I am what I'd call an advanced amateur photographer and have always combined my love of photography with my love of travel and have about 15,000 digital shots on various forms of storage devices and in the cloud. I typically travel with a Nikon P90, which is an advanced point and shoot model with many capabilities of a DSLR and a Nikon D-3000 DSLR, as well as the requisite tripod.

In the last couple of years I have transitioned to lighter travel and have learned to pack three weeks worth of clothes plus all the other accoutrements of international travel into a nifty E-Bags carry-on back back style suitcase. The problem is, my camera case is half the size of my suitcase.

I've visited most of the destinations I visit in Europe at least once, sometimes twice. I've scoped all the "perfect shot" locations and have nailed many very nice shots that have actually won me some awards and made me a few dollars. But I'm sort of weary of trekking around with a huge camera bag everywhere I go. Also, over the years my partner has been MORE than understanding and patient when I've said "WAIT...I NEED GET THIS SHOT" and then putzed around for 1/2 an hour shooting at various angles and settings.

I recently upgraded to a fancy schmancy new iPhone which has a pretty decent camera. It's gotten a lot of rave reviews and I have to admit I'm pretty pleased with the quality. So my question is this:

Have any of you who are somewhat serious travel shutter bugs ditched your DSLR and used solely your iPhone or other smartphone camera. Of course I understand the technical limitations of doing that, but have you regretted not taking all your regular gear? Or have you been pleased ENOUGH with the photos you took on your smartphone? I have to admit the thought of just taking my phone out of my pocket, composing a decent shot and moving on sounds sort of attractive.

Thoughts? Insights?