Solving the DSLR versus smartphone camera conundrum (Page 10): Admitting that cell phones can take fantastic pictures, I think that one Achilles heel is the lack of optical zoom. There...

therwol Loc: USA

wdross wrote:

I can now do all those with the Galaxy S9+. And I did most of those things with my old Galaxy S7. Yes, the aperture and lense selection is limited. But I don't have to carry my E-M1 mrII. If your cellphone can't adjust aperture, speed, ISO, RAW+JPEG, etc., your cellphone must be fairly old. If you would look at the new available cellphones, you might start leaving your Canon PowerShot S95 home in favor of the new cellphone.

Admitting that cell phones can take fantastic pictures, I think that one Achilles heel is the lack of optical zoom. There is no room for it, and attaching a lens to a phone seems pretty ridiculous. I've used digital zooms on real cameras, and it's not hard to go overboard and get a pixelated image. Usually not worth it.

ToBoldlyGo Loc: London U.K.

Collie lover wrote:

Cell phones are for communicating (talking, messaging). Cameras are for taking pictures. I have a Canon PowerShot S95 that I carry with me at all times. I can adjust aperture, speed, ISO, etc. Can't do that on a phone.

It's not practical to carry another gadget everywhere in many situations. Why even buy one when the image quality isn't much better than my smartphone? This I found when I spent close to £500 on a superzoom.

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

therwol wrote:

Admitting that cell phones can take fantastic pictures, I think that one Achilles heel is the lack of optical zoom. There is no room for it, and attaching a lens to a phone seems pretty ridiculous. I've used digital zooms on real cameras, and it's not hard to go overboard and get a pixelated image. Usually not worth it.

You are right that it is inefficient and ineffective using those relatively optically inferior add on lenses. And until they do find a way to add an optical zoom, most of us will have to settle for just two lenses.

And as far as digital zooms go, I really have no idea how access it and will likely never learn how to access it. One buys an Olympus E-M1mrII because it has 20mp - and then digitally zooms it to 5mp? You are right that digital zoom makes very little sense.

therwol Loc: USA

wdross wrote:

You are right that it is inefficient and ineffective using those relatively optically inferior add on lenses. And until they do find a way to add an optical zoom, most of us will have to settle for just two lenses.

And as far as digital zooms go, I really have no idea how access it and will likely never learn how to access it. One buys an Olympus E-M1mrII because it has 20mp - and then digitally zooms it to 5mp? You are right that digital zoom makes very little sense.

My Canon G7X Mark II has a 24-100 equivalent optical zoom and a two stage digital zoom. If you zoom the lens with the lever, it stops at the limit of the optical zoom. If you move the lever again in the same direction, it zooms to about 1.6 or 160mm equivalent and stops. If you move it again in the same direction, it goes to 2x or 200mm equivalent. You are warned that the image will degrade if you go that far. I'm at work and don't have any pictures with me, but believe me, the images become quite useless after 1.6x.

I was thinking of buying a camera with a much longer optical zoom range, but those typically have smaller sensors and slower lenses. I'm very happy with my choice. It serves me well when I'm not lugging around my DSLR. And I do use my phone when I'm not carrying either.

chipdog902

I have some pretty awesome photos with my Galaxy 8plus. Best part its always with me.

Pablo8 Loc: Nottingham UK.

One is a Toy, the other is a Tool.

ToBoldlyGo Loc: London U.K.

Pablo8 wrote:

One is a Toy, the other is a Tool.

Bull crap.

rook2c4 Loc: Philadelphia, PA USA

Pablo8 wrote:

One is a Toy, the other is a Tool.

In the right hands, both can be used as tools.

sjb3

gvarner wrote:

For me, it's a matter of looking at it primarily as a system issue. I can expand a DSLR system according to my needs, almost without limitation. I don't think you can say that about cameras in phones without being pretty restrictive on your needs.

I didn't read all 10 pages of posts, but I just got this in a promotional email from Nikon this morning, and it seems to be fairly relevant to the discussion since it seems to have been aimed at Smartphone owners who might want to try an alternative. Somehow, though, I get the feeling this won't really catch on much.

ToBoldlyGo Loc: London U.K.

rook2c4 wrote:

In the right hands, both can be used as tools.

Exactly. In actual fact, it's often the other way around for me. The phone is the tool, the camera, which is mostly used for my own enjoyment, is the toy. The comment you quoted is an example of the kind of snobbery which is sadly quite common in these forums.

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

gvarner wrote:

For me, it's a matter of looking at it primarily as a system issue. I can expand a DSLR system according to my needs, almost without limitation. I don't think you can say that about cameras in phones without being pretty restrictive on your needs.

No conundrum - I use both.

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

Gene51 wrote:

No conundrum - I use both.

Exactly! My iPhone is always with me, and when opportunity presents itself or I need to record a product or serial number, it's a five second shot.

When I am seeking photo opportunities or need a higher quality image, I bring my DSLR.

Where's the conundrum?

Andy

rogernoel Loc: Arizona, Oregon, Austria

I have read many of the posts here on the DSLR vs the cell phone. Lots of repetitive language and words. I graduated from a used French box camera on the streets of Vienna in January 1946 to Canons and Nikons with their great DSLR use. Only in the past several years have I tried to use a Cell Phone as a camera. My uses of the latter are very similar to most of you writers. However, I have yet to discover how to size the cell phone 5312. x 2988 to the other cameras 5184 x 3456.' I find that in many instances the crop is difficult and my Photo Shop Elements doesn't know what to do. Is it better to shoot in portrait vs landscape with the Cell phone? Or am I just missing something? This cell phone photo of Helsinki harbor has not been edited with my PS Elements.

(Download)

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

gvarner wrote:

For me, it's a matter of looking at it primarily as a system issue. I can expand a DSLR system according to my needs, almost without limitation. I don't think you can say that about cameras in phones without being pretty restrictive on your needs.

Different tools for different purposes. Foolish to compare.

rogernoel Loc: Arizona, Oregon, Austria

Seeing the comments here tells me that I obviously did communicate my problem with adjusting size of cell phone shots that can accompany my DSLR photos in similar size.