Until you hate noise. Noise makes phones a non-starter (the sensor is too small). Or until you're in non-standard lighting conditions, like a dark night. A year

Until you hate noise. Noise makes phones a non-starter (the sensor is too small). Or until you're in non-standard lighting conditions, like a dark night. A year ago I found a mantis on my balcony[1]. I tried to make photos of it with my phone and my compact camera, and all of them were crap due to noise. Several months later I bought myself a DSLR and now I can take pretty good photos in very different lighting conditions. I plan to go further in that direction still and get myself a full-frame camera to get even better photos. Also, stabilising a full-blown camera in hands is a lot easier than stabilising a smartphone. [1]: Mantises aren't really a thing in this part of the world.