Like anything, the tools you bring are determined by your trip objectives.

Very true. As mentioned, if I did not enjoy photography as a hobby, I suspect the smart phone would be just fine.

Like anything, the tools you bring are determined by your trip objectives.

I agree on that, for the serious or semi-serious photographer even a phone like the LG G4 with OIS and manual controls will be limiting.

Steve,

You might be surprised what you can get with the right settings. Daytime my phone is in airplane mode with the screen off most of the time. I keep background apps disabled and use a tool called Greenify that shuts down apps that may start without your knowledge. I keep the brightness setting as low as still usable, and use a 10,000 mAh or 16,000 mAh battery pack depending on the trip. I’m comfortable getting 7-10 days between outlets with this setup, which was better than I was expecting.

At least in my case, I would take something better than a basic P&S camera for longer trips.

Good points..but my main focus was on its use as a camera only. As an enthusiastic (or semi-professional????) amateur photographer, I wanted to write from that perspective.

The other uses of a phone? Well that is a different ball of wax. 🙂
https://pmags.com/grassroots-to-organized-the-changing-nature-of-thru-hikes

I still carry a physical map and compass as a backup, and a backup battery for the phone, but the paper map very rarely comes out when I can see several versions of the same super detailed map for my location, cached offline in airplane mode.

And this year on the PCT, I text other hikers to keep tabs on where they are and whether they’re doing well. I keep up on wildfire reports, weather forecasts, and browse lodging options for future resupplies. It can be a distraction from leaving the email/facebook-connected world behind, but as long as I’m not bothering others with it, I’m okay with some compromise on that.

Thanks! You are correct..I rarely (ever?) shoot video.

Not sure about the iPhone 4, but I suspect the smaller sensor of that era of phones did not help. Technique can help compensate for equipment, but the 2010 era phones (ha! seems funny to say that..but so it goes with technology), were probably best for medium length snapshot type photos. Though, the Windows 7 phone was similar and I was lucky enough to get a nice shot from S. Arapaho peak. However, with my current vintage of phone, I suspect the shot would have been better. Or course, if I had lugged my up DSLR that day, I suspect the shot would be really nice. 🙂