefit of convenience, has been increasing. Most everyday photographs of people and small groups can be done decently with a smartphone.

Still, there are large parts that can only be done well by dedicated cameras.

Where your desired photography interests lie determine whether a smartphone is good enough.

Can your smartphone make a video detailed video of a bird in your garden like this? https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/66916185

I have a "old" Olympus EM10 II and have tested a bunch of midrange phones, they're not remotely close. Maybe the most expensive phone on the market has a better shot at challenging the Oly, but i'm not switching.

Better to carry the EM10 II around with me knowing i will get excelent images than spend a grand on a phone hoping to get decent images.

The used olympus and a panasonic 25mm f1.7 lens were only around $240 btw.

JohnSil wrote:

clear glass wrote:

Anyone done tests or saw them?

What would the best phone for pictures to be the equal of what camera with a larger sensor?

LoL, yeah get a new phone if your phone is broken!!!

Some people don't need more that a phone camera and others need a 4x5 with a full set of Leica lenses! Only you can decide!

I use my phone camera more than my real camera but it's for stuff like reading quick codes. a pic of the order of disassembled parts or serial numbers and sending pics to tech departments or recording price tags at the store etc. but that surely is NOT photography. Real photography takes a real camera!!!

John

No real photography takes a good eye and any camera even a phone to capture that moment..

good gear just makes a good photographer’s job easier.

Just look at photos being produced by smartphones and ask yourself, are these good enough for my uses . 
 If the answer is yes then grab a phone , if no then you still need a camera and possibly a selection of lens to cover your areas of interest.

Before covid I was dead against phone photography for pretty much the same reasons you’ll read here mainly from those who look at the pixels rather than the image as a whole.

3 years on I love using my phone and it’s substandard image quality as it looks great hung on a wall as a print for a lot of stuff and a dedicated camera with long lens for the stuff a phone just can’t manage. 
 My ideal is a bridge camera and a phone .

I just traded in my highly rated three camera cell phone for a "lesser" model that is all of two years newer.

I use my cell phone camera but its just for convenience because its always there. Having had "pro" all of them (Apples and Androids) I don't find it even worth paying for that option any longer. Once you are off the "main" camera image quality to my eyes precipitously declines.

So for anything where image quality matter I reach for m43 or ff.

But if you only ever see your images on the cell phone or the usual laptop and are happy with what you see its all good. The images we all capture are rarely anything other than personal souvenirs, regardless of their technical quality.