Other Photographers: Is a point and shoot still needed?

[eyeseeyou]

I have a dslr, a canon g7x ii and a 7 Plus.

I mainly use my dslr with a 50mm lens during the holidays or family events taking portrait pics and getting that true bokeh effect. I’m definitely going to keep it and eventually learn how to really use it lol.

About 95% of my other pics are taken with my iPhone plus and occasionally with my g7x ii. Mostly shared to digital albums and sometimes printed.

For my usage the main advantages the g7x has over the iPhone are optical zoom, 1” sensor and almost dslr quality photos.

I’ve heard really good things about the iPhone X camera and the quality of pics it can produce. I’ve been thinking of selling my g7x and my 7 plus and buying the iPhone X.

Could the iPhone X, for my usage, replace my canon g7x?

 

[NoBoMac]

Can't speak to the specific Canon model, but, I keep and old Canon SD1100 p&s around for when I don't want to risk damage to my SLR or the phone. And, I know this is reckless, but when on road trips, the Canon can be worked one handed while driving and shooting out the window(s), where iPhone needs two hands to zoom, focus, exposure.

Add in 3x optical zoom, decent optics, still takes nice pictures for old tech and a small sensor. And pockets easily.

Different tools for different scenarios. Damage the p&s, no big whoop, damage the phone, now there might be trouble, especially if only phone.

 

[redman042]

About the only point-and-shoot I'd bother hanging on to is a Sony RX100 or equivalent (1-inch sensor and great glass). But we have one and it only gets used once or twice a year.

 

[akash.nu]

I’ve sold both my DSLR and point and shoot cameras. Photography is still just a hobby for me and as much as I like to take pictures, I realised that most shots are taken in a whim when I don’t have my DSLR and the other times it seemed too cumbersome to carry around when I’m on a climbing or hiking trip.

I’ve been taking pictures with just my phone since the last 4 years and they’ve mostly worked the way I wanted.

Yes, there are limitations with phone cameras in certain situations but for my needs, it works fine.

Photography is all about the person and the composition, the tool used is always secondary for me. Some of the recent phones produce amazing results. Plus editing skills is always an extra bonus to enhance the end result.

 

[melman101]

About the only point-and-shoot I'd bother hanging on to is a Sony RX100 or equivalent (1-inch sensor and great glass). But we have one and it only gets used once or twice a year.

Same with us. I have the RX100m2. And I’ve used it once this year. Maybe I’ll use it one more time.

 

[eyeseeyou]

About the only point-and-shoot I'd bother hanging on to is a Sony RX100 or equivalent (1-inch sensor and great glass). But we have one and it only gets used once or twice a year.

The g7x is basically canons version of the rx100 imo. Same size sensor.

One other feature of the X’s camera is ois on both lenses.

On the 7 plus the “2nd lens” always produces noticeably lower quality images where the x supposedly produces a lot clearer images.

That maybe all of the optical zoom I would need.
[doublepost=1510824196][/doublepost]

Can't speak to the specific Canon model, but, I keep and old Canon SD1100 p&s around for when I don't want to risk damage to my SLR or the phone. And, I know this is reckless, but when on road trips, the Canon can be worked one handed while driving and shooting out the window(s), where iPhone needs two hands to zoom, focus, exposure.

Add in 3x optical zoom, decent optics, still takes nice pictures for old tech and a small sensor. And pockets easily.

Different tools for different scenarios. Damage the p&s, no big whoop, damage the phone, now there might be trouble, especially if only phone.

Wow this is a comepletely different use case. Almost sound like a go pro would be a better camera for you.

 

[eyeseeyou]

Same with us. I have the RX100m2. And I’ve used it once this year. Maybe I’ll use it one more time.

One useful feature of the m2 is the wireless transmission of photos from the camera to the iphone/ipad to make edits and or post or share quickly.

 

[mrklaw]

Of someone could make a clip-on lense with optical zoom I’d buy one in a flash

 

[PBz]

Since 6S+ I feel no need for a point and shoot. VERY happy with images from my 8+.

 

[fs454]

I’d say you can easily replace the Canon and barely miss it. They’re super behind on features and sensor tech resulting in lower dynamic range and lowlight performance vs the competition, on top of lacking standard features the competition has.

A Fuji XE3 or X100F would be a solid addition, or maybe a Sony RX100IV or V. I’d pick the iPhone X over a Canon point and shoot though.

