Cameras have come a long way in the last decade and phone cameras have progressed even more. In fact, it wasn’t until about 4 years ago when phone cameras became good enough to look amazing. Unfortunately, most of us have been using our phones as our main camera for longer than 4 years resulting in a decade of images that in many ways look worse than the generation before it. Thankfully, the new camera systems by Apple, Samsung, LG, and others are finally up to the task of creating amazing images, but there is still a big reason even a cheap camera is worth buying.
The cheaper breed of cameras, often referred to as Point & Shoot cameras, often cost less than $500 and have been the hardest hit with the advent of the cell phone camera. From a quality perspective, the differences between these are less describable but there is still a huge differentiating factor often overlooked: The Zoom. Cell phone cameras often always are single lens systems and all use wide angle lenses usually between 25-30mm in focal length. While the quality from these systems are improving, all of the memories of your children in sports, on-stage performances, and other long distance moments will be barely observable with your wide angle life. A 43mm focal length is about the observable focal length we humans use when we see the world in front of you. But with a focal length of only 28mm, the iPhone 7 is almost like stepping back from reality rather than immersing yourself in it. For this reason alone, every person should consider owning at least a cheap camera to keep these far away moments close.
Thankfully there is an exception pushing its way in the market today and the first great example is with the iPhone 7 Plus. The 7 Plus employs two separate camera systems allowing both the wide 28mm lens and a secondary 56mm lens to bring those far away moments closer. This new 56mm camera is also better for portraits and other candid moments. While it still does not offer the full range of most digital cameras, it at least recognizes the issue and provides a much better result for those images.
However, let’s acknowledge that the high price and large dimensions of the iPhone 7 Plus are not within reach for everyone and the flexibility of a longer zoom lens is still a preferable option. Additionally, cameras now make for great video cameras and the ability to zoom is just as necessary. Most cameras now have built in WiFi and Bluetooth for sending your images from the camera straight to your phone for backup and posting to social media and there are several amazing inexpensive cameras you should consider.
While it is absolutely true that there is a quality upgrade with many more expensive camera options and a potential advantage to interchangeable lens DSLR and Mirrorless cameras, there is still at least 1 big reason to still consider a dedicated camera no matter the price.