IPhone 5s as photographer's tool
- Thread starter haven
- Start date
topic of thread = "photographer's tool", not the general public
for a serious photographer... if they really care about the image that they anticipate to take, they will bring something better than an i phone.
birth of one's child, shooting for a client... etc, you'd arm yourself with an imaging device more sophisticated than an iphone
Ryanmb21
Expedition Leader
That's where you have it all wrong. You're presumption is based on anticipation. What about the legion of fantastic photos that present themselves that do not allow you plan ahead?
I'm a serious photographer and I only have have my DSLR a small fraction of the time. Many many of my favorite photos were captured when I didn't have it, or did't want to have it. The best camera is often the only one you have with you.
moto-treks
On the road
So true. Photographers of years past didn't have digital cameras. I'm sure you can find some "real" photographers that would only consider the real media to be film. In the end, it's about what image you captured and not the equipment.
anticipation is what I'm saying. for unanticipated events, the iphone is probably one of the best available tools to capture an image.
when i take treasured pics of my kid, I see a large sensor camera and an iphone in front of me.. which one do you think I'll pick up? which would you? Granted,, I have cameras of all sizes.. I would hesitate to take my DSLR even for family events.. My small X100 gets that duty!
when I want to take pics of a pile of $hit I'm selling on craigslist.. I'll use the iphone because I don't give a crap of the image
moto-treks
On the road
I think it comes down to what media you want to present the image on. If it's a moble device or an email then an iPhone will work, even if it's a treasured picture. If you are talking print, and I mean more than a 4x5, then you want a DSLR or a large format film camera.
nah man even for smallish email pictures.. the iphone camera is slow to focus, noisy. In bright day light and taking pictures of none fast moving subjects.. it's serviceable.. when I'm riding my bike, I get out the iphone all the time to take "beauty shots" of the bike. Because the bike generally doesn't move once I'm off it.
for someone who is exposed to high-end photography gear and can use it properly, I say they'll never be caught with just an iphone if they anticipate high value images to be captured. If my description does not apply to said operator, then the iphone is sufficient for these high value image events.
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moto-treks
On the road
I think we would all agree that la DSLR can produce high end (technical) photos. But, if you know the iPhone limitations (or a DSLR limitations) and learn how to work with your equipment then either can produce good results.
Can I create a ****ty iPhone image, yes. Can I produce a ****ty DSLR image, yes. But I can also create a good image with both.
Bottom line; my iPhone is always with me. Lately, it's what I take if I'm on a Moto trip. If I'm in a cage, I'll bring the DSLR. I use each tool for what I what to capture within each tools limitation and what media I plan on publishing the photo.
Can I create a ****ty iPhone image, yes. Can I produce a ****ty DSLR image, yes. But I can also create a good image with both.
Bottom line; my iPhone is always with me. Lately, it's what I take if I'm on a Moto trip. If I'm in a cage, I'll bring the DSLR. I use each tool for what I what to capture within each tools limitation and what media I plan on publishing the photo.
Lost Canadian
Expedition Leader
Hmmmm, my iphone works great for...
low light action shots...
Low light portrait shots
...and even cute puppy shots.
Come to think of it there's not many memorable shots my iphone cant take, all of which I value.
low light action shots...
Low light portrait shots
...and even cute puppy shots.
Come to think of it there's not many memorable shots my iphone cant take, all of which I value.
Lost Canadian
Expedition Leader
Technically of course they could be better but better is relevant, how technically good does a shot need to be to be appreciated? Facebook and the millions of photos, comments, and tags, most of which I bet taken with cell phones proves the phone can be a valuable image maker. Old Polaroids can hardly be called technically great images, but I have seen them in an art gallery. A phone camera can be a useful meaningful tool, even for the experienced photog.
graynomad
Photographer, traveller
Don't get me started on "art" and the crap you see in galleries. Being hung in galleries is more to do with whose ******** you kiss than the quality of the images.
I find that all my pics these days are viewed on computers so a lot of the quality issues we had no longer exist.
I don't own a smart phone either, but the main thing I can see against using them as serious camera in my field (ie wildlife) is ergonomic as I mentioned before, despite all the attachments you can buy it will never be a camera big enough to hold properly and it doesn't have a viewfinder. And if it does get big enough it's no longer a phone.