Who uses a phone?

I think it depends on the purpose of taking the photo but for me as an amateur, it's about having a certain level of enjoyment from the whole process rather than getting the purest image quality I can. I do have mixed feelings about the old saying that the best camera is the one you have with you. For example, I don't get out by myself specifically to take photos as much as I used to do and if I happened to be on a day out with my other half she would often get fed up of me stopping to compose several shots and change settings on my dslr, plus it would often take up room in the family rucksack. As a result I often just relied on my phone camera but it left me feeling underwhelmed by the lack of focal length or resolution etc. so I have just upgraded my phone in the hope of reaching a "better" compromise. I haven't had chance to test that theory yet but with a bit of luck I will do so this weekend. Also, carrying a dedicated camera can make you feel a bit conspicuous in certain situations.
 
viewfromthenorth said:
Thing is, the number of people who care about such things as dynamic range, image quality, printing, fast AF, viewing on a 24” screen ie the likes of those of us who use this forum, are infinitesimally small compared to those who don’t.
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Phones are the current version of to Instamatic and Polaroid cameras of old.

For most people it's what's shown by the photo that they are interested in. They don't see beyond that. Out of focus, motion blur, noise. None of it matters to non-photographers.
 
Ed Sutton said:
Phones are the current version of to Instamatic and Polaroid cameras of old.

For most people it's what's shown by the photo that they are interested in. They don't see beyond that. Out of focus, motion blur, noise. None of it matters to non-photographers.
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That’s so true. Most extreme example I have seen was relatives who had filmed using a cassette video recorder but sideways for some reason. It was no problem to them that they had to view it holding their their heads sideways, they just thought the picture great :).
 
Ed Sutton said:
For most people it's what's shown by the photo that they are interested in. They don't see beyond that. Out of focus, motion blur, noise. None of it matters to non-photographers.
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Exactly. For the 99.999999% of phone users who are not enthusiast photographers, the phone camera is more than adequate. Heck, it’s fine for a lot of what I do, but not everything which is why I have a range of cameras and lenses.

For an enthusiast photographer a phone will never replace a proper camera for ‘serious’ photography, but is more than capable as a creative tool if you work within it’s capabilities and manage your expectations accordingly.

Personally, I take more photographs on holiday with my phone than I do with a proper camera because I’m not going to be fussing about in post processing with them or printing 30x20” prints.
 
viewfromthenorth said:
Exactly. For the 99.999999% of phone users who are not enthusiast photographers, the phone camera is more than adequate. Heck, it’s fine for a lot of what I do, but not everything which is why I have a range of cameras and lenses.
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I used to be involved with a friend's fishing magazine and he said when digital cameras came on the scene (compacts and bridge cameras with 3+mp) the quality of photos submitted improved over what he got on film.

But when phone cameras came on the scene the quality dropped again. That was over ten years ago and phone cameras have improved enormously but I still see obvious phone camera photos used in print magazines and free newspapers which look really pixelated. I suspect because the people using the phones have no idea about file sizes and send in low res pics.

The phones may be capable of taking publishable quality pictures - but the operators lack the understanding to make the most of them and as above, they don't see the faults.

I hardly ever use my phone to take photos. Not because I object to phone cameras as such, I just have no wish to spend the kind of money on a phone (which I rarely use as a phone) to get one with a good camera onboard. :)
 
Ed Sutton said:
The phones may be capable of taking publishable quality pictures - but the operators lack the understanding to make the most of them and as above, they don't see the faults.
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Yes. Same with those two-grand DSLRs I see many tourists lugging around. I watched someone put their camera to their face, move it away and back a couple of times, then remove the lens cover before trying again. Did it myself in the old days.
 
garryknight said:
Yes. Same with those two-grand DSLRs I see many tourists lugging around. I watched someone put their camera to their face, move it away and back a couple of times, then remove the lens cover before trying again. Did it myself in the old days.
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I still do it!
 
Ha! Just my luck. Lost a lens cap today. Remembered to take it off, put it back on at the end of the day, rocked it back and forth to make sure it was well-seated, checked again a little later and it's gone! Never happens with my phone...
 
garryknight said:
Ha! Just my luck. Lost a lens cap today. Remembered to take it off, put it back on at the end of the day, rocked it back and forth to make sure it was well-seated, checked again a little later and it's gone! Never happens with my phone...
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I bought a load of spare lens caps. Haven't lost one since!
 
garryknight said:
They're £7 each at LCE. Don't think I'll be getting "a load". I'll get one and be very careful not to ever lose one again.
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I got some cheap generic ones from Amazon. They actually seem to grip better than genuine Nikon ones. :D
 
I use my phone only as a "visual notebook", not for actual work. The reason is, I need to have full control over my picture (for example decide if I up my ISO or lower my depth of field) + I shoot raw + I dislike the wide lens that my phone has for now.
 
Ed Sutton said:
I got some cheap generic ones from Amazon. They actually seem to grip better than genuine Nikon ones. :D
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50p at aliexpress. They are fine. I bought 4 or 5 big ones and cost almost nothing. They are nearly same new Canon's (maybe not as delicate) and far better than the old ones.
 
AlionaKuz said:
I use my phone only as a "visual notebook", not for actual work. The reason is, I need to have full control over my picture (for example decide if I up my ISO or lower my depth of field) + I shoot raw + I dislike the wide lens that my phone has for now.
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That's fair, and it's something that a phone is well suited to.

BTW welcome to TP.
 
AlionaKuz said:
I use my phone only as a "visual notebook", not for actual work. The reason is, I need to have full control over my picture (for example decide if I up my ISO or lower my depth of field) + I shoot raw + I dislike the wide lens that my phone has for now.
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Using the Pro Camera app on my iPhone XS I can change the ISO and exposure time, white balance, EV, select HDR, different lenses, and shoot JPEG, HEIF, TIF, or raw plus JPEG. And having dual 26mm/52mm lenses helps a great deal. I had to pay a lot for the phone, but I think it was worth it.
 
garryknight said:
Using the Pro Camera app on my iPhone XS I can change the ISO and exposure time, white balance, EV, select HDR, different lenses, and shoot JPEG, HEIF, TIF, or raw plus JPEG. And having dual 26mm/52mm lenses helps a great deal. I had to pay a lot for the phone, but I think it was worth it.
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Many of us have access to lightroom mobile which does pretty much all of the above and more. The results are nothing to brag about at least with Xiaomi (some Sony 48mp sensor). Just for fun I'll have to try in full sunshine and print A4. I'm not betting on success
 
Northern Photography UK said:
I think it depends on the purpose of taking the photo but for me as an amateur, it's about having a certain level of enjoyment from the whole process rather than getting the purest image quality I can. I do have mixed feelings about the old saying that the best camera is the one you have with you. For example, I don't get out by myself specifically to take photos as much as I used to do and if I happened to be on a day out with my other half she would often get fed up of me stopping to compose several shots and change settings on my dslr, plus it would often take up room in the family rucksack. As a result I often just relied on my phone camera but it left me feeling underwhelmed by the lack of focal length or resolution etc. so I have just upgraded my phone in the hope of reaching a "better" compromise. I haven't had chance to test that theory yet but with a bit of luck I will do so this weekend. Also, carrying a dedicated camera can make you feel a bit conspicuous in certain situations.
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So true about the other half.....
 
garryknight said:
Lightroom Mobile has a camera now?
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It think it had it for ages at least on android. In library you should see a white camera icon in a blue bubble. It should even sync it through their cloud.
 
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