The Vergecast · Wednesday, July 8, 2026
Alison Johnson and David Pierce discuss whether a dedicated camera is worth it over a smartphone for taking pictures of children. Johnson suggests that for casual, spontaneous shots, phones are adequate, while for planned photography events, a DSLR with a good lens might be preferable.
“So my first question for you. And I think this is a question actually most parents grapple with when you first have kids, is is a dedicated camera worth it over my phone for kid pictures specifically?”
“Man, the eternal question. Um, I found that I, so I have a camera, I have a Sony A7C. Uh, first year, my kid's life came out a lot. Uh, took a lot of fancy pictures. Uh, it hasn't seen the light of day, uh, in several years.”
“I think for the most part, your phone is perfectly adequate to do those things. What I would argue for in those cases is like, get a third-party app, use like Halide or something, dumb down the processing, get a little more control over the photos that you're trying to take.”
“And then there's the flip side where there are things that are sort of obviously photography experiences where it's like, I'm going, you know, one that we just had was like a birthday party where everybody dressed up as superheroes. Like, I know for sure I'm going to take a lot of pictures. And for that, I think, I think you're right, get a really fun, really versatile DSLR lens. And just be the photographer at the party.”