Why not use your phone?

<p> Today almost every person from 6-90 has a cell phone and a mass majority of those being cutting edge smart phones with absolutely amazing cameras! With the quality of cell phone cameras being great and only getting better, i ask you, the photographers. Why do or don't you use your cell phones camera? what opinions do you have toward the camera phone and the camera phone photographer?<br>

It seems to me that some photographers look down upon those who use a cell phone to take pictures with a sort of attitude as to say "you're not a photographer because you use a phone" without actually critiquing the photo properly. IMO this is rubbish, a photographers eye is the important thing, the equipment does take a part but even a good photographer can take a good photo with a 2mp camera with no camera settings!<br>

All input is very welcome pro or con. in fact i would like to hear some negative comments and hopefully help change some stubborn minds to give there phones camera a real honest try!<br>

thank you all or reading!</p>

Other than the delay of pressing the "shutter button" and the actual capture of the image to so many models have, they are very useful for times larger cameras are not handy or too cumbersome..We certainly see more images of things and events because people have cameras with them now when so many of them didn't before.

<p>Cell phone cameras have certainly come a long way from just a few years ago, but they still don't offer much control when you click the shutter. Also, the ability to shoot RAW opens up a lot of capability in post processing that the JPEGs don't give you. Additionally, being restricted to a singe focal length is not ideal in many circumstances.</p>

<p>I agree with both John and Cory: shutter lag can be very frustrating; poor focus and exposure control are also issues althoug there are many apps that give some control. That said I use my phone far more than my DSLR these days, although I often wish that I had the latter with me after I've taken a shot with my phone. Usually that wish relates to the desire for more and better lens options or better low light capability.</p><div></div>

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<p><em>"It seems to me that some photographers look down upon those who use a cell phone to take pictures with a sort of attitude as to say "you're not a photographer because you use a phone" without actually critiquing the photo properly. IMO this is rubbish"</em></p>

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<p>Jon, you've asked for 2 critiques and have not offered any to others. I challenge you to critique any of the following cellphone photos and provide us with a link to it: <br>

<a href="/gallery/tag-search/search?query_string=iphone&sort_order=3">http://www.photo.net/gallery/tag-search/search?query_string=iphone&sort_order=3</a></p>

<p>There is no inherent objection to cellphone photography by anyone that I know of; the problem is more a case of what can you say about it in the form of critique. To me, cellphone photography is more about its content than user technique in any meaningful way. </p>

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<p>It seems to me that some photographers look down upon those who use a cell phone</p>

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<p>Can you expand on the reason you feel this way? Did something happen to you? I've never seen anyone on pnet put down phone pics. Heck we even have a dedicated forum for them. All the photographers I know use them freely and when we get together to look at pictures no one ever asks what imaging device was used to create them. Despite some superficial misconceptions, most imaging devices are status neutral.</p>

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<p>Jon, you've asked for 2 critiques and have not offered any to others. I challenge you to critique any of the following cellphone photos and provide us with a link to it: <br /> <a href="/gallery/tag-search/search?query_string=iphone&sort_order=3" rel="nofollow">http://www.photo.net/gallery/tag-search/search?query_string=iphone&sort_order=3</a></p>

<p>Michael, I have been meaning to do this but it seems i come up at a loss for words.. i just dont want to be a guy who says "i like it, thats cool". i have no actual photographic training or schooling, i did take a photography class in HS but only learned how do develop B&W, but any way i think it puts me at a loss of an educated critique. but i will try my best and accept your challenge.. i do however notice that those photos are iphone, being im a n00b i dont know the site very well at all, are there more phone sub categories other than iphone? </p>

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<p>Jon, I think most of us are having the same problem in coming up with something meaningful to say; not to suggest any of the photos are either good or bad.</p>

<p>Most of the images I'm seeing are apparently made with canned apps as opposed to Photoshop where user control can at least offer a source of critique, so the question really becomes what can one really say with a cellphone picture made with canned apps? I struggle as you do, and the rest of us probably do as well given the lack of comments beyond the superficial. </p>

<p>The reason I challenged you to make a critique is to turn the table around, and from a poster's point of view, ie your pictures made with a Nokia phone, what are you really expecting in terms of feedback or critique if you're having trouble saying anything yourself? </p>

