Leaving DSLR and moving to phone photography

[BennyBoy]

Hey all, I have been a Fuji fan for 8 years now. I love my cameras and have managed to get some great photos from them over the years.

Just for the record, up until recently I have hated when people post phone camera pictures on facebook and forums etc.

One thing I have noticed is the gap between a 'Real' cameras and a phone cameras has gotten closer. Even though its always easy to tell the difference, I think to the casual viewer they would never really notice or care. The  photo message is protrayed regardless of a few small differences.

I have always looked down on phone camera photographers and still do, BUT I have decided to ditch the real one and become a phone cam person myself.

I am finding the whole portability thing an issue, and I like that I can slip a phone into my pocket. I also notice that phone cameras are more forgiving of bad setting errors, especially when you need to take a quick unplanned picture.
I think the smarts in a phone have gotten to a point that its prety hard to take a dud shot. On the contrary the im still way too slow on the manual adjustments for a SLR. 
Carrying lots of big lenses is also a drag, not to mention the weight etc. 
Im also finding it hard to justify updating my camera when the body can cost 2 or 3 times as much as a phone that can do 80% of the work.

So why am I writing this? Why dont I just dissapear into the sunset quietly? I think Im just leaving Fuji some feedback. It might be interesting to stray away from the traditional path of SLR and look at products easier to carry.  For example, Id like to see a camera that was flatter but was also a phone. It was designed primarily  as a camera first and a phone second. Something that meant we have superior quality photography that didnt also mean we had to carry two items around. The compromise could be a fatter than normal phone. This would allow for a bigger battery as well.

[erwiurewurwehu]

I think that will be the future. Phones will get better and the niche for dedicated cameras will get smaller and smaller. I am also thinking about getting one of the next iPhones and then using my X-T3 only for things like wildlife where the phone can't (yet) compete with a big zoom lens. 

[CatsAreGods]

Just responding here because I kind of went the opposite way. Three years ago, I decided to invest in a Samsung flagship-level phone, primarily for the newer camera technology, so I could be reasonably happy with the quality of the camera I would always have with me. It's worked out great in general and saved a lot of trouble and weight when traveling, although as someone alluded to above, I would have been disappointed if I went to a zoo.

But this year I realized that sometimes I just want to Take Pictures, and that could go almost anywhere, so I got me an X-S10 and all sorts of modern accessories so now I can hook it to my microscope, telescope, or micro focusing rail as well as get pro-quality pictures and video with great lenses. And I'm having a great time!

[SBK]

I too went the other way around.

I took family pictures on iphone for a few years. Pics quality was quite disappointing. And the choice of lens ? None.

It all depends on the kind of pics one wants to photograph. For street photography, the phone could be an advantage as the photographer could go unnoticed. But for portraits, studio work, wedding, landscape ... i'd stick with something like the X-T3, X-T4, Xpro3. For portraits, I am looking forward to seeing what the XF 50-140mm f/2.8 can give. I read and heard a lot of good things about it.

No matter what, keep shooting.

[Herco]

A few years ago, Olympus launched the Air. A very small M43 mount+sensor where your phone could clip-on. The mount could take the excellent but small Zuiko lenses and the M43 sensor was way bigger than any smartphone sensor. The idea was not too well executed, but in fact it would have been a great travel package. Just the Air, one or two Zuiko lenses and your smartphone. I guess to expensive for most smartphone-only shooters and to quirky for traditional amateur photographers.