Can the iPhone 12 Pro Replace a Dedicated Pocket Camera?

As advanced as phones have become, they are still outdone by dedicated professional cameras with larger sensors. However, the device they have largely replaced, the pocket camera, are on a more level playing field. So, how does a top-level cameraphone compare to a premium compact camera? This great video review compares the Sony ZV-1 to the iPhone Pro 12.

Coming to you from The Hybrid Shooter, this interesting video compares the iPhone 12 Pro to the Sony ZV-1. While smartphones have generally decimated the pocket camera segment, there is still a market for high-level compact bodies, such as the ZV-1, which are desired by both advanced amateurs and professionals looking for a portable option that offers strong image quality or as a run-and-gun camera for on-the-go video shooting or the like. On the other hand, however, smartphones have come an incredibly long way, and they carry a range of advantages over compact cameras, the most obvious being their greater software capabilities and strong connectivity, making them excellent all-in-one solutions for shooting, editing, and sharing on the go. Still, there is certainly a strong argument to be made for the larger sensors in cameras like the ZV-1. Check out the video above for the full rundown. 

Alex Cooke's picture

Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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14 Comments

My opinion: FStoppers has to stop posting these articles where they simply summarize You Tube videos. This is NOT original content. You could just have a google link to "photo videos" on YouTube and accomplish a great deal of the same information sharing. There are some of the writers on this site (this one included) thats pretty much all they do is regurgitate content from others - I have to ask - is this essentially stealing from other original content creators by trying to get some ad clicks of their own from content on another site / from someone that actually created the content?

I see it as a lazy product of trying and make the content quota. I like the idea of a dedicated "Must see on YouTube" or "News from the Tube" section as the videos are often interesting. They just don't need to be passed off as an article or review.

Thats a great recommendation / solution.

Nah, I disagree with your opinion. I'm not sitting here wasting my time searching for iPhone vs Sony videos on Google, It's not something that I even think about. However, seeing a short write up of the video here on this photography blog, may have peaked my interest, and I'll watch it. Some I don't watch, but so what? So yeah, keep posting these videos Fstoppers!

I agree... people seem to enjoy complaining about something. If something bothers me or is uninteresting, I move on. It’s like tv or radio. There is a dial to change the station. As I say, if you don’t like guns, don’t own one...

Not sure I “like complaining” but i did feel like expressing my opinion as a member of this site. Sorry if that offends you. I’m not sure that telling me to go to another site if I don’t like it is really a contribution (your there is a dial to change the station comment). My point being in order to contribute to try to improve the site, I made a recommendation. I think thats how we move things forward in a positive direction.

I wasn’t offended at all by your comment. It’s your opinion, and you have every right to express it. I merely expressed my observation about your opinion. And, it’s not just this site. Throughout our culture, I observe a lot of “complaining” that runs the gamut of issues. As far as improving the site, you have a point. Nevertheless, I think there is enough here to keep it interesting. I guess I could have let your remark go thereby following my own advice... all the best...

I agree too. I wouldn't have watched that video if it was not featured here. My thinking was, the fact that it is promoted by fstoppers, it must be good... worth my time watching it.

Absolutely on point. How much of anything you consume is truly novel information. We all rely on some degree of interpretation and repackaging of information. Besides, I haven't seen a video from Hybrid Shooter guy in over a year, so it works for me.

I must respectfully disagree with you. I regard this site, along with PetaPixel, DIY Photography, DPReview, etc. as being compendium sites. They distill and curate material that may be of relevance to photographers. As there is so much information floating around in the net sphere, it doesn't seem necessary to me that all of the content on any of these sites be original. I view it more like Google News - an aggregation site that points me to content that may be of interest. Whether or not the contributors to the site write original content does not change the utility of the information to me.

It is the nature of the beast that any curated publication will contain second party information. Even the Atlantic and New Yorker magazines carry articles and literature that are not original content of their staff writers. I see nothing wrong with it.

Can I ask something? Maybe It seems a little bit of topic but I think it's not entirely. I possess a Nikon Coolpix P1000. As you probably know it's a super compact or bridge camera as they say. It's very capable as zoom camera (to say the least!) but it has a very small sensor (1/2.3"). Don't you think that there is space there for a smartphone with a bigger sensor than it so that in an exit I can cover a broader portion of subjects to photograph?

Doesn't this come down to physics? You can't have optics stacked on top of a considerably larger sensor without enlarging the thin form factor.. considerably. Smartphones rely on software to emulate where the physical optics are unable to deliver.

David Vivian,do you believe that anytime soon the software emulation you are talking about of the smartphones will come to a result that will be very close to what the optics deliver,or you believe we have a long way ahead of us for such a thing?

One of the primary advantages of using an iPhone Pro over a dedicated camera is that you can get a call from mom right in the middle of your photo shoot.