ToGeorge Loc: Portland, OR

I’m hoping there are some of you that, like me, often find themselves with a chance photo opportunity without having the good equipment along (70D, G12), but always having the cell phone handy. And I am hoping some of you have more knowledge about various cell phone cameras than I have.

I currently have an iPhone 4S. I download the jpeg image files I like onto my computer. I then convert and process them in Photoshop as TIFF files. My 4S contract is up. Should I:

1. Do nothing, just keep the 4S without a contract?

2. Get a new contract for an iPhone 5S for the modest improvement in its camera?

3. Get a new contract for a Nokia Lumina 1020 phone, whose specs sound really, really interesting?

4. Get a new contract for any other smart phone camera that might be a big improvement over an iPhone 5S (suggestions entertained)?

I can’t find enough information about the Nokia lumina 1020 to know if the “oversampling” thing would mean anything once it got into Photshop; like what do you actually get in a downloaded jpeg file from it? Do you simply lose all the special processing done in-camera and end with an ordinary 5mp jpeg?

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

Check out the Samsung Galaxy s4 smartphone. 13 megapixel phone that works very well. T-mobile has monthly plans with no contact. If you get the new phone from them, you agree to pay 20 bucks a month for the phone for two years then the phone is yours, even if you stop service with them in the middle of the two year obligation you just continue to give them the phone payment and the phone is yours. The new Galaxy s5 is due out any time now so you may want to wait for that. The Galaxy phones are way better than iPhones. They are way more popular too.

busted_shutter

AT&T has a new similar plan. New S4 here and paying $21/month for 18 months. This S4 is awesome. Run something like 6 or 7 decent editing pp progs on it. Can't beat it.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

The Lumia phones have the best cameras period. Nothing else is even close.

ToGeorge Loc: Portland, OR

Thanks, I'll check T-Mobil out.

ToGeorge Loc: Portland, OR

Thanks. I'll check that out. AT&T also has the luminas, but not enough information about them, plus a contract is necessary.

ToGeorge Loc: Portland, OR

Perhaps I'll email Nokia directly and see if I can get beyond the usual hype and find out what one of their downloaded files would look like to Photoshop.

oberuwe Loc: Willowbrook,IL

Hi George
We (my wife and I) just got rid of the terrible Iphones and got a Samsung Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note3, the camera in the Note 3 is slightly better than the S4 but it is a huge phone, the pictures are outstanding, the Iphone can't even come close to that.

ottopj Loc: Annapolis, MD USA

I tried TMobile about a year ago. My experience was that the service was horrible. I kept the phone for a week and returned it. I received or made about 40 calls. Only two of the calls weren't dropped or broken up.

I would go someplace else. I love my Galaxy S4.

peterg Loc: Santa Rosa, CA

I upgraded to the iPhone 5s, which has a better camera than the 4s. I get my best iPhone pictures using the "645 Pro" app for $3.99, which can save iPhone photos directly as TIFF (and other) formats. More info at http://jag.gr/645pro/ .

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

Before you dump your phone download an editor for the phone.

I use Aviary on my Galaxy S4 (not a recommendation) and it works quite well and does just about anything one could imagine.

Not sure if this app is available for Apple but if not there are equivalents.

Converting jpg to tiff is a total waste. You don't gain anything.

Keep in mind that all cell phone are a compromise designed for close images and none will match what can be captured with a camera.

Deb58 Loc: Upstate, New York

I am holding out for the Samsung Galaxy s5 which is coming out next month by what I'm reading. The camera sounds pretty good along with some other things.

busted_shutter

Samsung Galaxy S5 vs S4 – Screen
Galaxy S5 – 5.1-inch 1080p Super AMOLED
Galaxy S4 – 5-inch 1080p Super AMOLED

Contrary to early rumours, the Galaxy S5 doesn’t have a 2K resolution screen. And it’s not much bigger than the S4’s.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 has a 5.1-inch 1080p display, just 0.1 inches larger than the Galaxy S4’s screen. You wouldn’t notice the size difference unless someone told you about it.

Resolution is exactly the same too, as is the screen type. Both have 1080p Super AMOLED panels.
Galaxy S5 10

Some spec heads may be disappointed, but we’re happy with the approach Samsung has taken this time around. Rather than trying desperately to up specs, Samsung says it has worked on improving the phone’s colour gamut to give more lifelike images.

With OLED-type screens, the colour gamut is often far too wide for the way software is designed for phones. And this leads to colours that look unnaturally vivid. This may sound good on paper to some of you, but it can lead to images that are quite hard to look at because they are so oversaturated, and it ruins skin tones in particular.

The Galaxy S4 colour response is fairly good, but the Galaxy S5’s is better.

Samsung Galaxy S5 vs S4 – Storage
Galaxy S5 -16GB, microSD
Galaxy S4 – 16GB microSD

One area of the Galaxy S series that has barely changed in its lifetime is storage. The phones have always had a 16GB option, and have always offered an SD card slot.

The danger of offering expandable memory is that the higher-storage options have never been that popular. Samsung is only producing 16GB and 32GB versions of the Galaxy S5, and while it made a higher-end 64GB version of the Galaxy S4, it was not widely distributed in the UK.

