Using cell phone camera more and more

[Speedliner]

it dawned on me recently that with all the talking and planning around DR and Blur and lenses, and what kit I'd like to see next, that I am using my cell phone camera more and more.

Funny considering 10 years ago I thought cellphone cameras were a feature I'd never use. But, it's always with me. It's always connected and I do often want to post or send a picture right away.

It can't shoot my kids' ballet or sports of course. Or get me that shot of a diving kingfisher that I hope to get one day. It doesn't replace my hobby camera and lenses...BUT...I'm finding myself more and more willing to settle for it in more and more situations - not just the snap of a birthday party. That surprises me some.

I guess I'm realizing that my "camera" is going to be used for more specialized purposes and my iPhone camera for most everything else. It's like a life change that I'm not completely comfortable with.

 

[Christop82]

I agree that phone cameras have gotten very good , for a phone camera that is. As long as you don't mind high ISO noise or major noise reduction smoothing of photos. When my wife brags about how good her phone pictures look, I zoom in to show her how much noise and lack of detail they really have.
The idea of always having a decent camera in your pocket is amazing, but I still prefer to bring my camera if I plan on taking any pictures.

 

[SojiOkita]

Current phone cameras are pretty good.
I'm using my Galaxy S7 camera more and more.
There are limitations: wide angle only, poor high ISO pictures, big DOF and bad ergonomics compared to a camera.
But when used properly, the results are pretty good.

The ability to take DNG pictures was a huge step in picture quality, as the JPEG internal processing was always awful on the cellphones I used.

 

[waday]

My cell phone takes lots of pictures. Right now, I have over 2,500 pictures on my cell phone, and that was after a purge earlier this year. Granted, a lot of them are probably memes that I sent my wife/friends. Some are for documentation purposes. Others are to share with family/friends.

That said, I find myself frequently changing between my Olympus, my cell phone, and even a couple of my P&S depending on the situation. I would like to always use my Olympus and have it on me at all times, but that's not realistic. I always have my cell phone in my pocket.

No matter the camera, I'm just happy to take a picture.

When my wife brags about how good her phone pictures look, I zoom in to show her how much noise and lack of detail they really have.

I would fear a fist zooming into my face if I did that...

 

[Christop82]

My cell phone takes lots of pictures. Right now, I have over 2,500 pictures on my cell phone, and that was after a purge earlier this year. Granted, a lot of them are probably memes that I sent my wife/friends. Some are for documentation purposes. Others are to share with family/friends.

That said, I find myself frequently changing between my Olympus, my cell phone, and even a couple of my P&S depending on the situation. I would like to always use my Olympus and have it on me at all times, but that's not realistic. I always have my cell phone in my pocket.

No matter the camera, I'm just happy to take a picture.




I would fear a fist zooming into my face if I did that...

Thankfully she instantly dismisses anything negative I have to say about her phone pictures.

 

[SojiOkita]

When my wife brags about how good her phone pictures look, I zoom in to show her how much noise and lack of detail they really have.

That was the case with her Sony Xperia phone.
I kept telling her to take pictures a real camera because I couldn't do anything good with her pictures (because of the image quality).
Now that she has a Samsung Galaxy, I explained her how to take DNG+JPG.
She uses the ugly JPG for facebook & co, and I get the DNG. Everybody is happy

 

[tkbslc]

When my wife brags about how good her phone pictures look, I zoom in to show her how much noise and lack of detail they really have.
.

How rude and counterproductive. Can you imagine showing an m4/3 shot and having a FF photographer make you zoom in and compare noise and tell you your photo sucks?

 

[Christop82]

How rude and counterproductive. Can you imagine showing an m4/3 shot and having a FF photographer make you zoom in and compare noise and tell you your photo sucks?

I have to justify my purchases. If she thinks her phone is just as good, no need for my cameras. Besides that, the amount of noise difference between m43 and ff is no where near a cell phone and m43 sensor.
Edit: I think my comment is being taken out of context. I let my wife know that her pictures are good, I only point out that their is a difference in the quality and detail that is captured by a m43/aps/ff sensor and a cell phone. If you don't believe that, maybe you should just use your cell phone for your photography.

 

[PakkyT]

Thankfully she instantly dismisses anything negative I have to say about her phone pictures.

Perhaps she actually just dismisses EVERYTHING you say?

I am using my cell phone camera more and more.

