EJMcD

Well now it's the previous to my previous.

EJMcD

joecichjr Loc: Chicago S. Suburbs, Illinois, USA

Great shot, but she must know we've all been slowing down 😜

tripsy76 Loc: Northshore, MA

If it’s the post that I’m guessing it is. It doesn’t quite apply to my response. I was letting you know that you are actually capable of shooting with full manual control with your smartphone. As it seemed you didn’t think you could do that based on what you had posted. That’s all I was saying.

EJMcD

I'm OK you're OK, enjoy your smartphone.

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

Cellphone cameras are becoming more capable every year and with some of the available apps, you can easily have full manual control of the camera. And you don’t have to bring up your camera then the app then authorize the app to access your camera. That gets set up when you install the app for the first time. Pro Camera is a good one, and there are others.

EJMcD

When you say "full manual control", can the lens aperture be altered from f1.4 thru f32, can the shutter speed be altered from 30 sec thru 1/8000 sec, are there multi focusing modes, are there multi metering modes, are there multi format choices, can the ISO be adjusted from ISO100 thru ISO102,000, is there continuous shooting of 12 frames or more per second, are there custom white balance choices, are there several different picture control choices, does it have Auto ISO in manual mode, does it have bracketing exposure, is there a plethora of lenses from 14mm to 800mm & beyond, does it make an in camera black & white copy of a color shot, can it shoot jpg and RAW simultaneously???? These things are what my photography requires.

To be clear if anyone has no need for such features by all means enjoy your smartphone. I don't have one, don't need one, and don't want one. My "flip phone" is for making phone calls. My camera is for making photos.

Enjoy your photography with any equipment you prefer (even a pinhole if you choose).

mffox Loc: Avon, CT

I am not an exception to the rule. My cellphone is the very basic, only used when regular gear is not at hand. However, at age 87 I can see the day when I won't be as able as I am now.Just planning ahead.

BebuLamar

Some cameras that have full manual controls but the range of controls are limited. For the cell phone the aperture is fixed. The shutter speed and ISO can be changed but with a rather limited range. Back in the old days how many cameras have shutter speed faster than 1/1000?

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

To be honest, I don’t know the values selected, I just see how the appearance of the image is changed according to which control I’m using. For the most part, I normally use what the camera selects. I am not a purist. But I’m sure that even the best camera app won’t have the same range of setting that a regular camera has. I also have two regular cameras.

Let me edit this: I just reviewed my Pro Camera app and found that I can change the shutter speed from 1 second to 1/64000 sec. I can adjust ISO from 80 to 8000. I can manually adjust white balance and focus manually. Pro Camera also let me shoot in RAW or JPEG, view a histogram and there is a rapid fire/burst mode. It even has an adjustable IBIS. Not entirely up to what your full fram MILC or DSLR might have, but still a respectable set of controls. Or you can do the easy thing and shoot in the camera’s auto mode without using Pro Camera.

EJMcD

My guess is that your Pro Camera app is only "mimicking" such changes but if you're happy I'm happy!

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

I suppose that could be true. I also imagine that AI is involved. But if it works, it works.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

There are at least two million applications for a smartphone that don't involve the camera... I use at least 50 of them on a weekly basis, and many of them are used daily.

Calendar (networked with my Mac)
Clock, timer, stopwatch, and alarm clock
Weather
Calculator (regular and scientific)
Books (Apple's reader) and Kindle
Dictionary
Nextdoor (neighborhood social media)
Pinterest
TuneIn Radio and iHeart Radio
Photos (image library networked with my Mac)
Photoshop Express and Snapseed (image editors)
Depth of Field Calculator (for all formats, lenses, cameras...)
mLightMeter Pro (turns iPhone into a handheld incident/reflected meter)
Neewer app (controls my video light panels)
MPIX (photo lab interface)
Helios (sunrise/sunset/golden and blue hours calculator)
Epson iPrint (printing)
Apple TV (movies and entertainment)
NetFlix
Prime Video
YouTube
IMDb (Internet Movie Database)
Spectrum TV (Watch TV on the phone)
Voice Memos (modern dictation tool)
Notes (database of random notes, shared with Mac over iCloud)
Reminders (Take out the garbage on Tuesday night... shared with Mac over iCloud)
Yelp, Urban Spoon, Open Table (find good restaurants and services)
Airline apps for Allegiant, American, Delta
Hotel apps for Hampton, Hilton, IHG
Curb, Uber (taxi like services)
Trivago, Travelocity, Expedia, Booking.com (Travel)
Enterprise (car rental)
AMICA (Insurance claims/emergencies)
RCI, Viator, Trip Advisor (travel)
Google Maps, MapQuest, Apple Maps (turn by turn verbal navigation while driving)
Messages (text and Apple Messages)
Stocks (Monitor my portfolio)
Level, Ruler, Compass, Inflation Calculator (utilities)
Speedtest (Internet speedometer)
FaceTime (video calling)
Contacts (electronic little black book shared with my Mac)
Google (search)
Pages, Numbers, Keynote (Apple office apps)
Word, Excel, PowerPoint (MS 365)
Garageband (multitrack audio recording compatible with Mac version)
Files (access files on iCloud)
Translate (talk to people in other languages)
iMovie (video editor)
Home (control home devices)
Apple Support
Various barcode apps (camera becomes a barcode reader)
Various scanner apps (camera becomes a scanner/FAX)
DropBox (file storage)
LinkedIn (social media for business)
GoToMeeting, WebEx Meet, Zoom (video conferencing)
Venmo (send cash to my kids)
Various credit union banking apps
Apple Wallet (manage credit cards, use Apple Pay, etc.)
Amazon, Apple Store, iTunes, eBay, Target, Walmart, Walgreens (shopping)
Zillow and Trulia (real estate)
B&H (photo G.A.S. attack)
Lowes and Home Depot (shopping)
Apple News Reader
Shark Clean (robot vacuum control)
Twitch (watch my son's UNCG esports tournaments)
Dog Whistle (audio tone generator)
Various car shopping apps
Instagram

…and more.

Calling a smartphone a phone with a camera is a misnomer. It's a supercomputer in your pocket!

tripsy76 Loc: Northshore, MA

Your app is actually allowing you to access the chips control functions. So yes you are actually controlling shutter speed, aperture, white balance, and ISO just as you would on a regular camera. The algorithms that run your mirrorless cameras are more similar than most realize when it comes to this. The added benefit with modern cell phones and apps like Procamera are that in addition to the cameras offerings they now include aspects of computational photography giving you more range and extra features.

So these days if you know what you’re doing, you can capture images that are pretty close if not equal to the older bigger cameras.

There are obviously limitations like fast action and birding, but you might be surprised. You can also get handles that slide on with triggers. To take the shot as well as filters to soften the digital look or do just about anything else. People hate to admit it, but these phones are pretty incredible and have already surpassed most point and shoots. Especially now that they come with multiple lenses. It’s like having a few primes in your bag, and they’re only getting better. Especially in the last couple of years!

EJMcD

Old days?? Who is discussing old days?