dSLR or phone-camera?

I'll have to admit and I never thought I'd say this in a million years.............I use my iPhone a lot more than I use my Nikon. That being said, if I was going on a big trip, I'd definitely take my Nikon DSLR. It SO easy to always have a camera (phone) with you. Somebody said, "the best camera you have is the one you have with you", so if that's your phone, then that's cool. The new iPhones (and others) take such wonderful pictures. My granddaughter, who's an art major and photography major, just had this conversation. You can do a lot with the cameras on your phones.

 

I much prefer my camera. I don't like the color of my iphone photos. I use it when I don't have my camera. It's better than nothing.

 

I go back and forth. Right now I'm exclusively using my phone just because I got a new one and the picture quality is pretty good. But in a few months, I'll probably pull out my DSLR. It's just hard to really use my DSLR for anything when I have 7 kids to keep up with...but then sometimes I miss not getting really nice shots. I do tend to take more time and effort on my photos when I'm using the DSLR.

 

I am finding myself using my phone most often for everyday shots. I'm just happy I'm still taking photos. I'll pull my Nikon out for sports, night shots and creative shots and try to remember to use that camera while I'm home. I used to lug it every day but with back issues, it's just not practical.

 

What I found is this: My phone camera started to catch up to my DSLR (Canon Rebel XS from 2008 or so). Everything but zoom - I still hate the artificial phone zoom. So, I upgraded my DSLR in 2015 to the Canon T6i and a better lens. I like my camera photos better than my phone photos so I make it a point to use it. I bought a purse that supports it, and I keep it out where it will be used.
That said, I still use my phone camera when I'm out and about without the big camera. And that's okay. Each of us is different and what works for one might not for another.

 

I agree.. re what everyone is saying, but when I went over to the UK it is a pill to bring my huge Epiphany camera purse and my canon with the 250 lens with me.. too bulky. I had a Point and Shoot Nikon that died while I was there so the rest of our photos were all taken with our iPhones. @SharLamb I bought these telephoto lenses for at most $10 (a fisheye, a macro & and a wide angle) for the iPhone and that helped with zoom on it.. they actually work pretty well and clip on to the iPhone. Of course when we got home, I bought another pocket camera a Canon Power Shoot (something like that) that has a 25X zoom on it so I take whatever is easiest on our trips. Our last trip to the winery I took them all.. the DSLR Canon with zoom, the Canon PowerShot SX620HS with a 20.2 megapixel 25x zoom. and then the iPhone. I am going to be getting a new iPhone the end of the month (8 Plus) so I am excited to see what i get with the iPhone then.

 

I've got a Canon that sits in my desk. I never remember to take it out normally. Only if we're going on a trip or event, like the zoo. I do like the camera on my phone (Samsung Galaxy S9+ ) so that is good for everyday.

 

iPhone is my daily... I had to come to terms that I just pull it out a lot more than my Nikon. I had to "allow" myself almost. I take nicer pictures with my Nikon, so I pull that out for more special occasions (fall shoot with the boys, a function, or even a fun night in with friends). It becomes a combination of ease and what kind of pictures I want.

 

I would say this is me exactly - the zoom on the camera phone is yuck! But I'm sporting an older iPhone 6S plus - not sure how the newer phones are doing in that category. I do try to bring my DSLR when I'm going somewhere fun or pretty and I know I want good pics. But it can be a pain to lug around. For quick snap shots around the house it is my phone camera all the way.

 

I use my iPhone for about 90% of my pictures. Day to day pictures it does a good enough job for the size I will be scrapping them (I jam MANY photos on most pages, so they aren't smaller). The only time I pull out my DSLR is for sports because on the soccer field, if I don't have zoom, I'd rather not take pictures. and then in the gyms for basketball the lighting is so bad and they move so fast I really get barely decent pictures no matter which camera I use. Lol. But at least I can set my white balance on my DSLR and have a little bit of zoom too.

I just got a new iPhone a few weeks ago and so far I'm really impressed with the pictures. It does have a 2x optical zoom, which I guess in theory is nice, but pretty minimal. I like the colors I'm getting a lot more too. I just upgraded from a 6plus which was about 4 years old, so the jump in quality was definitely noticeable for me.

 

I wish I would get back into using my DSLR regularly. I have a Canon T1i I bought in 2010 (and no money to upgrade) and until a couple of years ago I was doing Project 365 every year and carried it with me everywhere. Now I take more photos with my iPhone 6 -- just about every day -- but my DSLR, despite being 8 years old, still makes better pictures. I've seen some photos coming from the iPhone 10 though, so I wouldn't be very surprised if the iPhone catches up in ability to my DSLR in a few more years. I'm stuck with what I have, in any case, probably for a few more years at least, so I'm making do. I do keep trying to get back into a habit using my DSLR though.

 

I take a lot of pics with my iPhone and this year the nikon cameras sat around mostly unused, its just so convenient to whip the camera out and snap a pic. But....if I want a wide angle or far ranging zoom then the iPhone doesn't cut it for me. That's why I bought a mirrorless camera. It's in between the quality of the nikon and iPhone and is much smaller and lighter than the nikon cameras so is a good compromise for me. I like a camera I can throw in my purse and my shoulder isn't going to get sore after a day of walking around with it.

 

My experience is very similar to Courtney's. We got a Canon T1i in 2009. It was starting to get sluggish. So last year, before going to Disney for the first time, we upgraded to a Canon 80D. I actually liked my phone's camera but having the Canon was great, too. I

Now I have a new phone and I picked it out because of the camera. Unfortunately, all the reviews must have been from people who never actually printed their photos because I hate the colors. I feel like I have to fix every photo before scrapping or printing. So annoying. But it has made me pull out my Canon more frequently. I still use my phone's camera frequently; I mean, my phone is almost always with me, so it's easier to grab than my Canon.

And if I may admit something...sometimes I use my big DSLR on Automatic. Yup, I cheat. Not all the time, but sometimes I want to quickly capture a nice photo and I don't want to spend too much time messing with my camera. So while my everyday camera is my phone, I have been trying to use my Canon more frequently.

 

I have a canon 5dmarkii that puts my iPhone camera to shame any day, but my iPhone does a great job with photos and I get much more of our life captured with it because it's just simply easier to pull out of my pocket and snap "in the moment" I've learned to let go of the need for perfection in my photos to just capture the memory, feeling and emotion of the moment.

 

I prefer my Rebel T5 DSLR or even my Canon PS S3IS over my phone only because I need the hand grips. I actually had a smaller point and shoot at one time that wasn't much bigger than a phone and I took horrible pictures with it. Sold it to a co-worker that loved it. Their pictures were great, mine weren't. My hands just couldn't hold it still enough to not take blurry photos.

I do take phone photos but I have to use 2 hands and I don't like the zoomed photos taken with it. So it is really just my phone to take photos of something I see in a store that I want to remember or compare to something else. Most of those pictures end up getting deleted down the road.

 

If I am carrying the DSLR around, you can bet I am taking pictures. I have a cross-body strap and love it. That said, however, I tend to use my phone for the day to day type photos. We went to the State Fair this week and I used my phone to take 2 pictures. I need to get pictures from my daughter.

 

This is so true! And a point I forgot to make. This is another reason I carry my camera - it's convenient.

 

Yup, Bev brought up a great point: a good strap makes things easier. I love my cross-body strap. Actually, a thread from TLP is the reason I got it. This was years ago but people were talking about camera straps and I figured I should upgrade mine. Good grief, this place enables me all.the.time!

 

It is so true!!