Dave Sanders Offline Upload & Sell: On
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p.2 #6 · p.2 #6 · Re-evaluating my photography… can an iPhone work? | |
It seems that a thread like this follows every iPhone release.
Horses for courses.
The latest top smartphones have excellent cameras; the advances in computational photography have been impressive. My 'go everywhere' camera has been a phone since the Pixel 2 XL. If I want to get a snapshot, share a family event, taunt my friends with my (excellent) lunch, if I run into an old pal and want to send the moment to a long lost group of friends...camera phones - especially with the quality of portrait mode these days - are perfect.
The medium of consumption is what matters in these situations. I know people are going to be looking at the photos on their devices, most likely with HD or, tops, 4K screens, so seriously low resolution. Speaking of resolution...depending on how they're transmitted, they're going to be downsized, compressed, crushed, by whatever app I'm using to send or post.
So, yeah, a phone is perfect. The auto HDR mode? The snapshots look great on a phone. Ditto night mode, shots of the stars, etc. Incredible for involving friends in family in a view or an event you want to share, for connecting, for starting a conversation. For most of the people I connect with, a phone is, quite literally, the only device they will ever look at a photo on, unless it's printed and on a wall somewhere.
But let's be honest, the quality is awful. Zoom in and apply the same standards we use for image evaluation in these forums...looking at a phone image, even in the RAW formats, is like looking at a 10 year old DSLR. Likely worse..more like a 10 year old small sensor digicam. Details obscured by noise, smeared corners from awful lens performance, bad colour, terrible tonal transitions. It's not close.
So, ask yourself why you do photography. For me, I love the process. I like thinking of locations, I like packing my gear and getting out. I like checking the tide or looking at sunrise/sunset. I like looking at the light and using my experience to start thinking of the final image. I like setting up, being patient, calculating stops of exposure on my fingers, the internal dialogue as I debate a shutters speed or aperture; I like taking the exposure. I like downloading my photos, the anticipation before the image pops on my big screen. I like zooming in, pixel peeping, being amazed at what my camera and lens capture. With people, I like the connection I get, the smiles, the excitement they get from seeing a photo of themselves that wasn't taken by a phone.
I like looking for gear, researching, reading reviews, talking to people on forums like this and arguing about whether a certain lens is sharper, or has better colour or more pop. I like reading thoughtful opinions about things I hadn't thought of, or even that I disagree with. I like the shared passion.
So yeah, I don't get any of that from the photos I take with my phone. Don't get me wrong, my phone is an important tool in my arsenal now, an essential one, one that I use all the time...it feeds my need for connection. But not my need for the craft or the art of photography.
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