Had a Galaxy S6, largest aperture I've ever seen on a phone and a real zoom lens. The zoom is loud. It took great pics, for a phone. I was really surprised. I think it might actually hold its own against some decent older point & shoots. Two major drawbacks, crap reception and the whole phone is glass. Pretty though.
That being said, just got my first entry level Pro camera, a Pentax KS-1. Mind blowing close-ups even with the 18mm-55mm lens. I'm already getting great shots of the trichs. Can't imagine what I'll be able to do with a macro.
Cost me a little under $1K, including 55mm-300mm lens, bag, batteries, charger, sd cards, etc...
I looked at the Canon t5 and the Nikon 3*** (can't remember the exact comperable model) but the Pentax won me over with a 51200 ISO, built in lens stabilization, super compact design, and it's a sick ass metallic blue. The Nikon was a very pretty red camera but struck me as seeming a little cheap and gimmicky (I know, I know, that coming from a person who bought a blue camera with backlit buttons). The t5 was neck and neck with the KS-1. I had a hard time deciding. Major benefits of the Canon were a plethora of quality inexpensive lenses, plug for an external mic, and live stream capability. Making it "THE" camera to buy if you plan on doing YouTube videos. The Pentax is a pure photography camera. Even though I bought the Pentax, I would recommend the Canon EOS t5 Rebel to a beginner. Not flashy, but a solid, top rated, hobbyist camera, that scratches at the Pro level.
I'm looking forward to posting my DSLR pics. Need to relearn how to shrink them down for web upload. I was in the middle of searching the forum for a thread dicussung it when I ran across this thread and decided to make a pit stop.
Im planning on investing another $1-$1.5K on lenses. The kit 18mm-55mm lens is absolute sh*t with the AF at it's extremes but I MF most of the time anyway. Drooling over some prime tele and macro lenses. Can't wait.
Will be picking up a Black Magic super 16 equivalent pocket cine camera and a full frame if this is a good year. Cinema prime lenses are badass. Theres this mirrorless that can use them with an adapter. I think it's a Canon but can't remember at the moment. That too.