Cell phone cameras will catch up to DSLR quality?

This isn't meant to roll out any doom and gloom thoughts.  Just a curious question.  I have a iPhone 6 and my friend just got a new Samsung phone.  Both of use are thrilled with the cameras in these.  Does it compare to my DSLR, not a chance, but it's really good considering the size of the lens these things have.  

So, do you think the day will come where these could trump the image quality of our DSLRs?  

Tough to say, perhaps in 5 years.  Got me, the thing to keep in mind is while cell cameras are improving so are the DSLR's.  So your chasing a needle that is always improving too. 

Jason, makes a good point.  Cell phone cameras are on a rise, and becoming much better.  However I think it will be some time before it will take over image quality of a DSLR.

I agree though, my iphone 6 takes killer shots!

They are getting better, but the sensors are just to small right now.  There are some cool things you can do with screw on lenses too.  

I doubt that they will for the simple fact of sensor size, I see more and more cameras claiming higher MP counts and thats all great, but when you have 50MP of data on a sensor that is half the size of a DSLR sensor, the noise will be absolutely unbearable. Until they can find a huge breakthrough with sensors, which will in turn increase DSLR quality as well, phone cameras can get only so close before they will be halted in their tracks. 

Just... no. There are electrical and physical considerations here, and the lens has to be taken into account.

I'll stick to my position: mobile phone photos, iPhone 6 included, suck. The bar has been moved immeasurably low, and it's just tragic.

garyrhook wrote: Just... no. There are electrical and physical considerations here, and the lens has to be taken into account.

I'll stick to my position: mobile phone photos, iPhone 6 included, suck. The bar has been moved immeasurably low, and it's just tragic.

Boy, someone had an extra serving of bad attitude pie this morning!      when you factor in where mobile iphoneography has come, to say it's "moved immeasurably low" is just incorrect.  

Compare the camera in a cell phone from 5 years ago and compare to what is in there now.  Not to mention to get any decent photo from a stinky device of this size is pretty great if you ask me.  

Zorka wrote: Boy, someone had an extra serving of bad attitude pie this morning!      when you factor in where mobile iphoneography has come, to say it's "moved immeasurably low" is just incorrect.  

Compare the camera in a cell phone from 5 years ago and compare to what is in there now.  Not to mention to get any decent photo from a stinky device of this size is pretty great if you ask me.  

I don't disagree with your comparison re: progress. I simply find that, overall, the quality of the photos that people find acceptable is low. And my observation is that "wonderful images from a iPhone (etc)" tend to have poor quality.

I don't have a bad attitude, I have a very high bar. On the other hand, I'm learning to be more politic when asked what I think about an image.

I can see myself doing street photography with a high end phone camera, but not things like sport.
So the versatility is a problem.

Zorka, compare dslrs from five years ago and I'll proclaim they've come farther than camera phones. If you're just into selfies, enjoy. I'll take my full frame cameras and lenses....

garyrhook wrote:

Zorka wrote: Boy, someone had an extra serving of bad attitude pie this morning!      when you factor in where mobile iphoneography has come, to say it's "moved immeasurably low" is just incorrect.  

Compare the camera in a cell phone from 5 years ago and compare to what is in there now.  Not to mention to get any decent photo from a stinky device of this size is pretty great if you ask me.  

I don't disagree with your comparison re: progress. I simply find that, overall, the quality of the photos that people find acceptable is low. And my observation is that "wonderful images from a iPhone (etc)" tend to have poor quality.

I don't have a bad attitude, I have a very high bar. On the other hand, I'm learning to be more politic when asked what I think about an image.

Yeah I also hold a high bar as well. I would like to see you get a really large acceptable print from a phone camera. The only cameras that they will catch up to and pass, maybe are P&S cameras. I think it will be more like they will have a similar image quality.   

I would suspect that they might blow out certain camera's. Point and shoot's, lower end point and shoot's I could see being blown out.

Like this maybe:

Ninja - what is that phone doing on the hot shoe?

Sensor in the phone is just too small to be much good for any enlargements.... Maybe they look good on the small screen or a monitor, but printing one out will expose their shortcomings...