How Much do use your Smartphone for photography?

[kshapero]

Hardly ever use my iPhone 15 Pro as a camera, but now I am starting to rethink it. There are advantages but I still feel a bit like a heretic.

 

[trix4ever]

I only ever use my phone as a notebook to record stuff, then just the other day I was in my local mall and saw this, took it on my phone, then ran down to my car for my GR and when I got back the moment was gone....and yes I did feel like a heretic myself

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I don't own a smartphone and never will unless absolutely forced to.

 

[trix4ever]

Hi Chris,
I held off until about two years ago, in Australia it became basically impossible to function without one, for banking and the like.
I turn off all notifications and all sound is off so I don't even hear phone calls.
I try and be in control of it rather than the other way around.
I totally get where you're coming from, I still hate the things.

Also since nearly every street photo I take these days has someone looking at a phone I've virtually stopped street photography and moved to documentary projects and urban landscape.

Rff is the only social media I go on, basically because it's full of nice people.

 

[Godfrey]

I see no need to eschew useful tools, and the smartphone is useful. I turn it off when it annoys me. 😉
For photography ... I often simply forget that it has a quite useful camera in it. My latest has an excellent camera system... I just have to remember that it's there.

G

 

[sojournerphoto]

Think I’m a bit like Godfrey - I forget that it can make quite nice pictures. However, I do use it for snaps and grabs if it’s convenient.

 

[joe bosak]

i find it much easier to use a camera to get what i want, but if a phone is all i have that's what I use. I find phones too fiddly to take photos with, and my phone too often has a mind of it's own as regards when it will fire, whether it will use flash, how many flashes and refocuses it will do before actually firing etc. It's not even like the pictures of the end of my shoe or the tarmac are in focus either very often.

 

[raydm6]

Quite often. I will be upgrading to an iPhone 15 Pro soon.

 

[mrtoml]

I find the ergonomics of the phone all wrong for photography. I only use mine for recording things I need to remember or snapshots for ebay and the like. I did get a grip for my iPhone to try and use it more, but I still hardly ever do.

 

[wlewisiii]

I have a phone, I use it more as a handheld computer than anything else. That it has a camera is, well, it's there. I use it more to take pictures _of_ my cameras than anything else. I almost never leave the house without a real camera in hand along with my phone in my pocket.

 

[Freakscene]

Increasingly. A phone makes you invisible, because, well, everyone has one.

iPhone 13 Pro Max.

 

[santino]

Actually not at all. I just use it to document things but I don’t consider it a tool for serious photography.

 

[Erik van Straten]

If you want to use an iPhone or Smartphone for taking a photo, it is always empty and needs to be charged. Not very suitable for taking photographs. And framing ... just forget it.

 

[Yokosuka Mike]

The Cell phone and me, me and the cell phone… Where do I begin?

Firstly, do we call it a smartphone? Is “cell phone” le passé composé? (pardon my French) (I always wanted to say “pardon my French” while attempting to say something in French) (of course someone will probably come along and correct my use of French… Boojum perhaps).

Anyway, I don’t use my smartphone to take pictures. Never have, never will. I’m a smart phone dummy. Basically my phone (from now on I will refer to any form of mobile phone, be it smart, cellular, or whatever, as “phone”) is more of an emergency communications device for me… that and a portable mini computer for checking the news and other stuff on long train rides because I’m bored and I finished reading my newspaper.

On the other hand, my wife is very phone savvy. We travel for pleasure frequently and my wife is the travel agent that deals with everything using her phone while I just follow her around like a dimwitted puppy dog (sorry Dogman, no offense meant to the dog breed, or dog lovers).

So, so, so… the phone as a camera, it brings me no joy. But then I was one of those guys that fought digital photography tooth and nail; I swore I’d give up photography rather than switch to digital… long live film. Give me film or give me (my film cameras, not me) death. Now I’m 100% digital and loving it; what’s up with that?

The bottom line is that there is no bottom line. Do what you want, it doesn't matter, it’s not that important.

The endless beating of the film Vs. digital horse will have to move over and make room for the camera Vs. phone Vs Ai horse beatings!

The beatings won’t stop until… you don’t give a shit anymore.

All the best,
Mike

 

[Tom R]

I use the phone/camera when (1) I need something quickly that I can communicate electronically, e.g., a photograph of a product label or an item that needs to be sent to a business in order to obtain replacement parts, service, etc., (2) when I am running errands (or engaged in other activities where I do not have access to my cameras). In this second case, I rarely use the image as a finished photograph, but instead make a "reference" image that provides some useful information, such as the geographical location (via "geocodes") and the date and time, that I can then use to for planning.

 

[Disappointed_Horse]

I prefer to shoot with my film cameras, but I shoot far more photos with my iPhone than any other digital camera. I don't have much inclination to carry my boat anchor like DSLR around, and the iPhone has a bigger and better screen for composition than any compact camera. I have been using the stock camera app and a couple of other other camera apps (Hisptamatic, Argentum) on it so long that it's second nature to me. The image quality may not match larger sensor cameras, but I've printed photos from 12mp iPhone files up to 8x10″ and 11x11″ that look good enough to hang on the wall.

I seriously considered buying a Ricoh GRIII or IIIx before buying my iPhone 13 Pro, but wasn't sure I would carry the GR with me everywhere once the novelty wore off. I'd still like to have a GR at some point, but the iPhone is the right choice for me for an EDC camera.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Hardly ever use my iPhone 15 Pro as a camera, but now I am starting to rethink it. There are advantages but I still feel a bit like a heretic.

View attachment 4830786

Good looking BW.

To me small size images like this is what any phone camera is going to be only capable due to simple limitation on tiny sensor size.
So, this limit limits my use. Here is no phone cameras sensors which are capable of decent 1:1 view. Some do, but it needs to be taken in RAW. And on phones it is most often not possible without extra effort.

Also, it might works for some, but mobile phones ergonomics are only good for my tourist like photos. Look around, take phone from the pocket and take pictures while holding it in clumsy way.

Yours's photo is not taken like this and to me it is difficult to take pictures like this with phone.

And, these days I often have phone mounted to navigate me while I'm on bike or walking. I prefer dedicated camera on the neck strap over too much of the monkey business with phone in navigation mode and in the holder.

 

[Richard G]

I use it all the time. There was a time I’d forget I had this ready camera always with me when my Leica was out of film/battery. I have an iPhone 11 Pro with three separate lenses. The slow shutter image stabilization night shots are amazing. One of my photographic group has not bought a camera at all, he just uses the iPhone. The Black + White Photography magazine has an iphoneography page. You can get some great results.


Stone Dance by Richard, on Flickr



Sunday am September by Richard, on Flickr

 

[HuubL]

I use my iPhone 11 all the time, mostly for photos of my dogs while walking them. But shooting my Leicas and other film cameras gives me joy! And developing film once every few weeks is much, much more exciting than blinking the screen of my iPhone to immediately delete what I just shot.

 

[HuubL]