Originally posted by Sliver-Surfer I would get a K-s1 or k5 or ..the Q series shoots about the same quality as High quality cameraphone.
This is a really misleading statement. Even if the Image Quality were the same for both of them, getting to that image is completely different because the phone has only the lens built into it. Six days ago, as I walked to my car, I saw a hawk in the tree above it. I really wished I had had my Q-7 kit with me that moment, but I had been in a hurry and had forgotten to pack it. The hawk was really patient; s/he even flew to a lower branch. But my cell-phone still didn't have the reach - I had to crop away over half the dimensions in each direction to get a half-way decent view. I had to do a lot of Post-Processing to halfway compensate for the fact that the phone provided me with no ability to adjust for the lighting conditions. My Q-7 would have provided a much better image in much less time.
added: The OP has already said that the size of the Q is appealing, so going to a K-mount may not be the best action. I can't imagine taking a K-mount to work (I teach part-time at a local college), but my small Q kit goes assuming I don't forget it. We went to the Madrigal Dinner last Saturday night. Afterwards I talked to the lady who sat in front of us in the first row. She had an older Nikon DSLR, so I guess camera age worked against her. But she did have better sight (no her ahead of her) and a DSLR; she asked me to email her the couple pictures I took of her daughter, who was one of the soloists, because my natural light pictures were so much better than hers.