anyone using an iphone as their go-to street camera?

[porktaco]

so, i've got about a week left on my 30day iphone trial period. i love the camera (not least for hipstamatic and, to a lesser extent, instagram). and photostream. and camera+... but i digress.

the thing is, it's bloody expensive.

backstory... i have a phone from work, and i've put my sim in a samsung galaxy (the camera on which, btw, blows). i like the slide keyboard and the live notifications for android, not to mention the phone interface, enough for me to have bought an unlocked samsung. but the camera is awful. really awful. soft, unexciting, blah. even with instagram for android. so, i can keep my awesome teeny pocket camera - my iphone - but it's going to cost me pretty close to $3k over the next two years.

three

thousand

dollars

that's half an m9. for something i don't really need. i mean, i have a couple of cameras already. and i could get an x100 or a ricoh gxr (heck, an x100 AND a gxr) for what i'm contemplating frittering away on an iphone.

*note, let's all take a moment to laugh at the notion of expense control on a leica-heavy forum*

and i hate carrying two devices.

and i can only get my work email on one phone (it'll be android).

and and and

but i take a lot of nice pictures with that little phone. it's unthreatening, in a way that even an x100 isn't. it's dead reliable, fast, stuff backs up to the cloud and has really nice image quality. plus it's fun to use.

i'm back and forth on this about a dozen times a day.

anyone using their iphone for street shooting with any amount of satisfaction?

 

[lcpr]

I have an iPhone 4 and while I do like its camera (and all the apps), I tend not to use it as its for my uses a phone/email device first and foremost - the battery life is already pretty short as it is without using a camera app. However it is really nice for those quick grab shots, especially considering how its lens is around 28mm in 135 terms.

 

[Thardy]

I have an iPhone 4s. It is pretty good as an all in one type of device, but it's no M9. Saying that, the camera and video is decent to good depending who you ask, the phone works as a micro computer in function. It's small and ubiquitous so it can be used almost anywhere, anytime.

I'm sure other phones can do the same. Use the phone from work, put some of those funky art apps on it and have fun. I did that for years with my crummy iPhone 3G.

I've never thought about the long term cost of iPhone usage.

 

[Teuthida]

I do. See link below. Love it. Best street shooter ever.

 

[jsrockit]

I hate using the iPhone for my photography. However, I do like using it as a visual notepad for reminders of places to go back to.

 

[Richard G]

I use it a lot but lately it won't launch the camera until I put in my 4 digit pass code. I've taken some lovely shots with it. Great macro. It's no good to hold still. Hard to remember where the lens is and keep my fingers out of the way. I use it routinely for work. Opportunity cost of only having this with me instead of a proper camera is too high. Our plans in Australia must be cheaper than yours. I could not function without an iPhone. I had a gap of 4 days in 2010. Very difficult.

 

[hlockwood]

The iPhone is a great little camera for little jobs, but I carry it and my M9, with one of my 50mm lenses, every day.

Harry

 

[Paul T.]

Download the update and you won't have to, since the camera is now accessible when the phone is locked. Just double tap the home button when in the lock screen. Or download 5.1 and you it is always be available next to the slide switch.

God bless you, sir, for this.

I love the iPhone camera. For grab shots, I prefer it to my GF1!

 

[Lss]

so, i can keep my awesome teeny pocket camera - my iphone - but it's going to cost me pretty close to $3k over the next two years.

Three thousand? Take it back and laugh in their face.

 

[apples]

I just started using the instagram for android. Started a little 365 project on it just for fun, and surprisingly i'm taking more shots than I realised. When i'm at work or doing errands I don't usually grab a camera with me so my Nexus Galaxy + some simple editing tools = fun snapshots.

 

[Brian Legge]

Hows the price work out to 3k? $120 a month for the iphone contract but your work phone is free?

If so, could you just buy an iphone outright and use it with your work plan?

 

[Ronny]

iPhone 4S is very good!!!!

 

[River Dog]

iPhone 4 is $1300 over 2 years for me - with a "free" phone. It is not my "go to" digital street camera. That would be the S95. For film, the XA, Rollei 35 S or Rolleiflex.

 

[shadowfox]

I use my android phone to take pictures.
Not because I like it, but just because it's likely to be anywhere with me.

I don't like tapping on a screen to take pictures, I like a shutter button.
I need a Ricoh GRD I think... 🙂

 

[porktaco]

Hows the price work out to 3k? $120 a month for the iphone contract but your work phone is free?

If so, could you just buy an iphone outright and use it with your work plan?

24 months * $120 plus the cost of the phone plus any data overages. iphone requires an iphone data plan, and my non-iphone data plan won't turn the phone on. at least the data part.

 

[agour]

24 months * $120 plus the cost of the phone plus any data overages. iphone requires an iphone data plan, and my non-iphone data plan won't turn the phone on. at least the data part.

wow, thats really expensive!

I get a samsung glaaxy s2 for £30 a month, and thats insured too..
works out at $1410 over the 2 years. I always wonder why people pay so much more money for iphones, when their nearest competitors do all the same things!

 

[Richard G]

Download the update and you won't have to, since the camera is now accessible when the phone is locked. Just double tap the home button when in the lock screen. Or download 5.1 and it is always be available next to the slide switch.

That's what I was trying to say: I have that but it is no longer working. After double tap I get the camera icon but it just bounces when I press it and won't launch.

 

[drewbarb]

Not to hijack the thread, but I'm curious about this as well, with the added question of who is using Ben Syverson's Mattebox app for this purpose? ( http://mattebox.com/iphone/ )

I know this has been discussed here before, but I didn't see much feedback from RFF. I gather Ben is a member here, but what do the rest of you think? Anyone using the iPhone with mattebox as a day-to-day use thing? What are your thoughts? Do you use other apps or the naked iPhone cam too? How? I'd love to get your thoughts before I plunge into the madness of using and paying for an iPhone.

EDIT: My vanity requires that I clarify- I use a CAMERA when I want a CAMERA; I'm considering an iPhone as a smartphone first and foremost. I ask about using the camera function, mattebox, and other apps for those shots that present themselves when I don't have a 'real camera' with me or otherwise just want to grab the shot with the phone.

 

[Richard G]

That's what I was trying to say: I have that but it is no longer working. After double tap I get the camera icon but it just bounces when I press it and won't launch.

I now see two faint grey bars above and below the camera icon following double tap: pressing the camera no longer launches it, I have to swipe up to reveal the camera. Don't know when that crept in but it does work, not as easily as before.

 

[nightfly]

I find the iPhone awkward to use as a day to day street photo camera. I'll use it if I have no other options but I just find the shape awkward and it just doesn't do it for me. I wouldn't suggest buying one just for this purpose. They have improved it with the ability to go straight to the camera and to use the + volume control as a shutter button.

I've got Camera +, Hipstamatic, Camera Bag, Crossprocess etc but I'd much rather use a regular camera (usually a GR1) given the choice. I have seen some nice work done with it but for me it's awkward and not inspiring.

That said the 4S is a really great smartphone. A huge speed improvement over the iPhone 3G I was using before. I highly recommend it just don't talk yourself into just for the camera.