Why not buy an iPhone 15 Pro Max instead of a camera system costing more than 1500?

I suppose a smart phone takes quite nice snapshots although I have never owned one to comment on personally. I have owned cameras of one type or another since the 1950s and I don't think I could get used to photographing in that fashion. A tablet in my outstretched arms seems unnatural to me, and that's bad enough, but my main concern would be the lcd only . I have one lcd only camera and I really like the camera but swore I would never buy another lcd only camera again.And I haven't. I live where it is exceptionally bright outdoors and It really has been a struggle to see what I was taking until I got home on the computer. I've never taken a pic with a phone so -yeah-no selfies to offer you. I guess phone photography isn't my bag for sure. I know there are a number of people who take some fantastic images with a phone but I do not believe it is accepted as a "serious" photographic tool as it is.

What I mean is...After an event such as a world cup match or a world series game or other big event, I have noticed there are a good number of people photographing down on the fields with dedicated cameras. Yes there are also a number of fans with phones but the money is with the serious dedicated cameras . Professionalism is usually defined by such equipment. As an example--- If i was to take my family to a studio for a family portrait and the photographer only had a smart phone, I would probably look somewhere else.

Of just over 3000 photos I posted on flickr, there is a single one made with my phone:

When the sun does its thing… by simple.joy, on Flickr

I wouldn't have been able to get my camera in time to capture that, so I was glad to have my phone with me in this case. I do use my phone camera regularly because it's very convenient, but I don't view its use in the same way I view my 'photography for fun and creative expression'.

I'm regularly impressed by the images other people are able to take with phone cameras though, so I would never dismiss those outright as a viable tool - it just doesn't seem the right one for what I'm trying to do/what I consider fun and the way it's likely going to develop probably settles that. But I'll try to keep an open mind.

They seemed pretty pedestrian to me.

For years I owned various Sigma 'compact' LCD-only cameras out here under the bright Texas sun. Didn't take me long to buy a hot-shoe-mount optical viewfinder for each one! My Lumix LX-1 compact gets little use - no hot-shoe, no viewfinder ...

I have no direct experience with and therefore can't comment on the image quality, focus acquisition and tracking, lag and fps, etcetera, of this latest grossly expensive iPhone. That said, and as mentioned above by LeeJay, lenses are my biggest issue. For snapshots I find my iPhone 12 mini that I got for free when signing a two-year cellular contract with Comcast Mobile to be my preferred choice; for serious photography that often is done with a tripod I prefer my D850, and my D500 is very nice too.

Those are great cameras. Don't ever bypass them with a phone just because 'it is convenient'...

Alternatively, why not buy a decent camera and a cheap Android smartphone?

Why not buy a decent camera and avoid a dumbphone altogether.

Here is a "120mm" shot with the iPhone 15's 5x lens, from the Cnet article about Yosemite, treated with Topaz Sharpen. Looks hazy, so a Raw file with haze reduction might work better. But as a wide-angle and normal lens "camera" in other shots, the iPhone 15 is convincing.

I expect those who prefer a phone over a camera would buy a phone. And vice versa.

Why not buy a decent camera and a decent smartphone? Decent smartphone is not defined by camera. It is not only phone, it is also a PDA. It holds address book, schedule which reminds you of appoinments, tasks needed to be done with reminders, dictionary, access to the internet, navigator and more. And did I mentioned phone. For me camera is the last thing when I choose a smartphone.

To be honest, the details look quite weird and artifact-ridden on the right side of the image. I'd guess my old 20D (which I'm about to sell to my brother-in-law) and a cheap telezoom like 70-300 DO would do a more natural job. Not sure if it's the Topaz processing or in-camera processing that introduced them.

Why not buy a decent camera and a decent smartphone? Decent smartphone is not defined by camera. It is not only phone, it is also a PDA. It holds address book, schedule which reminds you of appointments tasks needed to be done with reminders, dictionary, access to the internet, navigator and more. And did I mentioned phone. For me camera is the last thing when I choose a smartphone.

This made me laugh.What a pathetic society where people NEED a device to do things that a brain used to do. Evidently your specialized electronic device didn't catch that "appointment" has two Ts.

Apparently you can keep several hundreds phone numbers in you head. Or tens of appointments in a week. Or navigate in the absolutely unfamiliar city. Good for you.

I only phone half a dozen numbers so I can manage that 😀 If I phoned hundreds of folk probably not. As for phones the market has overwhelmingly decided that for many 100's of millions of folk in fact phone cameras are plenty good enough. Using dedicated cameras is becoming an ever smaller niche with most gear being bought by folk already in the dedicated camera sphere. As with many things in modern life convenience trumps all for a lot of people . You can take a photo of your lunch and have it on FB or other social media in seconds 😀

As for the linked iPhone photos it is basically an infomercial also the samples posted are very small and low res, you find even the best photo images do not stand up to much scrutiny . You often find that there is a bit more to the behind the scenes setup, I recall seeing the making of a video shot on a previous iPhone, they had a full film crew, with a mountain of high end film equipment and professional editors, directors lighting etc. The promotion of the video gave the suggestion it was one guy handholding an iPhone when the reality was very different

If you shoot in good light , non demanding subjects without the need for a huge range of focal lengths including numerous specialist options. Phones can deliver what most people want, for me I detest Apple software and I would use another brand.