Carusoswi

For Christmas, my children gave me a "new" refurbished Google Pixel 2 mobile phone to replace my old friend, a Nexus 5. The Nexus had served me well, but was always limited by its rather pedestrian camera setup. The Pixel 2, on the other hand, sports a very well implemented 12 mp camera which captures very pleasing images.

I have never been much of a fan of cell phones as cameras, and, while this phone hasn't moved me far from my position on the subject, I do have to concede that it produces good images which I find useful when I need to catch a quick shot. One of my grandchildren has developed what I consider to be a "fake" phobia to flash. Whenever I bring out my DSLR setup, she starts chirping "no flash, no flash." Drives me nuts, as I generally bounce the flash upward and over my shoulder, with only a small bounce card to direct some light forward. I still have to deal with her "opinion," probably exacerbated by the proliferation of cell phones, and their almost exclusive use by my children (her parents).

Rather than fuss with her over this, at least I have the cell phone as one option.

I don't particularly care for the results I get indoors when shooting my DSLR without flash in these situations, nor am I enthusiastic about shooting or editing such shots. For some reason, I am more forgiving of the same shots taken with the new mobile phone. I find that these mobile phone shots are surprisingly compliant with my efforts to adjust them in post (I use darktable).

I am curious as to other UHH members' thoughts on this subject.

Caruso

JD750 Loc: SoCal

I use my phone for business and home and it is a very useful tool that can increase one’s productivity when used correctly.

As far as the camera, it is very good at what it is designed to do. One of Those things is family photos.

It is good you are open to using new tools. You will find many uses for this one.

Examples: snap a pic of your parking location in a parking garage for easy recall when returning. Snap pics of disassembly of devices, motors etc. snap pics of plumbing fixtures or other devices and take to hardware store. Snap pics at the store for spousal approval prior to purchasing. And many more....

harleridr Loc: S.Texas

You may want check to see if your phone has a built in flash light that may help a little.
Harle

Richard Engelmann Loc: Boulder, Colorado

I have also used the phone camera to catch an image of otherwise inaccessible things, like the model number on the back of a TV mounted on a wall.

BebuLamar

Uhmm! I guess she would yell if I use my DSLR that has no flash?

traderjohn Loc: New York City

"at least I have the cell phone as one option"
For the vast majority of people who take pictures/video this is the answer. There are more of "them" than those who use DSLR's. They are not going to change. Why should they? As they grow older and mature they are not going to lug around around a bunch of camera stuff. Shutter speed, ISO, aperture, mirrorless or not they will not be bothered. The cell phone has solved their problem.
When they post their pictures their audience is not going to belittle them or pick apart every aspect of the picture. They will not waste their time. They have already moved on.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

I migrated from a Motorola phone to an iPhone because the iPhone is the only phone on which a particular exposure/processing program will run. It nails it and worth the few dollars the program cost. Other than that, it's a communication device. I usually have a camera with me 99% of the time I leave the house.
--Bob

Amaize

I just can’t imagine not taking my iPhone photographs as serious as with any other equipment I use. Beautiful landscapes and portraits. I blew up a pano of NYC cityscape taken from Rockefeller Center to 22X100in with stunning detail, including clear view of St of Lib, 6 miles away. Burst mode of 10 frames/sec will capture the perfect expression of your grandchild, smile or frown. I do street music videos (4K @60fps)plus use slo mo vid’s (1080 @240 FPS) of the pro tennis players I work with. Travel many places in the world and pull a DSLR to your face and see how spontaneous the photos are ? iPhone 11pro max has lens options, Night Mode (brighter images with noise reduction), optical image stabilization. Plus editing tools — I think 12 light/color adjustments ala PS, perspective adjustment, filters, blah, blah, blah, which I don’t use much. Sure it won’t replace a high end camera set up, but those cameras won’t replace the iPhone either. If you are serious in your photography and aren’t carrying a high end camera in your pocket 24-7, just think of the opportunities missed, like maybe beautiful videos of a wildebeest migration crossing while shooting stills as well.

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

One of my best friends is a professional photographer and when she's working she's using her FF Nikons, but when she's not all she carries is her iPhone. She just had a show at a gallery in which 75% of her photos were from her phone.

Blair Shaw Jr Loc: Dunnellon,Florida

Right-ON..........

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Correct. For many people a cell phone is their camera, and they take more pictures than I do with my DSLR.

tgreenhaw

I chuckle when people sneer at phone cameras. They may not do everything that conventional cameras can, but for many type of shots, they do the job just fine, especially for video. I always have my phone camera with me.

I have many examples of memories I like to record and share that I wouldn't otherwise. We recently had a light snow that melted on the sidewalk, but stayed on the leaves. I would have missed this shot if my Samsung Note 8 phone couldn't take a decent image. I'm not sure my 5Ds and 35mm f1.4 would have done much better for my purposes.

(Download)

Bluefish Loc: Berks County, PA

Hey Harle. That is an excellent idea!
Darn, I just tried it on my I phone. Turned on the flashlight and then the camera & the light went out.

If any of you have any pull with the powers that be at Apple, suggest this one. Will sure beat the built in flash.

beannie

The camera app should have a flash option. I have a Samsung S4 had that option and so does my S9.

beannie

Without my cell hone, I wouldn't have pictures of my grandson helping me mix Christmas cookie dough.