My setup for when I’m not working is an A7S or A7R with an interesting lens - I’ve got Leica Summilux stuff from 1959 and a Voigtlander Nokton Classic 35mm 1.4 that I throw on to walk around with. If I’m carrying a camera, it’s going to be something that’s noticeably different or better. I own an RX100IV in my kit as a “premium GoPro” option for anywhere at work that I’d use a GoPro but want better quality, but I don’t deem it so much better than my iPhone that I’d carry it everywhere in lieu of having a little more weight and a full frame sensor. If I’m carrying, it’s full frame or my XPro2.

 

[yanki01]

I still have my T2i i've had for years now. Bought it brand new and seriously hardly use it. been contemplating on selling it but obviously won't get near the amount i paid for it.

 

[eyeseeyou]

I’d say you can easily replace the Canon and barely miss it. They’re super behind on features and sensor tech resulting in lower dynamic range and lowlight performance vs the competition, on top of lacking standard features the competition has.

Are you referring to the g7x mark ii specifically? It also has extremely similar features as the rx100 including a 1" sensor. I think it's the RX100's main competitor last time I checked in terms of features minus the 4k capability.

From a hardware standpoint I know the X is not on the same level if we're just talking about optical zoom although the dual OIS on the back cameras helps.

Do you think for mostly digital output the X can replace a rx100/g7x mark ii?

 

[Susurs]

I believe a decent iPhone can definitely replace a ps camera for general conditions, but it can not replace an interchangeable lens system, not my APS-C or FF e-mounts.
Specific purpose lenses (macro etc.) alone is the reason, if we do not even speak abot the sensor itself.

 

[eyeseeyou]

I believe a decent iPhone can definitely replace a ps camera in general conditions, but it can not replace an interchangeable lens system, not my APS-C or FF e-mounts.
Specific purpose lenses (macro etc.) alone is the reason, if we do not even speak abot the sensor itself.

I’m definitely keeping the dslr. More concerned with the “need” for a 1” sensor and optical zoom equipped point and shoot that seems to fulfill the same need.

I know if I were to fully utilize the manual controls of the point and shoot ultimately it would produce a better image but then I feel like I should probably just use the dslr for those scenarios.

I guess the need for the point and shoot is that ultimately it produces higher quality auto mode pics than the iPhone?

 

[myscrnnm]

I haven't used a point and shoot camera for maybe six or seven years now. The iPhone's image quality is of sufficient quality in those cases, and even when the quality is not as good, the convenience of not having to carry an extra device outweighs the disadvantage. Of course when I know I am going to be taking a lot of photos, I'll use my MILC, but on the streets the only people I see using point-and-shoot cameras anymore are the elderly who aren't serious photographers.

 

[Surf Monkey]

P&S advantages:

1) Better photographic control. The iPhone’s camera, while increasingly feature rich, is very limited in terms of shooting controls.

2) Bigger lenses. A point and shoot, even a fixed focus model, will give you better performance in tricky light conditions, better sharpness and better overall resolution. There’s no substitute for big glass and a big imaging area.

3) Wider range of aperture and shutter speed combinations. You can achieve more interesting effects using glass optics than you can with Apple’s limited Portrait Mode (to pick one example), which only emulates the behavior of a good lens.

4) Concentrated focus on shooting. A dedicated point and shoot won’t interrupt your composition and shooting workflow with email and text alerts.

5) Dedicated storage. You can blow through many hundreds of gigs saving photos and videos. A dedicated point and shoot let’s you offload the bulk of the raw data on SD cards, allowing you to use your phone’s storage for other things.

6) Zoom and prime lenses. Good primes our perform any phone on the market. Period. Meanwhile Apple’s optical “zoom” doesn’t really get you much closer to your subject.

Those are probably the top reasons why an iPhone can’t really replace a point and shoot.

 

[urkel]

It depends if you're ever going to print.

I always get suckered into the hype of a new iPhone and start thinking... "Whoa. Its like I dont need my gear anymore." But then I view my photos on an iPad. Or a computer. Or the TV. Or I print them. Then the truth comes out, and its not pretty.

Yes, the iPhone camera is amazing for regular people who primarily share on social media. But for memories you want to view on canvas or display for a larger audience then it docent replace the gear I would prefer to shoot on.

(Note: This isnt a slam on the iPhone. Its just MY answer to the question)

 

[ftaok]

One useful feature of the m2 is the wireless transmission of photos from the camera to the iphone/ipad to make edits and or post or share quickly.

I don't have anything to add to this post .. this is more of a curious question for me.

