Why not buy an iPhone 15 Pro Max instead of a camera system costing more than 1500?

Why not buy a decent camera and a decent smartphone? Decent smartphone is not defined by camera. It is not only phone, it is also a PDA. It holds address book, schedule which reminds you of appointments tasks needed to be done with reminders, dictionary, access to the internet, navigator and more. And did I mentioned phone. For me camera is the last thing when I choose a smartphone.

This made me laugh.What a pathetic society where people NEED a device to do things that a brain used to do. Evidently your specialized electronic device didn't catch that "appointment" has two Ts.

Apparently you can keep several hundreds phone numbers in you head. Or tens of appointments in a week. Or navigate in the absolutely unfamiliar city. Good for you.

I only phone half a dozen numbers so I can manage that 😀 If I phoned hundreds of folk probably not. As for phones the market has overwhelmingly decided that for many 100's of millions of folk in fact phone cameras are plenty good enough. Using dedicated cameras is becoming an ever smaller niche with most gear being bought by folk already in the dedicated camera sphere. As with many things in modern life convenience trumps all for a lot of people . You can take a photo of your lunch and have it on FB or other social media in seconds 😀

As for the linked iPhone photos it is basically an infomercial also the samples posted are very small and low res, you find even the best photo images do not stand up to much scrutiny . You often find that there is a bit more to the behind the scenes setup, I recall seeing the making of a video shot on a previous iPhone, they had a full film crew, with a mountain of high end film equipment and professional editors, directors lighting etc. The promotion of the video gave the suggestion it was one guy handholding an iPhone when the reality was very different

If you shoot in good light , non demanding subjects without the need for a huge range of focal lengths including numerous specialist options. Phones can deliver what most people want, for me I detest Apple software and I would use another brand.

Just got back from a trip to Scotland. It was the first trip abroad that I have made without a camera. After using my iPhone 14 last summer, I decided it was fine for what I was going to photograph; family snapshots and some local snaps of the place. I knew I would not have time for dedicated, let's call it "serious" photography.

I am quite amazed at the output I get with the camera in my phone. It seems it does a lot of PP of its own choosing, as the pictures I took out of the plane window over London were very different to what I have achieved with my old phone or even camera.

I think my phone has probably replaced my LX100 for casual things, although you can get a lot more image quality out of the LX100 if you need it.

Can you see it now?

24mm-77mm equivalent is the issue for me, even for family shots on a trip.

Phone shot:

Camera shot:

I have similar examples where my full-frame fisheye was wide enough but a camera phone, even with a wide angle option, was not.

For the type of photography I’m referring to when I say the iPhone is well suited I’m most likely not going to be carrying a fisheye lens (though I do have a Moment Superfish for the phone) or a long telephoto. The only lens it needs to replace is a “35 Summicron”… or, in modern terms, the lens on my X100V.

The 35 Summicron took me across Europe, South and Central America, and was daily carry in NYC. I never found it wanting. If you can’t get a particular shot, look for another. ¯\(ツ)/¯

That attitude has never, ever worked for me since I picked up my first camera when I was 5 or bought my first SLR when I was 9. I don't want my gear to control my photography, I want my gear to serve the photography I want to do.

When I got my first SLR with 50mm, I got sick of it after a few days, and started saving for more lenses. I ended up buying a 28mm and a 70-210. Later, when I got a new camera, I got a 24-85 and a 75-300. That has expanded over the years to 8mm fisheye through 600mm, plus my telescope.

I simply don't tolerate inability to get the shot I want to get because the gear can't do it.