I do some photography on the side as a hobby and a side hustle to earn spare cash.

I seldom purchase the top of the line phones because most of these phones are 'selling' the camera feature. 25x zoom, 100x zoom, portrait mode, adjustable F stops etc.

I'm always buying a baseline phone, and the justification is because I need it to do what a phone does and that's all. I got a mirrorless camera setup, so why spend extra for a phone?

But this changed when my wife got me an iPhone 15 Pro Max. It's quite a game changer for me and here's why.

I cycle to work when I need to be in the office. And along my route, I will go through some parks where we see some wildlife. Everytime I see those wildlife, I think to myself: "If only I had my camera with me, I could grab some nice shots." And this happened multiple times.

Now with my new phone, I can easily unclip it from my bike and snap some nice photos for sharing on Social Media.

No doubt it's not professional level, but as a hobbyist and as a tool that you can easily take out to capture the moment, I think phones might one day become the most common camera out there.

My mirrorless camera sits at home for my YouTube video filming. It goes out when I plan a trip to the zoo or the park to capture some wildlife.

Each tool has it's usecase and scenario where I would use either.

This brings us to these questions: Is my phone as good as my mirrorless camera? Yes, based on scenarios. Will my phone replace my mirrorless camera? Not for work or professional use.

What are your thoughts?