Samsung Galaxy S5 vs S4 – Connections and Extra Hardware Features
Galaxy S5 – microUSB 3.0, IR transmitter, heart rate sensor, fingerprint scanner, IP67
Galaxy S4 – microUSB, IR transmitter

That this ‘extra hardware’ section of this comparison is the one packed with the most differences tells you a lot about what the Galaxy S5 is like. Where the Galaxy S4 was accused of having loads of bells and whistles, most of them were software-based. This time around, there’s a lot more hardware.

Here are core things you get in a Galaxy S5, but miss in the S4.

Fingerprint scanner – beneath the central select button of the S5 is a fingerprint scanner. Unlike the iPhone 5S’s Touch ID sensor, you have to swipe a finger over it, rather than simply holding it there. However, it can be used to authorise payments as well as unlock the phone. And Samsung has opened up the API for other developers to use.
Heart rate sensor – Just below the camera on the back is a heart rate sensor. This fires red light into your finger, and then a separate sensor can discern the pumping of your heart. It’s not hugely different to the app-based sensors you can get for iPhones and Androids, but this one is a bit faster. We’re not too bothered about this new feature.
IP67 certification – The Samsung Galaxy S5 is a phone that’s resistant to the elements. It uses a rubber seal for its USB port and the removable backplate. What it gets you is dustproofing and the ability to submerge the phone in shallow water without it dying. It’s handy, but Samsung still doesn’t recommend you deliberately get the phone wet.
USB 3.0 port – The Galaxy S5 is among just a few phones that use the microUSB 3.0 connector rather than the normal microUSB type. It’s a larger socket, although you can still plug a normal-style microUSB into it. There are two main benefits – faster data transfer and the faster charging when used with a USB 3.0 port on a computer.
Galaxy S5 1

Samsung Galaxy S5 vs S4 – Camera
Galaxy S5 – 16-megapixel, 1/3.2inch (TBC), LED flash, hybrid AF system
Galaxy S4 – 13-megapixel, 1/3.2inch, LED flash, contrast detect AF system

The Galaxy S5 has a higher-resolution main camera than its predecessor. It’s a 16-megapixel sensor where the S4 uses a 13-megapixel sensor. However, as we expect both cameras use 1/3.2-inch sensors (this is yet to be confirmed for the S5), the pixel size of the Galaxy S5 camera is actually smaller.

Samsung has not dramatically improved the picture quality of the camera, despite an increase in megapixel count. You’ll get more detailed photos in bright daylight, but hardware-wise, there’s nothing to suggest it’ll be any better in lower-light conditions.
Samsung Galaxy S5 versus 7
The Galaxy S4 camera

Galaxy S5
The Galaxy S5 camera

The Galaxy S5 has made some serious improvements to the focusing system, though. Rather than using standard contrast detection AF, the phone has a hybrid system that uses a combination of contrast detection and phase detection. The latter uses a dedicated layer that sits over the sensor, and speeds up focusing significantly. Samsung claims focusing speed is down to 0.3 sec. Focusing on an iPhone 5S is generally between 0.5 seconds and one second.

However, what we’re yet to see is how the hybrid system copes with low-light conditions. With just about any half-decent phone camera focusing speed isn’t a big problem in daylight. It’s at night, or dusk, that phone cameras really start to fail.

Both phones have fairly standard LED flashes, so there’s no new illumination to help out either. We’ll be back with a full Galaxy S5 camera road test with the results soon.

On the video side, the Galaxy S4 has 4k capture where the Galaxy S4’s video currently tops out at 1080p.Galaxy S5 7

Read more at http://www.trustedreviews.com/opinions/samsung-galaxy-s5-vs-galaxy-s4#yfVoWT2PohgsIVlX.99

thephotoman Loc: Rochester, NY

My wife and I got our first smartphones last March. She got 4s and I got Galaxy 3s. She doesn't have near camera features I have. My phone takes better photos and with right apps I can do a lot of pp. When my contract expires I will get whatever is the newest Samsung Galaxy.

Mason Jar Loc: Mason, OH

[quote=ToGeorge]I’m hoping there are some of you that, like me, often find themselves with a chance photo opportunity without having the good equipment along (70D, G12), but always having the cell phone handy. And I am hoping some of you have more knowledge about various cell phone cameras than I have.

I currently have an iPhone 4S. I download the jpeg image files I like onto my computer. I then convert and process them in Photoshop as TIFF files. My 4S contract is up. Should I:

1. Do nothing, just keep the 4S

I just finished an event with live models in bright colored swimwear that the "other guy" shot everything with an iPhone 4S and an iPad Air. He used photo shop aps from the App Store for processing and retouching. I used a Nikon D3200 and a Canon T3i both with PS elements. And Aperture. The 4S pics with Aperture and the Canon with Aperture were far superior to the Nikon. The client chose the iPhone/iPad pics almost exclusively! A $950 paid shoot from an iPhone 4S and an iPad over 2 decent cameras. Go Figure! He has shot several gigs with iPhones and they seem to produce high quality images from a cellphone. Plus the price is right being at the end of a contract.