Even More Depressing?

W

Wilko58

Messages
365
Name
Tracey
Edit My Images
Yes
Following on from jerry12593 post here https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/i-found-this-pretty-depressing.590842/ there is more depressing news; could we be seeing the demise of 'real' cameras, look at the spec of the camera on the new LG G4 here http://www.lg.com/uk/mobile-phones/g4/feature.jsp?name=section1 amongst other things it has an 16MP sensor, f1.8 lens, laser autofocus, manual mode and shoots RAW and JPEG! Classes are even being run to teach people how to use their mobiles as cameras and you can buy lenses to add to your mobile's camera - what do you think, are we seeing the demise of the camera, an increase in quality photos from mobile phones or indeed a new breed of photographer?
 
Not worried per se, just wondering if we will see a new breed of photographer; perhaps TP might have to start a Mobile Photography Forum (if there isn't one already?).
 
I love the shoys from my 640 Lumia!! So impressed!! Who needs a DSLR? lol
 
My phone camera is quite good but it can't do what my DSLR can do, I'm just making the point that phone cameras are getting better and better and I believe capable of producing results better than most point and shoots (obviously the skill of the user also has to be taken into account!). Someone (brave or stupid) has already shot a complete wedding on an iPhone so there is evidence that the DSLR can be usurped by a mobile phone.
 
Don't see what the problem is here. A photographer will pick the best tool for the job regardless of if it looks like a DSLR or a mobile Phone. Sure it might mean more people have access to DSLR equivalent cameras, but that trend has been happening for a while and I'm not a rich elitist so I see this as a good thing. It might even encourage some to make the most of the camera they have and learn about what photography is all about without having to worry about buying a big fancy camera. That said mobile phones won't appeal to me as a camera until they are able to fire off-camera flash as well as a DSLR but I imagine with wi-fi that shouldn't be a particularly difficult task and mobile phones already seem better at using wifi than cameras...
 
My Nokia Windows phone has more megapixels than my camera. It also shoots in raw. Am I bothered, no not really.
 
Its a phone....okay it has a decent camera but it should have at over £500! I just want my phone to make calls and my cameras to take photos. Having said that, I saw some footage taken on my mate's Galaxy S6 and that definately looks as good as anything Ive seen on a consumer video camera.
 
posiview said:
Isn't it what the device, mobile/DSLR/SLR, etc, produces that matters??

Cheers.
Click to expand...

Sensor size is still a controlling factor in image quality, all other things being equal, and a phone is poorly designed to take pictures.

There's no fear of phone cams replacing conventional cameras with larger sensors yet. People have been using add-on lenses for iPhones for 4+ years: a friend was taking great close-up shots with hers for facebook a couple of years ago (looked good at FB size, not so much if enlarged) and it encouraged her to buy a Nikon D3200.
 
Each to their own of course.. I will always have my phone on me so it's handy for unexpected shots.. But where I'm going out to photograph something specific I'll always be taking my X100T however good a mobile phone gets :)
 
Nothing wrong with taking pics with a phone but it's not always the best tool for the job
I was on the riverbank the other day doing macro and I tried to take a picture of a mayfly with my Samsung S5 to send to my mate to show him what I had found but it wouldn't focus close enough
But my Samsung s 5 is great for taking pics of friends and family and sharing straight away it's just a matter of the right tool for the job
 
Last edited:
Wilko58 said:
are we seeing the demise of the camera, an increase in quality photos from mobile phones or indeed a new breed of photographer?
Click to expand...

Death of cameras? No.

New breed of photographers? Probably, but so what? Maybe that's what is needed for amateur photography: It's had it's head up it's own technical arse for far too long now.
 
The best camera is the one that you have with you. If that means a phone, so be it. No good having £5k worth of equipment if you're too scared to take it out of the house or it's too heavy to carry everywhere with you.
 
To old to worry about it!
 
I was looking at a new phone the other day, the sales person went on and on and on, about how good it was at taking photos. He even went on to tell me how good it was at playing games. He was about to start rabbiting on about how good it was at emails, until I stopped him. I asked him, what is it like for making and receiving phone calls. I also wanted to know, what was the signal like, and what was the clarity of the phone calls like. He said he did not know, as he had not tried it for making phone calls !
 
jonbeeza said:
I was looking at a new phone the other day, the sales person went on and on and on, about how good it was at taking photos. He even went on to tell me how good it was at playing games. He was about to start rabbiting on about how good it was at emails, until I stopped him. I asked him, what is it like for making and receiving phone calls. I also wanted to know, what was the signal like, and what was the clarity of the phone calls like. He said he did not know, as he had not tried it for making phone calls !
Click to expand...

Not remotely interested in phone photography and if others want to be then so be it.
Voice comms seem to be taking a back seat with phones. Bells & whistles are the selling features. The voice quality side of things is often very poor due to the network not being up to scratch. Phone in radio programmes frequently have problems due to poor mobile comms all over the UK.
 
Wilko58 said:
Following on from jerry12593 post here https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/i-found-this-pretty-depressing.590842/ there is more depressing news; could we be seeing the demise of 'real' cameras, look at the spec of the camera on the new LG G4 here http://www.lg.com/uk/mobile-phones/g4/feature.jsp?name=section1 amongst other things it has an 16MP sensor, f1.8 lens, laser autofocus, manual mode and shoots RAW and JPEG! Classes are even being run to teach people how to use their mobiles as cameras and you can buy lenses to add to your mobile's camera - what do you think, are we seeing the demise of the camera, an increase in quality photos from mobile phones or indeed a new breed of photographer?
Click to expand...
Ive come to the conclusion that too many people around here worry too much.