Way back on my old flip phone I never used the camera very much. As they have improved tremendously I use my mobile phone's camera a lot more. But the big thing I have found is that it is the best notepad EVER. I take pictures of everything and anything if I need it later. Serial number on something, take a photo. Name of that book reviews in the newspaper I want to look up later, take a photo. Bus schedule, take a picture. What size tires are on my car, photo.

Also couple your phone camera with Dropbox, Google Drive, or other "cloud" services that will allow setting up so your new shots are automatically uploaded to your Dropbox, etc. means that when I get back home or to my desk at work, those photos are already there for me to reference.

 

[exakta]

Finally got an iPhone a few months ago and have started using the camera. First thing I did was get a better camera app

For me, it's strictly a snapshot machine...it's always with me and I can take a shot quickly. Since I don't do email or Facebook on the phone all the advantages of easily sharing images are wasted on me.

 

[CyVan]

Perhaps she actually just dismisses EVERYTHING you say?




Way back on my old flip phone I never used the camera very much. As they have improved tremendously I use my mobile phone's camera a lot more. But the big thing I have found is that it is the best notepad EVER. I take pictures of everything and anything if I need it later. Serial number on something, take a photo. Name of that book reviews in the newspaper I want to look up later, take a photo. Bus schedule, take a picture. What size tires are on my car, photo.

Also couple your phone camera with Dropbox, Google Drive, or other "cloud" services that will allow setting up so your new shots are automatically uploaded to your Dropbox, etc. means that when I get back home or to my desk at work, those photos are already there for me to reference.

Yup! , Google Photos automatically backs up my pics to the my account and coupled with Google Keep , its a great way to keep track of everything, like receipts, prescriptions, serial numbers etc and tag them

 

[Drdul]

I am using my cell phone camera more and more.

In the right conditions, photos from my iPhone 6s are as good (for my purposes) as the photos I was perfectly happy with from my digital camera 10 years ago. The 29mm equivalent focal length and the ability to shoot in Raw and process in Lightroom mean that I am also using my phone more and more. The only thing I have to keep remembering is to clean the dust from my pocket (where I carry my phone) off the lens, because with that small a lens (and sensor) every hunk of dust makes a difference in image quality.

 

[pellicle]

Agreed

Back when I got this phone I compared it with my GF1 and 14mm lens. I found then similar. More similar than I thought it had expected.
in my view ...: modern Phones as cameras

The Key feature to me is RAW, as when the chips are down this allows post processing to get a better image from the camera module than the native app gave.

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Now where I may have carried my GF1 with 14f2.5 I have my phone

in my view ...: the camera you have with you ...

 

[pellicle]

Yup! , ...and coupled with Google Keep , its a great way to keep track of everything, like receipts, prescriptions, serial numbers etc and tag them

And the GPS tagging helps. I photographed pubs in Prague so I could get back there again

 

[tkbslc]

Phone seems to hold up pretty well against a real camera in many travel and everyday situations.

Landscape-oriented one is from my phone.

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[pellicle]

Phone seems to hold up pretty well against a real camera in many travel and everyday situations.

nice punchy colours too

 

[SojiOkita]

Back when I got this phone I compared it with my GF1 and 14mm lens. I found then similar. More similar than I thought it had expected.

I made a comparison a few weeks ago: GM5+14mm / my old Nexus 5 / my ipad (camera equivalent to iphone 6s) / galaxy s7.
All in RAW / DNG.
In low light situations, the difference is still huge, and for instance the galaxy s7 sensor seems to be very poor at high iso (it uses optical stabilization and high aperture to be able to use lower iso).
In good lighting situations, the GM5 has still an advantage if you look in details, but if you don't pixel peep, most people (including me) won't be able to see that the pictures are coming from a cell phone.

For a typical situation: correct lighting, photos with a large field of view (gs7 is wider than gm1 + 14 mm) and a large depth of field, my phone can make great pictures.
I also use it in more difficult situations, because sometimes photographing with a phone is much more convenient (and authorized) and it still do an OK job.

For example, at a concert, smartphones are authorized (even with my gm5, access is not guaranteed) and can make nice souvenir pictures.
It also helps focusing on the concert more than on the pictures.

 

[lchien]

The camera you have with you is always better than the camera you left at home.
Cell phone cameras are quite good, esp. to the view of the masses.
You want the best technical picture and photographic control under difficult photo conditions, bring your Good camera.