Originally posted by reeftool While my K5 and Lumix LF 1 are both video capable, when I want to shoot some video, my tool of choice is my iPhone. My iPhone is pretty darn good with stills too and beats the pants off any dedicated camera I have ever used in regards to metering accuracy. Yes, there will always be shots a phone can't do but they are becoming more and more capable with every new version. I no longer concern myself about having my camera along as my phone can handle most everyday shots.
I would have to agree. I have the iPhone 6.
However, I continue to carry my LF1 all of the time, and my Olympus Stylus 1 quite a bit of the time, because of their zoom capability, and also because, in anything but great light, their image quality remains significantly superior to the iPhone's. And certainly the low light image quality of the relatively small RX100 or LX100 far surpasses any smartphone. (I sold my RX100 though, because of its limited focal length - shame on me!)
Additionally, the iPhone is to me, as an enthusiast, just plain fiddly to use in anything but automatic snapshot mode, a fact which greatly diminishes its appeal. And, though it may be a minor quibble for many, I like the fact that my cameras have viewfinders.
However, if I never had any experience with cameras as we know them I wouldn't know the difference. And this to me is the biggest problem facing camera manufacturers. Camera phones suit the needs of most people, and as their use spreads, they're becoming the only type of camera most people want and use.
Still, I do not see camera phones rendering stand-alone cameras obsolete. They are the Brownies or Instamatics of the present day. And while they have clearly taken the place of simple, lower-end stand-alone cameras, anyone yearning for a more versatile and capable imaging tool never will be content with a smartphone. At least for the time being.
Because who knows? Maybe this new multi-sensor-and-lens technology, or something else like it, will dramatically upset the current status quo even further!
YMMV, of course!