I haven’t used an iPhone but a few years ago I was on a trip with my daughters and both used them and came home with some very nice results. But I hope the answer you get is no, because late last year I bought the T6. I’ve been very happy with it but it is my first DSLR so nothing to compare it to. But here are some thoughts.

– What do you want to do with the pictures? If you want to do advanced editing I think you would be limited — presumably the iPhone does not offer RAW format.

– How much control do you want? Do you want to control aperture, shutter speed, etc. to achieve various effects? Again presumably iPhone would not let you do this.

– Lenses — do you want to do macro photography, telephoto wildlife shots or something else best left to a specialized lens? Another vote for a DSLR.

– Printing — not sure what the image sizes are, but megapixel limits may limit the size of print. This would likely only be an issue for large prints before pixelization comes into play.

So if you’re looking for a quick point and shoot then yes from my limited exposure (no pun intended, but now that I see it I kinda like it) the iPhone does indeed produce very serviceable shots.

Regards,
Dale

Cellphone cameras for me are barely OK even for snapshots of grandkids. They don’t give an image that is nice enough to paint from as far as my needs go. They might be better than OK for some folks. It all depends on what you want.

If you have $500 to spend and you want something pocket sized that will produce images that will amaze you, I would recommend a Sony RX-100. There are several models out there and the price goes up as you move to the latest one. They can be had for under $500 new. A clean used one or a refurb with a warranty might get you into a newer model at under $500 if you are patient.

Mine has the built in popup viewfinder, which for me is an absolute requirement. If you are happy with “chimping” the non viewfinder models produce the same quality image as the top end versions for quite a bit less money.

My $.02 worth…

If you’re serious about taking quality photos, get something designed to do just that – a real camera.

Cell phones try to do everything, and I learned a long time ago that if you try to do everything, you’ll do nothing well. The same thought is expressed in the old adage “jack of all trades, master of none.”

I do agree with much of the advice above. First, determine what sort of photos you want to take, and what you want to do with them. Photos of sporting events or moving wildlife require different camera capabilities than do photos set up and shot in studio. If you’ll be taking macros, you’ll need a camera that excels at that. Photos you want to print require a better camera than ones you’ll only email or post online. And I think it’s true that the quality of the lenses is critical.

Mary, for somebody who says “I am not a serious photographer…” you’ve shown us some remarkable photos.

But still, I wouldn’t expect lots of print-worthy photos from a $100 camera – that’s not it’s purpose.

Depending on what sorts of photos one takes and their purpose, a more than adequate new camera can be found for $350 – $500. That’s far less than most cell phones.

As for being easy to carry, every time I take my walks I have my camera attached to a monopod resting comfortable on my shoulder. And as a bonus, the monopod makes it easy to carry back bags of any purchases (from the grocers, for example) I might make on my walks. (The downside is that this makes me look like a hobo. :lol:From time to time I have been mistaken for a homeless person; over the years several kind, well-intentioned folks who jumped to that conclusion have approached me and offered to buy me a coffee or something to eat.):lol:

I consider the epoch of camera-phones has already come. And it is developing every day. iPhone 7 can already make great shots, iPhone 8 will be released in a month and its camera will be better than 7’s. I think cameras will just die in 5-7 years and everybody is gonna use his/her phone to take photos

In countries that don’t allow cell phones to be turned on during flights, even in flight mode, an old fashioned camera can still be used to take pics of cloudscapes.

Here is a link that I found interesting dealing with phones vs cams.
https://webmail2.telus.net/?skin=telus&skin=telus#1