Ched49 Loc: Pittsburgh, Pa.

Wow, I'm "categorically and completely" wrong! Your absolutely right, they are capable of significantly doing more, like sending and receiving phone calls, text messages ect. all the things they were designed to do in the first place. And again your absolutely right, you can use your dedicated camera as a point & shoot, I think you know what I'm talking about... people who use their smart phones exclusively for picture taking generally don't care how the camera takes the picture like a camera buff would. Also, what is "House of Cards iconic line"?...sounds pretty mysterious?

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

Your original post:



The point here is that in addition to the communications functions of a smart phone, and other general purpose apps, there is a substantial body of photography software and accessories. I said you were "categorically and completely" wrong because you are. You are dismissing quite a substantial body of photographers - some professional - that use smart phones for at least some of their work. Those people do care, quite substantially about the quality of their results. If there wasn't a market for such things then nobody would develop apps like camera+ that provide almost every function of a professional or enthusiast level digital camera except for aperture control. If there was no market then people wouldn't develop and sell decent quality add on lenses for smart phones. Only people that actually do care will buy those additional items. Your comment is wrong, because it is based on ignorance, and to say that the people who use smart phone cameras don't care is simply insulting to a substantial body of photographers.

Read on, and cure your ignorance.

The iPhone shutter speed can't be adjusted in the native camera app, but you can easily adjust it using an app like Camera+. Just tap the middle icon above the shutter release button (or to the left if you're holding your phone horizontally) to access the manual shutter speed and ISO control sliders. Mr. Google can help - "iPhone shutter speed".

I have Camera+ on my iPhone SE, and although I seldom use it to take photos, I have just tested it, and it has a manual mode where the shutter speed can be adjusted, along with most other important parameters. So I suspect the default for an iPhone is full auto mode, but it is entirely possible to set different shutter speeds and so on with the right software, so there is no set shutter speed for an iPhone, at least relatively modern ones.


I shot some photos yesterday from an iPhone 8 Plus. Close up shots. 1/30 at f1/8, ISO 32, focal length 3.99mm or = to 62mm in 35mm format. Cannot believe the ISO on iPhones, I can't get that with my Nikons! And it seems the aperture is generally wide open. The aperture seems to run from f/2.4 (5c) to f/2.8 (7 Plus) and now on the 8 Plus f/1.8. You can find this information easily in Lightroom using any iPhone photos you have shot. The shutter speed varied, 1/1700, 1/120, 1/850, 1/1000, 1/30...this was all nature shots, macro, but in various light and at various close up distances (out on a walk).

Check out Camera+: http://camera.plus/

Hopefully this will convince you that there are a significant number of smart phone users that actually do care.

BebuLamar

Since you don't use the Iphone as camera I do have to use it as camera so often. It's the nature of my work and no I wouldn't bring my camera to work. I think I would be benefited from some apps that allows me to set the camera phone manually.
Damn this Camera+ would cost me $2.99 let me see if I can ask my boss to pay for it.

Darkroom317 Loc: Mishawaka, IN

The reason I mentioned the iPhone/ smartphone in the first place is because it is the most commonly used device in the generation of photographs. It has nothing to with point and shooters, hobbyists or professional use but rather the total generation of images on planet earth by humans.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

I know, you'll have to save for a bit to afford $2.99 for Camera+. Now in truth I do use my iPhone to take pictures, but if I know that I want to photograph something in advance then I grab my DSLR and lenses, but occasionally I find my self in a situation where I want an image and I only have my iPhone with me. Then it becomes really useful, and Camera+ is a great advantage.

The images below were taken with an iPhone 4S with Apple's standard software. The first was in a restaurant in New York, the second in New Orleans during a thunder storm. Much better than no images at all!

(Download)


(Download)

Ched49 Loc: Pittsburgh, Pa.

Still trying to cure my ignorance...I misspoke in my post, I should have wrote MOST people who use i phones don't really care how a camera operates and I do realize there are lots of apps and add on's you can buy for your smart phone and they do take great looking photo's but the day I see professional wedding/sports photographers using a smart phone for their work, that's when I'll give your argument's some credence's.

BebuLamar

I use the Iphone and since I don't have any extra apps it bothers me a lot not being able to know or set the exposure myself. The single focal length, tiny sensor, can't use flash those are the limitation of most camera phones but I don't mind that. Not being able to set exposure the way I want and not being able to focus at the distance I want is a big problem for me.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

OK. We're getting closer, but you are still demonstrating ignorance by dismissing my comment. Clearly a DSLR and a system of lenses will do a better job in most situations, especially with weddings and sports, but they are only a subset of photography, even for professionals. Just because you haven't seen something does not mean that it doesn't exist. Not only are you still demonstrating ignorance, but you are also demonstrating arrogance and denial with your attitude. You admit that you misspoke in your post, but apparently I ruffled your feathers by stating that you were, in fact, wrong. We can agree on the "most" smart phone users part, but the rest can care quite substantially and can be a substantial population. I guess taking criticism isn't your strong point, since you are still refusing to give the argument 'some credence' and it absolutely does have 'some credence'.

Darkroom317 Loc: Mishawaka, IN

Now back to the photograph as a slice of time.

When one creates a photograph they are extracting/ recording a piece of space and time (reality) and encapsulating it in this object called a photograph.

This has been crucial in the creation of my series Vanished Expressions, which is a group eight minute portraits created while I have a conversation with the subject.

Let's say that a normal portrait is created 1/60 of a second. The amount of time portrayed of that persons life is 1/60 of second, a extremely minuscule amount of time. Yet, if done right it yields a great amount of information about them.

My photographs at eight minutes record 28,800 times the amount of that person's life on a single frame in comparison to 1/60 image. Yet, it yields less information as the person's image merges down into a blur over the course of the exposure through their existing, breathing, talking, moving etc... Until I close the shutter, the image exists in a constant state of creation and destruction. It is all extremely fascinating.

Perhaps rather than less information it yields a different type of information, as someone said earlier, it is if I am photographing/ recording their souls.

Ched49 Loc: Pittsburgh, Pa.

Your first sentence say's it all, thank You. OK Darkroom 317, back to "a slice of time" Which I find very interesting.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

Combining this, with your earlier comment - "The reason I mentioned the iPhone/ smartphone in the first place is because it is the most commonly used device in the generation of photographs. It has nothing to with point and shooters, hobbyists or professional use but rather the total generation of images on planet earth by humans", the bottom line is that smartphones do record the exif data (shutter speed, ISO, f/number) whether used as a point and shoot by someone who "doesn't care" or as a point and shoot or more serious camera by someone that "does care". We now know that the shutter speed can be extracted from any unmodified iPhone image, and with the right software the shutter speed can be controlled, on mine between 30s and 1/8000s.

So, 8 mins seems to be beyond the capabilities, but it would seem that an iPhone could be used very effectively to capture images for a 'slices of time' project with some limitations, thus making it a serious camera in my mind. The New Orleans image that I posted above was at 1/20th of a second at ISO 320 and f/2.4. It would be entirely possible to use an iPhone to show say "A minute in the life of a smartphone photographer" regardless of whether they knew how to control the shutter speed or not. From the number of decent images we might even be able to deduce how much they care about the results or not, possibly what they care about.

Fascinating.

Abo

Or like fry pans are for a cook... or would a mixmaster for a Chef, be a better comparison... or maybe a chainsaw for the tree surgeon? or an assault rifle
for a homicidal maniac?