Do you need more than just a camera phone?

Selfies, food pics, pet pics - we use the cameras on our phones all the time, but they do have their limitations. As good as the camera technology has become in our phones, Consumer Reports says there are still some things a good advanced point-and-shoot camera can do better.

"While smartphone cameras, they produce nice looking photos on your phone. If you ever want to print them out, or crop, or edit, that’s when you start seeing their quality kind of degrade. So advanced point and shoots and DSLR’s, these kinds of cameras can create images that, well, you can have for a long time and you know they’ll stand the test of time in terms of quality," explained Tercius Bufete, Consumer Reports Tech Editor.

Advanced point and shoots also perform better in low light and zooming.

So, what if you’re looking for something that will capture those great photos of your vacation or your kid’s first plunge into the pool?

“Make it a point to go to a store, take it in your hands, take a couple of shots and kind of play with the settings because that’s when you know if something is truly right for you,” Bufete said.

If sharing pics on social media is what you’re looking for, many cameras can now easily connect wirelessly to your phone so you can transfer your photos for sharing.

Buying a good advanced point-and-shoot should be seen as an investment. Consumer Reports’ top-rated point and shoots range from $645 for the Panasonic Lumix DMC- LX100 to $1,200 for the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 II.

While the top-rated advanced point-and-shoots are great for zooming and low light photography. A lot of smartphones out there still take great pictures, and you can’t beat the portability. Consumer Reports rates the Apple iPhone X as the best smartphone camera.

All Consumer Reports material Copyright 2018 Consumer Reports, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Consumer Reports is a not-for-profit organization which accepts no advertising. It has no commercial relationship with any advertiser or sponsor on this site. For more information visit consumerreports.org.