With these wifi enabled cameras, are you able to access the camera's photos and still have access to the iPhone's LTE signal? What I'm looking for is a quick and easy way to take a photo on the camera, then share it to FB or Twitter with my iPhone.

I have an older dSLR and I've tried using a wifi SD card, but to connect my iPhone to the wifi card, I have to connect to the wifi network of the SD card, thus leaving me without an LTE connection. This is very tedious, so I just gave up on it.

It'd be great if these wifi cameras could set up a direct wifi connection to the iPhone but leaves the connection to LTE intact.

 

[eyeseeyou]

With these wifi enabled cameras, are you able to access the camera's photos and still have access to the iPhone's LTE signal? What I'm looking for is a quick and easy way to take a photo on the camera, then share it to FB or Twitter with my iPhone.

Good question.

I'm not sure tbh. I usually disconnect from the camera after transferring and look at the pics before posting although I see how that could be very convenient.

 

[mrklaw]

I don't have anything to add to this post .. this is more of a curious question for me.

With these wifi enabled cameras, are you able to access the camera's photos and still have access to the iPhone's LTE signal? What I'm looking for is a quick and easy way to take a photo on the camera, then share it to FB or Twitter with my iPhone.

I have an older dSLR and I've tried using a wifi SD card, but to connect my iPhone to the wifi card, I have to connect to the wifi network of the SD card, thus leaving me without an LTE connection. This is very tedious, so I just gave up on it.

It'd be great if these wifi cameras could set up a direct wifi connection to the iPhone but leaves the connection to LTE intact.

My daughter has a p&s with wifi. I think you can post directly to limited social network sites using your phones cellular connection (it uses wifi to connect to the phone). But honestly we normally just transfer them to her iPad as you’d want to do some basic tweaks before sharing them, so we only ever use the simple transfer

 

[MH01]

Returned the iPhone X and bought a Sony RX1 , small , brilliant images

 

[D.T.]

I was at a car show on Saturday, shot some pics from my DSLR + F1.8 50mm, tripod, beautiful day, pics are pretty outstanding. I also shot a few photos with my iPhone X, just handheld - honestly, the X photos are pretty spectacular - especially in the context of the camera components vs. a full sized camera.

 

[mrklaw]

I'd like to experiment more with portrait mode. apps like focos and anamorphic let you see the different depth layers and adjust the amount of blur and even depth of field. Curious how flexible it can be vs proper DoF on a DSLR - bearing in mind I have a micro 4/3 so already somewhat limited in thin DoF vs a full frame camera.
[doublepost=1511130014][/doublepost] Example - shot at a monument near the tower of London last week. Using focos to change the focus point when editing the photo. Because the original is artificially blurring the background, the original photo has detail in the background and depth information from comparing the wide and telephoto images - using focos you can see the 'slices' from foreground to background.

You can also adjust the strength of the blur, and the depth of field. I increased the blur to help illustrate the selective focus.

 

[ArkieBiker]

Here's the deal. If you own a DSLR, then I think a P&S is overkill if you own a PLUS iPhone or an iPhone X. HOWEVER, that's only if you want to "show" those pictures. Straight out of the camera, the iPhone's take very nice pictures, but if you taking pictures for high quality use...then you'll find out real quick how fast the iPhone pictures FALL APART during editing. Again, I'm not slamming the iPhone pics...I love my iPhone and the CREATIVITY it affords the photographer, but for editing pictures, nothing beats the images out of a DSLR. PERIOD.

And...with that said and having over $10,000 in DSLR equipment...I still take about 5 times more iPhone pics. LOL

 

[eyeseeyou]

Here's the deal. If you own a DSLR, then I think a P&S is overkill if you own a PLUS iPhone or an iPhone X. HOWEVER, that's only if you want to "show" those pictures. Straight out of the camera, the iPhone's take very nice pictures, but if you taking pictures for high quality use...then you'll find out real quick how fast the iPhone pictures FALL APART during editing. Again, I'm not slamming the iPhone pics...I love my iPhone and the CREATIVITY it affords the photographer, but for editing pictures, nothing beats the images out of a DSLR. PERIOD.

And...with that said and having over $10,000 in DSLR equipment...I still take about 5 times more iPhone pics. LOL

On a recent trip to Hawaii I left my dslr at home and brought my g7x mark ii instead because I knew or at least thought I wanted to take the majority of my pics with higher quality camera which the g7x is.

I ended up taking the majority of pics with my 7 plus. Even had people on my social network asking what camera I used.

I might start checking to see how much the g7x mark ii’s are selling for.