<p>By the way, few of us have any formal training or schooling; most of us learned by doing or experimenting from observation through others' work. </p>

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<p>Jon, you've asked for 2 critiques and have not offered any to others. I challenge you to critique any of the following cellphone photos and provide us with a link to it:</p>

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<p> <br>

There is no good reason to expect a photographer to be a good critic. Some of the best critics are not photographers. Many great photographers are terrible critics. This is a ridiculous expectation. People should be able to ask for critiques whether or not they are capable of giving them.</p>

<p>Michael,<br>

I understand what you are saying about the canned app scenario, i have tried countless photo editor apps to try to find one that isnt just "slap" there's your filter. the best i have found is "Thumba" besides having many filters it does give you options to alter the degree of many of the filters, unless im going all out for fun i normally still to B&W or Lomo to keep things simple and not distract from the photo itself..<br>

personally i asked for critiques to learn from those who know better, i have some issues with one of my eyes so something that may look great to me to others may be for instance too off centered for the photo to flow properly.. for me asking i would most like critiques on my framing and lighting/brightness, for others that may just want some gratification of a job well done.<br>

in my own experience and looking through the photos in the link you provided i am currently at a conclusion of a major downfall in the camera phone.. sunsets, or more so the colors a phone camera can capture of a sunset.<br>

here is a critique i just did before writing all this ^<br>

<a href="/photo/10335812">http://www.photo.net/photo/10335812</a></p>

<p>one last note: i am very surprised to find out what you say of many have a lack of training! it appears i am naive.. </p>

<p> </p>

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<p>Did something happen to you? I've never seen anyone on pnet put down phone pics. Heck we even have a dedicated forum for them.</p>

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<p>Louis,<br>

The main reason i decided to become a Pnet member is because of it having a dedicated phone area, in a long search of trying to find a photo forum i liked many places i visited the words "cell phone" would make the uses scatter like roaches!<br>

i must say though that i still feel a bit out of place here being that my primary photographic passion is taking photos of time pieces which frankly , most people find weird..</p>

<p>Jon, thanks for your comment; much appreciated and also that you're not taking any of this personally. </p>

<p>I've also made a comment on one of your photos:<br>

<a href="/photo/17164881">http://www.photo.net/photo/17164881</a></p>

<p>I picked what I thought was the "best of the bunch" because I really didn't know what to say about the others; not that they're bad, but just that remark I might have made would not have constituted being useful or constructive.</p>

<p>On your previous post, please don't feel out of place. In fact what this site needs is more engaging dialog just as we're currently having. If nothing else it lets us get to know one another and where we come from so we can better communicate. </p>

 

<p>I use a phone camera as a tool useful for certain things and not as useful for others but with crossover. I have some nice portraits another shots via phone camera that are quite nice despite its limitations. I also used it to shoot, upload and share on facebook a bumper sticker in a liquor store I saw. It read, "FACEBOOK: Share pointless stuff with friends you don't know" I had a DSLR out in the car but didn't need all the fuss for what was essentially disposable art and humor.<br /><br />Others may look down on phone camera use. I don't need their validation. I just do what I do. Some of it turns out worthwhile. I also see images shot from fancy DSLRs that don't amount to much in my opinion. If cameras, alone, justified what people were doing, those shots should have been awesome. Its all relative.</p>

<p>Edwin, i see you are using an iPhone 5, i have heard that the camera is not as good as the 4 but your photo is fantastic!<br>

as to your low light issue there is a solution.. Nokia is making fantastic leaps in this department..<br>

this photo was taken in a non lit room with almost no ambient light sources with my f- set to 2 and my iso set to 800, i did have the focus assist off for this photo which causes the blurriness, on the nokia lumia WP8 the "focus assist" flashes the flash to focus the lens and then shuts off.. well if you have the flash turned off, i was testing the phones ability of taking a "lume shot" so i had it off.. but as you can see the frame in the background is completely visible even in the very very low light<br>

<img src="http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn291/killablelaw13/WP_20130312_005_zpsdc506130.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" /></p>

<p>John H,<br>

i kind of want that photo now so i can tag a whole bunch of people in it!! it does however sound like a good time to have used your phone and not the dslr which may have become awkward standing in the parking lot taking photos of the back if a car you were in fact NOT just in an accident with.<br>

as to your previous comment about the RAW support on cell phones, to be honest i actually have no idea what RAW is.</p>

