Our smartphones are often the default camera we use to capture many of our life events. As the old saying goes "The Camera you have is the best camera." However, this line of thinking runs kin to another old saying "Bird in hand is better than two in the bush." Both adages infer that it's better to have something available than nothing at all. I'm afraid we have adopted this approach one too many times when it comes to taking photos.

Now some of you may be thinking your smartphone takes excellent pictures, and see no need to own or use a traditional camera. I understand this viewpoint, and for awhile I too took many of my photos with my cell phone. Smartphone cameras give us the ability to take pictures and share them virtually instantly. However, there are many situations that may be a challenge for smartphone cameras, whereas traditional cameras will have little or no issues. Smartphone camera in low light situations such as restaurant and bars will often produce photos that are not very sharp and lacking in image detail. They may appear to look fine on your phone's screen. But once the photos are displayed on a larger screen, it's true image quality is made known. 

I understand we are all at different skills levels and I don't expect everyone to become a professional photographer. My reasons for writing this blog article is to only inform you about the pros and cons of solely using your smartphone to take photographs. Weddings, funerals and even the birth of your first child are one-time events in which you can't hit the rewind button. I remember when my wife was pregnant with my son I made sure to bring my DSLR camera to the hospital with me. As a result the photos I took of my son were not only amazing then, but they will still hold a high level photographic quality for years to come. Had I only used my smartphone, I wouldn't have gotten anywhere near that level of quality. I'm also aware that not everyone can afford an expensive camera or to hire a pro-photographer. Ultimately, it is about capturing a memory by what ever methods you have available to you.

One thing to keep in mind is a trained photographer can take great photos with just about any camera. The reason being is that a pro-photographer has a great understanding of light and how it moves and changes based on the situation or style of photo that he or she is trying to achieve. I often see smartphone companies use pro-photographers to take pictures with their smartphones. Which, often infers that you too as a user would be able to get similar results. I'm sorry to say it's just a smart marketing technique that is often used by many smartphone companies. Pro-photographers immediately analyze the strengths and weaknesses of said device and will leverage his or her technique for taking the best photos possible with that device.

Solutions...

What kind of traditional camera should I get?  The Sony Rx100 is fantastic compact camera. It's a small, light, and extremely capable camera. The most recent version of the camera is the RX100 Mark V. It shoots 4k video and it has NFC (wireless transfer), which allows you to quickly transfer photos from the camera to your smartphone.The Rx100 is a bit pricey so I will list some affordable point and shoot cameras below as well. . 

Sony Rx100 Images