• The Forums are now open to new registrations, adverts are also being de-tuned.

Photography thread

ALFAitalia said:
If I had a proper camera It would never get used!
Click to expand...
There's an old adage amongst photographers that the best camera is the one you have with you.

I do have a DSLR, but the vast majority of the time I use my iPhone 14 Pro to take photos. That's because I'm always carrying it, and the results are generally very pleasing. But while it's very good, there's no substitute for a "proper" camera equipped with good lenses for so many things including motorsport, aviation and general sports photography or any time you need full control over the exposure and/or depth of field.
 
st13phil said:
There's an old adage amongst photographers that the best camera is the one you have with you.

I do have a DSLR, but the vast majority of the time I use my iPhone 14 Pro to take photos. That's because I'm always carrying it, and the results are generally very pleasing. But while it's very good, there's no substitute for a "proper" camera equipped with good lenses for so many things including motorsport, aviation and general sports photography or any time you need full control over the exposure and/or depth of field.
Click to expand...

When I travel I can end up carry about 6 or 7 kg of camera gear in my cabin baggage - typically two bodies and four lenses.

That's quite a chunk of weight / hassle commitment over and above a decent phone. I'll typically carry 2 to 3 kg in a smaller bag when actually out and about on a casual basis. I don't carry this kit all the time - but I do carry my phone all the time. When out with people and wanting to take social photos then phones are less intrusive.

Whether that weight / hassle commitment is worth it over a phone is increasingly debatable. It depends on the results you are looking for and your subject. Phones don't do telephoto stuff well - and they have to play tricks to get good low light shots. But when the tricks work - or when the shots fit the phone's underlying strengths then they are astonishingly good.

I think the quality of phones has had an impact on the DSLR / mirrorless camera market. 15 to 20 years ago there were cheaper SLRs, DSLRs, and early mirrorless cameras. These have faded. Cheap 'kit' zoom lenses associated with that market have pretty much faded. Lenses sold today are typically bigger and heavy. This is in part down to the camera bodies and sensors demanding better lenses - but also differentiation - there's no point in mounting a cheap lens on a camera because phones can reach the equivalent usable quality in many conditions. So phones effectively wiped out traditional compact cameras through being ubiquitous and good enough - and they've chiselled out the middle zone of the market meaning leaving increasingly higher high end sitting above.




.
 
Dryce said:
But when the tricks work - or when the shots fit the phone's underlying strengths then they are astonishingly good.
Click to expand...
^ This is the most important bit about phone photography: accepting that certain types of shot suit phone cameras much better than others, and playing to those strengths.
 
st13phil said:
^ This is the most important bit about phone photography: accepting that certain types of shot suit phone cameras much better than others, and playing to those strengths.
Click to expand...

The use of multiple cameras and lenses in phones is a brute force way of extending their operating range - and we're now seeing the prism/mirror based telephoto setups where the 'longer' zoom lens is in effect placed side ways in the phone. (Minolta had a tiny compact camera over 20 years ago which had a compact zoom internally using a similar principle - the Dimage X).

One aspect that is often forgotten about when it comes to what phones can or cannot do - is light and time. Professional level video and photography often involves lighting and reflectors - or involves spending time at a location. So as an example phones can take great video - but to really compete with professional grade vide work you need to carry other equipment - it's not just about the camera. The top landscape photographs are often about taking the effort to be in the right place at the right time and being prepared to wait as conditions change - or return several times. Once you factor in this additional overhead of kit and/or effort then committing it to 'just' a phone is less attractive.
 
st13phil said:
There's an old adage amongst photographers that the best camera is the one you have with you.

I do have a DSLR, but the vast majority of the time I use my iPhone 14 Pro to take photos. That's because I'm always carrying it, and the results are generally very pleasing. But while it's very good, there's no substitute for a "proper" camera equipped with good lenses for so many things including motorsport, aviation and general sports photography or any time you need full control over the exposure and/or depth of field.
Click to expand...

Absolutely.

I've always had a 'go everywhere with me' camera, which in 35mm times was a tiny Olympus XA rangefinder compact with a small screw-on flash. Then high quality digital compacts - currently (still) a Sony RX100 II. This is increasingly redundant nowadays as I always choose phones with a good quality camera (currently a Google Pixel 7a), which are even more portable and well suited to general snapping.

Any kind of compact camera (including the one on a phone) is next to useless for the specialised cases you mention ... for me mostly animals and aviation. I only use one lens on my current Canon R6 - a 100-500 zoom. One thing I love about the R6 is the ability to manually set both the shutter speed and aperture to suit what I'm doing and have the camera vary the ISO rating as required to maintain the exposure.
 
Hi
A few photos from our trip to Armenia this week.
IMG_800.jpeg
Above is a view of Mt. Ararat (famous for being the resting place of Noah’s arc). In the foreground is an ancient monastery called Khor Virap
IMG_5305.jpegIMG_5306.jpeg
IMG_5305.jpeg
Above three photos are in the centre of Yerevan
It snowed this evening.
All these photos were taken with my iPhone 14
Cheers
Steve
 
Hi,
We visited the newly opened BAPS Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi yesterday afternoon.
The inside is all hand carved white marble pillars, domes, ceilings etc.
The outside is all hand carved sandstone from Jaipur in India.
The workmanship is mind blowing!

IMG_69930.jpegIMG_69930.jpegIMG_69930.jpegIMG_69930.jpegIMG_69930.jpegIMG_69930.jpegIMG_69930.jpegIMG_69930.jpeg
Cheers
Steve
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)

Similar threads

conor1n
Filling an empty R230 ABC system.
Replies
4
Views
914
W1ghty
W1ghty
MissyD
Recent purchase thread
94 95 96
Replies
2K
Views
89K
Swotty
S
Sam87
Can my father be part of MBClub now also? E350 AMG Line Premium
Replies
13
Views
2K
Sam87
Sam87
R
GLC 250 - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION CONTROL UNIT
Replies
2
Views
1K
Trickythemerc
Trickythemerc
TeddyRuxpin
How can you tell if it's safe to block up holes under an old barn?
Replies
7
Views
1K
Bobby Dazzler
Bobby Dazzler
Back
Top Bottom