

Cameras, Goodbye: Photography in the age of the iPhone (2013) - Thevet
http://craigmod.com/sputnik/cameras_goodbye/

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UnoriginalGuy
I own a Sony Z3 which arguably is one of the few smartphones cameras which
people might called as good or better than an iPhone. It also has a physical
shutter button which is a major benefit (particularly in terms of time to
first shot).

And I will happily acknowledge his point that sharing socially is a major
smartphone benefit, and one I myself make use of. That's why on my last
vacation I would swap to my smartphone just to grab one "for Facebook." Since
I could share our vacation with friends and family literally on the day we
were doing it (which much akin to "I was here" postcards is fun).

That all being said I won't be giving up my dedicated camera just yet. My
phone has a very good sensor, in particular as my main camera is m43 like the
OP's one was (except the sensors in recent m43 cameras has improved
considerably over the GX1 the OP had).

However the main reasons why I wouldn't even if they both had the same sensor
is, firstly the physical controls on my camera are vastly superior to any
"app." I can control every major camera feature literally with my eyes closed
(and in low light I may have well have my eyes closed). Two wheels, about five
Fn buttons (completely re-bindable) and full focus control (both AF and MF).

My camera has a multi-touch touch screen but I rarely use it because much like
my phone it is unintuitive/slow. It is great for reviewing previously taken
photos/pinch-to-zoom and so on, but for actually photography it is meh. It is
maybe useful for selecting auto-focus points (without having to scroll).

Then my second reason: Viewfinders. Regardless of if they're EVF or OVF,
viewfinders are an absolute gem to have. In strong sunlight you can actually
see what is going on (!) which is often hard on even the best screens. At
night there is no "light leakage" in particular with long exposures. You can
shut the camera's LCD off and just press your eye around the viewfinder to
have no back-glow at all.

My third reason: Lenses. This is totally cliche, but there are limits to
digital zoom. Optical zoom doesn't reduce image quality as highly and then
whatever you accomplish with optical zoom you can then digitally zoom for
further magnification.

Then last you have a whole bunch of "tiny" things like: better flashes
(smarter, more powerful, more directional, etc), tripod mounts, a better
(bigger) grip for more stability at slower shutter speeds, better IS (due to
bigger servos), and near instant startup (plus sling straps for ready to shoot
in under 5 seconds from your hip and off).

So until Apple releases an Apple camera with tons of physical
buttons/dials/hot-shoe and so on, I will keep my camera, and use my phone for
Facebook family snaps.

