Smartphone cameras are getting better and better.. Are u ready to give up your p&s?

GaryLH

GaryLH

Veteran
Local time
12:33 AM
Joined
Jan 18, 2010
Messages
6,141
Smartphone cameras are getting better and better.. Are u ready to give up your p&s?

Sorry long post.. Just been thinking about this.. What really started it was another thread where someone posted why worry about the next version of camera x. While I don't agree.. It did get me thinking....

I remember my first smartphone camera was barely good enough to be equal to my old Kodak instamatics pics. Then manufacturers starting getting serious w/ that camera... I remember the first Sony camera phone w/ a 5mp that came out maybe 1 or 2 yrs ahead of the iPhone. Then the iPhone w/ a only so-sp camera. The first iPhone that I thought did pretty decent job was the 4s (something that looked better then that Sony my friends had way back when).

Fast forward today, we have 41mp from Nokia, the new iPhone 5s, the HTC, Sony, and Samsung phones are a far cry from those original camera phones from the even 4 years ago.

My nieces and nephews probably shoot over 80 percent of their pics and videos using that smart phone camera. They connect to twitter and Facebook and ask me why I don't have an account :(. I kind of feel they really represent the average person out there who just wants to capture the moment and share it w/ friends.

While I do still carry a p&s camera w/ me like the Sony rx100 or Ricoh gr, I do use the iPhone camera.

This article about the new iPhone sweep panoramic capabilities got me thinking... Technology gets better.. The question in my mind is when will I abandon the dedicated pocketable p&s camera and just use my smart phone camera.

http://www.dpreview.com/articles/2038527691/editorial-why-i-cant-stop-taking-iphone-panoramas

For me, in the near future, I believe that answer is not yet. Looking at the all the camera makers which made all their easy money on p&s sales, I can c them shrinking their line up (Fuji already has) and concentrate on more up scale stuff.

I wonder how many will partner up w/ smart phone makers to create an even better camera phone or venture out into creating their own andriod based smartphone. Companies like Sony and Samsung seem to have an advantage here, but will they be able to capture the market. There are already a sprinkling of andriod based cameras announced this year.

I think we are going to c some interesting experiments like the new Sony camera lens that uses near field commo to a smartphone or tablet as vendors try to find new ways to make money in this space.

As I said.. I am not ready yet.. As good as the Nokia or new iPhone is right now, I am actually pretty happy w/ what I have. I am not sure if it is nostalgia or whatever, but I kind of like the lower quality look sometimes from my old iPhone (that Kodak instamatic look from my old 3s), but a lot of my grab shots are made w/ that high end p&s.

Interesting times we live in..
Gary
 
No way for me. I don't even use the camera in my iPhone really. I hate it ergonomically.

There is no way even the best camera phone can compete with the Ricoh GR and Sony RX100 (II) in ergonomics, quality, and enjoyment. I still want my camera to act like a camera... and I still like to choose shutter speeds and aperture.

I get it... yes, great photos can be made with the iPhone (and similar phones). However, the large sensor P&S is killing it still for many reasons. Then again, I'm into photography and not social media.
 
P&S cameras are getting better and better too. But I don't the snapshop battle being fought on quality terms. As soon as quality is "good enough" the choice comes down to convenience. Smartphone are more likely to be carried everywhere, allow instant uploads, and even a little bit of editing on the go.

I find most P&S cameras are less than ideal in terms of ergonomics, and phones are even worse, but this does not seem to bother the thousands of people I see everywhere flooding their FB feeds with cellphone images.
 
I just sent the Ricoh GR back and am seriously considering going from an iPhone 4 to a 5s mainly because of the camera.

In spite of yearning for a large sensor compact during all the years that they never existed, now that they are feasible I've found that they are not enjoyable to shoot with (several m4/3s, Fuji X100s, now the Ricoh GR). I have still talked myself into trying whatever is the new hot camera every six months but I keep finding that they continue to make them too small, slow, and awkward to use in spite of all the adulation.

Whereas... the iPhone camera is one button, responsive, always with me and very unobtrusive... and Apple's user interface and color handling is so much better that the Japanese camera manufacturers should be shamed into hari-kari.
 
I'm sure it will happen one day, but for the time being, I quite like GR+Eye-Fi+Phone approach. It works surprisingly well.
 
Speaking of the Sony lens camera

Speaking of the Sony lens camera

In my original post I mentioned the Sony. I just came across this post from getdpi. Someone already using the cheaper qx10.

http://www.getdpi.com/forum/small-sensor-cameras/48595-3d-sony-qx10-sharp-sh80f.html

Given how good smartphone cameras are getting.. One day they may real zoom capabilities as well instead of digital zoom and pixel binning. As electronics and packaging shrink and smart phones get bigger.. The folded zoom pioneered by Minolta x20 camera of over a decade ago maybe something can be done for example to give smartphones a true zoom.

These types of devices (Sony ax series), I can kind of c maybe using it a tablet w/o camera for example... But as I think about it more.. Much prefer a dedicated pocketable p&s camera.

Gary
 
I use my iPhone for lomo-like 600x600 pictures for my blog and for home video. Very good for it.
But I can't ignore large sensor+good lens IQ, which modern P&S has to offer. Not to mention zoom capabilities.

If you are basic lens P&S ex-user, sure, phone lens is good for you.
If you measure IQ by MP, Panorama, HDR etc, sure, smartphones are getting better.
 
There was a post here last week, where some kiddies/hipsters were marveling at the results and 3-D qualities of some photos - and, yes, they were shot with a _film_ camera :D
 
My iPhone 4S for digisnaps for the interwebs, film cameras for more serious/personal photography.
 
I have already made the switch to an extent. I like using the iPhone 4S and have taken some surprisingly (to me) good pics with it. For me it fully replaces a P&S. When I know I want better images/more control I take my mirrorless with me.

So much of what one photographs for the sake of memory or document doesn't need to be of high quality – it needs to be good enough. Phone cameras are already good enough and getting better all the time. I just don't need Ricoh/Coolpix A/RX100/MILC quality of the birthday cake, the dock at the cottage this summer, the amazing plate of food I'm about to eat, etc.
 
I'd be happier if camera makers added just emergency cellphone capability to a really good P&S, rather than adding camera capability to a really great cell phone.
 
The phone cameras are improving but… they are not there yet.
I've run out of light or headroom plenty of times with iPhone 4s.
A friend who is patient enough to learn Win8 has the 1020.
She's shown me some nice images that made me think …….hmmm maybe!…..when I lent here a fuji x20 she was blown away by the results she was getting and the control allowed by that simply camera.

This discussion is coming up once a year or so. It's still ahead of it's time at this moment imo.
 
Paddy C said:
I have already made the switch to an extent. I like using the iPhone 4S and have taken some surprisingly (to me) good pics with it. For me it fully replaces a P&S. When I know I want better images/more control I take my mirrorless with me.

So much of what one photographs for the sake of memory or document doesn't need to be of high quality – it needs to be good enough. Phone cameras are already good enough and getting better all the time. I just don't need Ricoh/Coolpix A/RX100/MILC quality of the birthday cake, the dock at the cottage this summer, the amazing plate of food I'm about to eat, etc.
Click to expand...

You make a good point, that using the cell phone for the family snaps and then posting them online (in lieu of the physical family album) gives you a distinct "line in the sand" between snaps and "serious" photography.

It's kind of funny how the two most popular-widespread photo-journalism stories that have stuck out recently have been coverage of the Afghan War either by iPhone or Wet Plate... nobody wants the crisp, detailed Canikon (or Leica-Sony-OlyPan) version.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom