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are point and shoot cameras obsolete?

are point and shoot cameras obsolete?

Old Apr 16, 2014, 6:27 pm
  #1  
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are point and shoot cameras obsolete?

for you camera pros out there, what exactly can a point and shoot camera do that a smart phone cant? i know some of you have your dslr and then a point and shoot to carry around for leisure when a dslr is too bulky to carry. but with the advancement of smart phones and apps like camera zoom fx that lets you do almost everything a dslr can, why would people find the need to buy a good point and shoot for $300-500?
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Old Apr 16, 2014, 6:37 pm
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optical zoom
night shots
image quality

smart phone cameras (probably on par with low end P&S) are sufficient if all you're doing is posting to facebook or instagram.
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Old Apr 16, 2014, 7:10 pm
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you are right in those aspects if you are pixel peeping, but i dont know any pros that use a point and shoot for leisure that needs to blow things up. i remember reading years back that 6 mp camera should do the job for a 8 x 10 picture anything more is kind of a waste. for most people that wouldnt do large prints would they even be able to tell the difference?
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Old Apr 16, 2014, 7:48 pm
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its not about MP. The OIS and image sensor found in camera smartphones are mediocre at best compared to ones found in a good P&S.
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Old Apr 16, 2014, 8:30 pm
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The difference is an optical zoom to a digital zoom.
Quality for those that care.
If you're making 4x6 prints or just posting on the web then a phone is fine.
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Old Apr 16, 2014, 8:32 pm
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Indeed. At the end of the day, it all depends on what type of pictures you will be taking.
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Old Apr 16, 2014, 8:34 pm
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I would change your original thesis to say that "cheap" or "low-end" P&S cameras may well be obsolete. Many manufacturers are dropping the low end of their lines. We may not see those in a few years.

That said, I don't see the better quality P&S cameras being replaced by phones any time soon. The sensors they can cram into an affordable phone still leave a lot to be desired IMHO and the processing functions are pretty simple. The feature set is still limited and RAW capability is still pretty important for many of us.

I am one who carries a P&S in addition to my regular gear when I travel. There are times when it is just too much hassle to unlimber the big camera for a quick grab shot while walking to dinner or traveling by train, etc. Even in cases like that, though, I still want full control of the resultant images.

Last edited by abmj-jr; Apr 18, 2014 at 5:02 am
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Old Apr 16, 2014, 8:46 pm
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I'll join the chorus--the phone effectively kills the low-end P&S camera. While there still is a demand (people who don't want smart phones) I don't think it's enough to sustain the market. The phone only replaces the low end of the market, though. A good P&S is still well above what the phone can do.

Also, digital "zoom" is a joke--they're simply cropping off the outside of the picture and pretending they are still getting the same resolution. When I zoom my P&S all the way in the image really is 4x larger. Do that with a digital "zoom" and you just threw away more than 90% of the sensor data--you're talking a camera from the turn of the century. I would *NEVER* use a digital zoom unless it was a quick-and-dirty snap/send/view/delete situation. Otherwise I would take the shot without the digital zoom and crop it later.
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Old Apr 16, 2014, 8:55 pm
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Delete. Fixed.

Last edited by abmj-jr; Apr 18, 2014 at 5:02 am
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Old Apr 16, 2014, 10:29 pm
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Originally Posted by raceroyce
but i dont know any pros that use a point and shoot for leisure that needs to blow things up.
I can think of at least one photographer: Daido Moriyama.

Also, there's more to photography than pixels. Unless you work at Best Buy of course, then the 12 MP camera is by default light years ahead of the 11 MP.
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Old Apr 17, 2014, 12:59 am
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A large sensor, 4/3, APS or full frame will give you control over depth of field. If you also have a fast lens you got a winning combination. sensors on phones are way too small. Everything is in focus, pictures look like postcards..
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Old Apr 17, 2014, 5:59 am
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Agree with the comments above, with one caveat: it all depends on what you want. Better smartphone cameras are amazing, given the limitations of the form factor of the phone. The camera features such as pano shots are quite neat, too, as is geotagging.

That said, you don't have the easy flexibility of the better PS cameras, such as manual or aperture priority etc. Sensor size can be an issues, but less than most people think, IMHO.

Regarding pixel count, it's overplayed. One of the best shots I ever took was my daughter's HS senior photo, with a 3 MP sensor, about 12 years ago. 8x10 is georgeous. 11x14 shows only a trace of pixelization. YMMV.
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Old Apr 17, 2014, 1:24 pm
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my thinking was that with smart phones at 8 mp using digital zoom would still be ok. as stated above yes it does not really zoom it just crops it, but with high enough pixel count it will still be clear and not blocky for a regular sized photo. plus there are apps that let you control iso and shutter, havent found one that controls aperture. but yes it does depend on what you need it for and i should change it to lower end p&s cameras hahaha not sure if i can change the title though. btw im comparing a nexus 5 to P&S cameras

anyone take a look at the nexus 5 macro pics? what do you think? there are some on android central share your nexus 5 camera photos (not sure if i can post links so just goolge it )
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Old Apr 17, 2014, 1:49 pm
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I seem to remember reading even the latest iPhone has a fixed aperture, the the software can only control ISO and shutter speed. For someone who shoots in aperture priority, a phone is definitely not going to be sufficient.

Optical zoom, as other have already mentioned, is also quite useful on a P&S.
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Old Apr 17, 2014, 7:40 pm
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I just did 15 days in Asia for work, deliberately leaving my P&S at home and using only my phone for photos. While most of the shots came out decently enough there were two things that jumped out at me. The first was that with the phone camera seems to be "forced" into using a higher ISO for night shots than my P&S, resulting in some noticeably grainy photos. The second was prominent chromatic aberration (aka purple fringing) in a photo of a car taken in bright sunlight - something I thought was pretty much a thing of the past. I'll continue to stick with my phone for photos on work trips - work comes first, photos second - but will definitely bring my P&S on vacation trips.
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