Can someone still buy a new camera with all the mobile hype?

Answered by:

Dr Jeff Daum

Daum Photography, P.P.A.- Photojournalism
5 Questions answered
Answered on June 23rd, 2020

It seems like there are a couple of questions posed here:

Why buy a dedicated camera when you have a cell phone?

How do cell phones impact photography?

First, the ability to ‘see’ and ‘compose’ an interesting picture really starts with the individual. Some come by it naturally, but you can also learn how to do it better (as will all artistic endeavors).

Second, how well you can capture what you see and compose, is definitely limited by the tool you are using.  For images that are not going to be enlarged very much, many newer cell phones will do a great job.  But if you are looking for very clear details and/or want to enlarge the image, a dedicated camera will normally do a much better job.

As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words.  A few days ago a Great Horned Owl perched in one of our palm trees.  Since I initially did not know how long he was there for, I immediately snapped some images with my Samsung S10.  When he continued to stick around, I got out one of my professional Nikon cameras with a Nikkor telephoto lens and took a number of images.

Here is how incredibly sharp the picture came out (he was about 25 feet from me):

And a close up of his amazing eyes:


Now here is a small portion of a larger image of his claws:

While the Samsung image was clearly identifiable as a owl in the tree, it could not be enlarged to show the claw in such detail.

So, yes, great pictures can be taken with any cell phone or camera, but if you are interested in more control and great detail, a dedicated camera is what you will want to purchase.

2 Replies

Nothing beats a great camera and a great lens! So many times I have wished my camera was in my car.
Indeed, timing is everything.
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