Just keep on keeping on and you'll be fine
 
arclight said:
Not remotely interested in phone photography and if others want to be then so be it.
Voice comms seem to be taking a back seat with phones. Bells & whistles are the selling features. The voice quality side of things is often very poor due to the network not being up to scratch. Phone in radio programmes frequently have problems due to poor mobile comms all over the UK.
Click to expand...

Wonder why they continue to call them mobile phones? They are more of a personal organiser that plays games, takes photos etc. Oh and at a push, you can call a friend on it :rolleyes:
 
jonbeeza said:
Wonder why they continue to call them mobile phones? They are more of a personal organiser that plays games, takes photos etc. Oh and at a push, you can call a friend on it :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
They're usually referred to as smartphones.
 
TBH I generally prefer not to take a picture at all with a phone camera unless I want a crappy quality image, because it inevitably leads to disappointment and frustration. I'd rather miss the shot than have an image that looks bad to me regardless of how much effort I put in.
 
ancient_mariner said:
TBH I generally prefer not to take a picture at all with a phone camera unless I want a crappy quality image, because it inevitably leads to disappointment and frustration. I'd rather miss the shot than have an image that looks bad to me regardless of how much effort I put in.
Click to expand...
Sometimes a memory is more important than image quality. Use mine all the time.
 
This is bad. Really bad. It's the end of photography as we know it. We might as well sell all our gear right now. If anyone will have it. It's dark times ahead folks. We'll be the laughing stock of the the new generation if caught above ground in daylight with a 'grandad' camera. We'll seek exile in the badlands. Huddled in makeshift shelters, hiding when the drones come over, desperately HDRing or instagramming our photographs to death in a last ditch attempt to stay relevant.

Noooooooooooooooooooooo!
 
Last edited:
ancient_mariner said:
TBH I generally prefer not to take a picture at all with a phone camera unless I want a crappy quality image, because it inevitably leads to disappointment and frustration. I'd rather miss the shot than have an image that looks bad to me regardless of how much effort I put in.
Click to expand...
I tend not to use my phone as a camera for general and family photos, but for covert and traffic stuff I would.
 
jonbeeza said:
I tend not to use my phone as a camera for general and family photos, but for covert and traffic stuff I would.
Click to expand...

We had a similr thread only a few weeks back, and I posed a pic there taken on my phone where I used it delierately for that kind of image, but for most photographic purposes, meh. Just buy a £30 compact & you'll get better pictures.
 
ancient_mariner said:
. Just buy a £30 compact & you'll get better pictures.
Click to expand...
Yes I know, I have done just that. Or rather paid £100 on a bog standard compact to throw in the back pocket. Just sometimes when I have phone in hand, it's easier getting a quick snap of an incident as its happening.
 
Specs - nothing new. My year old sony Z2 has 20mp and an F2 lens. It's not a bad lens, or sensor, in it's defence.

But depth of field control is non existent unless your subject is really close. And dont even consider upping the ISO!
 
Last edited:
Because change is expensive, it takes away our fun and worst of all devalues skills some people have taken years to develop (pun not intended). It also runs the risk of reducing people's overall visual perception as they get used to a more general standard of image making, like MP3s have done to audio.
 
RichardtheSane said:
Specs - nothing new. My year old sony Z2 has 20mp and an F2 lens. It's not a bad lens, or sensor, in it's defence.

But depth of field control is non existent unless your subject is really close. And dont even consider upping the ISO!
Click to expand...
11763-1433692703-44d1f2ed9d42e8a93d3d217c714f2881.jpg


11762-1433692679-0090068c599e36d4a90922786c305018.jpg


Like this you mean? Image quality from my phone is pretty poop, although I did resize them. My compact cant do this at this close, or is it just the phone software maybe?
 
Merluza said:
Because change is expensive, it takes away our fun and worst of all devalues skills some people have taken years to develop (pun not intended). It also runs the risk of reducing people's overall visual perception as they get used to a more general standard of image making, like MP3s have done to audio.
Click to expand...

What skills exactly do you feel this phone will replace? Exposure? Sorry, but auto exposure had been around for decades now. Because it has a manual mode? Surely that REQUIRES skill to use. Light trail effect? You mean it has long shutter speeds? If you think using a long shutter speed takes years to perfect perhaps photography is not for you.

I'm not getting this thread really. It's a camera phone. How is it taking away your fun or devaluing your skills?

What it will NOT give you: Creativity, an understanding of light, the ability to recognise when you're pointing it at something worth photographing.

Photography isn't about technical skill really. Technical skills can be taught very quickly to most people... unless they're a bit thick. It certainly doesn't take years to be a good photographer... not technically anyhow. It takes years to be able to create great images though, but that's got nothing to do with technical stuff. How many threads where good photographers have used crap gear to create interesting work does it take to convince people like you this is so.

If you think your camera is responsible for your great photography, then you may as well give up and go do something else.

Also... this phone existing will in no way replace decent cameras aimed at those able to exploit them. This is aimed at those with no technical skills, but people with no technical skills can create fantastic images if they are creative. What's wrong with cameras that allow creative people to create interesting things that they may not have otherwise created? Why does that threaten you? You not creative or something?

The sooner the technical bullcrap is removed from photography, the better if you ask me. All that will then separate the good from the bad is the creativity and originality of the person using the camera, and maybe then people will stop being impressed by technical "skills" and start paying attention to what the imagery actually has to say.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top