The smart phone is generally producing very good photos as it does most of the post processing via computational photography out of your sight.
If you want to shoot wildlife at a long distance with a 400 - 800mm long lens - you need a good DSLR , and sometimes the abiliity to post process.
If you want to do some localized editing via masking, a good dslr gives you better pixels to work with than a smart phone does.
Bottom line, each can do a good job at what it was designed to do.
Three users have iPhones, one a Samsung and one a google pixel. All of us use them on occasion except me since I’ve been 100% phone camera for several years now the real advantage of them is you always have it with you but have to comfortable with the thought of being a point and shooter. Paul
This illustrates to a degree the question of you with a heavy camera...(first let me note that if this was hernia surgery with mesh...take your time lifting anything, follow your wife's instructions to the letter...lol {Oddly, I had a friend who's sister died young with som dr misdiagnosis...and so he is weird about dr's....I had to work with him hard to get him to have a hernia fixed...because he refused mesh and they wouldn't work on him unless it was with mesh...anyhow, even though he and his drs are in FLA...it got done and he is fine with mesh now...well!)
Anyhow, back to photography....cell phones can now probably easily do better work than my 6D Mark II....I carry that heavy beast at least in large part to show people that I am serious about my photography...though I would probably do better work with a good cell phone...rather than this ancient Samsung that is so old and so foreign that when it reboots I have to struggle with the phone's Chinese character instructions....I read no Chinese!
But it still takes great pictures...would a cellphone or my big camera better for me now? Look at it, even my Cheepo phone takes a very good picture.
Unless you are going to print big, which I once did...and sort of interestingly a designer ask for some living room size shots on commission last month...I am too busy but it would be intriging to print big again...of course, your animal work may dictate that the bigger pixels in larger camera's would be at some point important to you...
