would the camera replace a compact

The pictures in this thread may help you decide.

 

I would say yes. it is not a perfect camera for sure, but it is reasonably good. I have a Nikon D70S and a Canon S90. I bought the S90 as a compact for when I did not want to lug my D70S around. Since I got the iP4 I have not touched my S90 at all. The S90 is a better camera, but for daily shots, snapshots, pics of the kids playing, etc, the iP4 is perfect. The quality is not as good as the other two cameras, but it does not need to be. These are the pictures I put up on FB or email to family.

 

Yes. I entered a local photo contest, and everyone there was amazed that I took all the pictures with my cell phone. Even if the quality is marginally less then a standalone camera, its still fine. Plus, you always have it with you, unlike if you bought a separate camera

 

I agree. The quality is really phenomenal for a phone, and it isn't until I compare pictures side-by-side on from my Canon G10 on my 24" iMac screen that the difference becomes apparent. For most day to day stuff the quality is good enough, and outweighed by the convenience of being able to email or post pictures instantly, having the photos automatically geo-tagged, and having a great photo album, with a great screen in your pocket at all times. Not to mention that I have literally hundreds of photos that I would not have at all if I was still relying on my point and shoot.

 

My wife has been using hers as a standalone since she got it last month. It takes great photos and as mentioned, it is always with you.

My only problem is holding it as a camera. I guess because it is so thin, I feel like I am going to lose my grip and drop it.

 

I have a original iPhone, so I have little experience with the photo quality of the iPhone 4. However, from what I have seen based on user comments and the few people I know with iPhone 4, it does seem to take very nice quality photos.

If you're looking for a full featured camera, I'm not sure if the iPhone 4 will offer everything you're looking for. There certainly are no manual controls and no optical zoom. If you're coming from a DSLR, this could be problematic if you're comfortable with manuals and have grown used to being feature heavy. You may be better off grabbing a high quality P&S. I can't imagine using an iPhone as a semi-primary camera - I depend too much on the features that my P&S offers (with heavy dependence on a good quality optical zoom).

If you're looking for ONLY a quick shoot camera with good quality, I can imagine the iPhone 4 would suffice. It seems that people here are very happy with them.

 

The iPhone 4 certainly does take great pictures; since I've gotten it, I've used it for almost everything. The only area it lags a bit is in the dark, but it still does surprisingly well with its flash; sometimes you just need to play with the settings to get the picture right in low light conditions.

The HDR feature is especially great; it really takes some amazing pictures for a phone. If you want some real-world examples, you can check out the pictures I've taken with mine at our Jeep club website:

www.blueridgejeepers.org

If you look in the photos, any photo taken by the user "Geiman" will have been taken with my iPhone.

If I was you, I would try and hold off for the new iPhone; no one can guarantee the new phone will have a better camera, but if Apple continues to follow the trend they have been, the camera will hopefully be even better.