From cell phone camera to expensive full frame cameras- does money matter?

We get a camera almost free when we buy a smartphone. On the other hand, there are cameras which cost in thousands of dollars. Does money matter in photography? My answer is: it depends. For taking photos in good light to share on social media or with friends, many times it does not matter. However, if you want to take nice photos, or want to get an award or like to get paid, yes, money does matter. Also, when the light is low, the expensive cameras can let you take some photos while a cell phone camera will fail.

I was in Athirapally, Kerala. I was staying at Rainforest resort and had a view of the famous falls from my room. Around 4 o'clock, I woke up and decided to take photos of the falls in almost dark. Luckily I had 2 cameras and a cell phone so I decided to take photos for sharing with you all.

1) Here is a photo I took with my cell phone- Samsung Note 4. (This has one has a real good camera compared to most other smartphones.)

Athirapally waterfalls.

2) Here is another photo that I took with Panasonic FZ200- it is a fixed lens camera with a Leica lens.

Athirapally Waterfalls, photo with Panasonic FZ200

3) Finally, here is a photo taken with Canon 6D full frame camera

Canon 6D Water falls photo

You can compare the photos which are taken around the same time, in the same low light. As you can see, bigger sensors, expensive cameras, are able to help better in low light.