New point & shoot vs iphone upgrade

The best camera is the one you have with you so I would go with the phone upgrade if it were me. Overall I think you'll get more benefit from it, but I'm also a person who hates juggling multiple cameras and carrying a purse and would prefer to be able to share everything on IG without any extra steps. Your mileage definitely may vary if you carry and use your point and shoot regularly already. Mine just sat on a shelf next to my dSLR 90% of the time after I got my iPhone.

I use Photostream to get my photos into my laptop automagically but I don't use the iCloud Photos feature. I have google photos doing pretty much the same thing from my phone though, as an extra backup.

An 8 Plus is probably almost due to start dying on you soon anyway, the way phones are built these days. I forget, are they up to 13 now? I keep getting tagged in spam about iPhone giveaways, but I can't keep track.

Oh gosh I haven't carried an actual camera with me in years. Definitely upgrade your cell phone. Their cameras take amazing photos these days.

I don't have a point and shoot, I have my dSLR and you'll have to pry it from my cold, dead hands. I don't carry it around all the time, but I way prefer it over my iPhone pics. I can tell the difference and, while the camera on the iPhone is much improved compared to older models, it's not what I want to use when I print out vacation/special event type things. However, as was mentioned by joblackford, I'm a firm believer in whatever camera you have is best. Upgrading to the iPhone 13 Pro (best camera currently for iPhone), you'd see a huge improvement. I would like to point out that the "Protrait Mode" is good if you want to get that "it's a phone pic but also better" type shot. I just find not having complete control over everything is a pain, for me, hence the dSLR.

Overall, I'm a photo snob and I fully admit that, while the rest of my family is perfectly happy and content with their phone cameras and haven't looked back at point and shoots in years.

Regarding the Cloud, I pay the extra 99 cents a month to have a back up, but I do regularly back my photos up to my desktop which then automatically backs up to an external HD and a separate service to another online back up.

I primarily use my iphone. I used to take DSLR on trips, haven't done that since....2016ish?! Even tho I enjoy playing around with manual photography, for most things iphone works fine. I prefer candid snapshots for documenting most of the time. I have an iphone X, I can't speak to if the newer ones are better, but I think they have better night/dark features?

I do use the iCloud and pay a little each month for more. I've been going thru and backing up my photos between external hard drives and a cloud based service lately.

I want to suggest renting cameras if you are in the market. For years I went thru BorrowLenses.com, haven't in a while, but they were always good for renting lens. You can also rent all different kind of camera bodies. They also run specials and stuff too.

I too have a point and shoot, DSLR and an iPhone. I take about 99.99999% of my photos with my iPhone. The last time I used my DSLR was when we went on a cruise to Alaska in 2019. My point and shoot is very neglected and I should just donate it or recycle it.

If I were you, spend the money on a new iPhone.

I have a lovely iPhone 13 and an old DSLR, and my DSLR is still way better than my 13 for anything not close up.

Yes that's true, but if the choice is between a new point & shoot or a new iPhone 13, then surely the phone is a better choice. I don't want to lug a DSLR around every day. The only time I get my DSLR out these days (not that I have for over a year) is if I want to take a photo of something with a zoom lens. The day they make phones with a great zoom is the day I put my DSLR into storage permanently.

Before my desktop's USB slots started acting up, I was able to plug it in and my computer had me set up my upload options and would automatically do that once I plugged it in. Since my USB lots crapped out (which seems to happen with every desktop I've had in the last 10 years), I have a work around, but doing it daily definitely keeps it from becoming overwhelming. When you plug in your iPhone it should pop up a folder and then you can decide where you put them. I organize mine by something like: Pictures/iPhone/2022/March 2022/2022.03.04 for Videos (way less of those), my organization is: Videos/2022/March 2022. I also separate my iPhone pics from my dSLR photos, but don't separate my dSLR by day because I do not use it daily and also have my memory cards I keep as another back up.

Good luck!

I agree 100% except I should throw out the disclaimer that I haven't done much with an iPhone 11 and up. Digital zoom really degrades images pretty quickly. That was something I even compared between DSLR models, since that varies quite a bit.

I am not a fan of the digital zoom.  It can be so grainy.  I would never get this picture on my phone this clear.  This was just in my neighbor's yard, but I still had to zoom in on my DSLR.  I scrapbook still, so getting great shots is really important to me.  I do get that most people use their phone more than I do, so I understand why people would upgrade their phone.  I just traded in my 8 in December and that was because the screen was cracked.  I had no issue with using my 8.
Buck Fall by Nancy Tim, on Flickr

I use Dropbox to move photos from my phone to my computer. It is set up to upload automatically when I'm on wifi. I don't pay for storage just move my photos from the Dropbox folder on my computer to a permanent in folder on my hard drive. I try to do it monthly and after any big photo events like a vacation. Haven't connected my phone to my computer in years.

Also haven't had a point and shoot for probably 7 yrs. But I have android phones (currently a Pixel 6) so no experience with Apple Phones.

I haven’t read all of the replies so far, but I would definitely recommend upgrading your phone. If you are sticking with the iPhone, the newest 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max have the best cameras so far from Apple. I upgraded to the iPhone 13 Pro last Fall and was blown away with the photo quality. I know four people that have also upgraded to the 13 Pro after seeing my photos. There are a couple of threads on the main board that discuss phone camera quality if you want to check them out.

Here are some photo examples, no editing or filters, just straight from the iPhone:

IPhone 13 Pro Photos

My DH has the 13 pro max and I have the 12 pro max. I'm amazed at how much better his photos are than mine. I didn't think it would be that big a of difference and it is. I try and only upgrade every other year due to cost, so I'm trying really hard to hold out till the fall when the new one will come out. If you can't wait though, I think you'd be really happy with the 13 pro.