My two cents.
Excellent pictures can be produced with cell phones. I have a few 8x10 prints and an 11x14 that are quite good. Well, I think they are. All were taken with a Samsung S5.
However, cell phones aren't for everyone. Previous posters have mentioned a few things cell phones can't do (yet), that keep our current large cameras in use. A factor not mentioned was ease of holding the camera and operating its controls.
I imagine there are others like myself who find keeping the slippery little devil in our hands, lack of a way to mount it to a tripod, and being able to use those touch operated ISO, shutter speed and zoom controls make it difficult to use.
Those aspects will most likely be addressed in the future, but for now my Nikon is the most used of the two cameras. Well, other than making phone calls. Isn't that supposed to be why we have cell phones?
I have the IPhone 13 and my DH has the newest Samsung. For just posting right away on Facebook, his phone photos are way better than my iPhone. His phone can zoom out further than his Panasonic bridge camera with good enough quality for social media.
A lot of those cellphone shots are destined for posting on Instagram, etc.; these sites don't work well with horizontal formatting.
Morry wrote:
Read a review recently for a Sony cell phone I think they call Isperia. I may have got the spelling wrong. On that phone the lens appears to be an almost full range lens. The phone also had other interesting features that would appeal to a photographer. Sounds like the cell phone of the future. However I could never be interested at the price which is about $1600.
Cell phones are ok but really suck outdoors in daylight.
Architect1776 wrote:
Cell phones are ok but really suck outdoors in daylight.
Used to suck in daylight--my new iPhone 14 is brilliantly clear in every light I've put it in. I've tried to find a spot where I can't view the screen with no success so far. I traded a 13 that was very hard to see in bright sunlight. Huge improvement.
Dedicated cameras are special tools. Smartphones are general purpose computers with a "Swiss Army knife" utility about them. They just happen to have cameras and phones as part of the package... They are not meant to replace ALL cameras, just the ones you used to carry in your pocket.
They are not mutually exclusive.
This subject will never die. The way I see it, a camera is a device for capturing light. The more light (signal) and the less interference (noise) the better the result. A bigger sensor will always get more signal than a tiny one. Granted, those cell phone cameras have improved. A lot. But still if you want REAL booming bass you get much better results with a big woofer and lots of energy at the lower frequencies. Same thing here. It is just basic physics. The more signal the better. I still have my Olympus 4/3 and really want to go Full Frame. Why? More light. More signal. Better results. All sensors have a noise floor and getting well above that level is still very desired as I still see it.
Granted - cell phone cameras are VERY convenient and easy to carry. It is always there. But because of that tiny sensor - a must for packaging reasons - the limitations will always be there no matter how much AI or megapixels you throw at it. Just pure physics.
So maybe it is still old school but for good images use a device designed for making quality images - a REAL camera.
And it is still a big truth that good glass will always be a big part of the equation. Cheap lenses make for cheap and limited results no matter how good or large the sensor. It is the whole package. But the photographer has the final say. Better dedicated equipment, properly used will always yield better results. This is my 2 cents.
When Alfred Sloan asked my grandfather if he wanted to invest in his automobile company, my grandfather said, nothing will replace the horse. A lesson I’ve never forgotten.
wdross
Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado
r1ch wrote:
I pass you on the trail with my big heavy gear bag riding an ebike. What does it matter?
Each person chooses what they want to carry. If you are old and feable, maybe a phone is good for you or if you just don't want to carry the weight, great. But to look down at others because they have a big lens is kinda dumb. If they can do it, and you can't or are unwilling, more power to them.
Even though I own an Olympus system for less weight, I think if people want a bigger system they should get it. It always comes down to the needs of the photographer being matched to the tools that meet those needs. And if a smartphone meets one's needs, they should buy it. For me, since I am not always able to take my Olympus system with me, my smartphone provides me a camera that will do. Otherwise, I want to use my much more specialized tool, my Olympus system.
Morry
Loc: Palm Springs, CA
burkphoto wrote:
What the some brown hill is a full range lens? I've been a photographer since the 1960s and have never heard that term.
That's attempting to sound like the term, "full range speaker," another meaningless buzz word. (Full range of what?)
Sorry . . . I should have used the term "zoom lens" instead of "full range". That was a mispeak on my part.
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