<p>Micheal,<br>

i didnt not take anything personally and i understood what you were getting at.<br>

thank you very much for your critique! i see that you found the background surprising. when i take non light box staged photos of watches i like them to be in surrounding that is actually suited to the particular model this one being a Pro Diver Scuba so the lake background was suited to the piece.<br>

there is one issue with the photo though and that is that the hands of the watch are not balanced at 10:10 but i find it to be a complete pain to have to reset a watch to take a photo of it then set it to put it back on! also, you and many others may be surprised to discover how difficult it actually is to take a very good quality photo of a watch!!</p>

<p>John, it slipped my mind, i was meaning to ask what phone you use?</p>

<p>I use my Blackberry frequently. I wish it did a better job indoors, I wish the flash was more useful, I wish the shutter response was quicker, I wish it could stop even a little action, but I love how efficient it is at allowing me to quickly share an image with my family and friends. <br>

One of my favourite things to do with it is share newspaper headlines. When I'm reading news of a sporting event or something I think my brother would be interested in I take a shot of the paper, crop and sharpen with Photo Studio and text it to him at work. We have a text conversation for a bit and say 'talk to you later'. This is an interaction we never had in the previous 25 years since I moved 200 miles away and we both enjoy the contact.<br>

I also like taking screen shots of the TV and quickly sending them to my kids. I bought a 55" HD on Boxing Day and I can get a pretty good shot of Clint Eastwood or Elvis or the Queen from it whenever I want to amuse myself or think it would amuse someone else. <br>

So, I guess I use my phone camera to amuse myself more than anything else. For a walk around camera I still prefer a p/s and for anything serious I shoot FF with a tripod. But, I have used the Blackberry in a pinch in natural light and been happy with the results.</p>

<p> </p><div></div>

<p>Gup, thank you for such a great response and your pros and cons, sometimes is does seem as if a certain phone may be more suited for a specific type of photos than other. You do indeed to like you blackberry very much, what are your thoughts of the Z10? I cant recall off hand when it will be released (here's hoping I'm not behind and its already dropped) being blackberrys reinvention into the big league of touchscreen smart phones or "mico tablets" as I like to call them, is this going to be a device you are interested in?</p>

<p>Jon,<br>

 <br>

As to the phone I use, its the Samsung Galaxy Note. I chose it for the large screen to show people photos but still fit in the pocket. Carrying an album around would be awkward but people think nothing of looking at photos on a device. I also use the dedicated stylus writing function when typing is unsuitable or I want to draw diagrams or other stuff. I use the Camera FV-5 app for photos since it has more controls I use on screen with less menu/sub-menu use. The on screen histogram is useful to avoid blowouts ect. 

 

 

The bumper sticker was on display on a rack in the store incidentally.</p>

<p>Other than shutter lag and the fact I personally find them a little clumsy to hold and shoot, I see absolutely no reason not to use a cell phone. I've seen many excellent photos from cell phones. </p>

<p>Barry, have you given any consideration to a cell phone tripod? they work well but can run into issues if your phone is too wide.<br>

here is an example photo of mine holding my old samsung mythic. unfortunately my lumia 920 is much to wide to work<br>

<img src="http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn291/killablelaw13/WP_20130516_001_zpsc6a197d5.jpg" alt="" /></p>

I have been using my cell phone as people used to use a poleroid back, with my 4x5. I take a cell phone shot to set up

the composition. If I don't like how the cell phone photo looks i don't bother setting up my large format camera. I also use

a light meter application in the phone so I don't have to carry a separate light meter with me.

<p>Dan, what a great use you have found, i for one can say i never would have thought of it. but then again the only digital camera i have is my phone and film can no longer be purchased in my area.</p>

<p>I don't have a cell phone and I shoot only B&W film, so I really don't know what I could contribute. I do agree that it's the image that counts, not how you got it. Since I am not gonna get a B&W image that I can print on fiber paper in the darkroom from a cell phone, it stops dead right there. Life is about knowing what you want and making the sacrifices that are required to get it. If your cell phone gives you the quality of pics that you want, then that's that.</p>

<p>I wish there were a category for just "photos". The only criteria would be that we would make no mention of how we got the image, it would just be about how the image looks. Not the same as No Words. We could talk about why we posted it, why it appealed to us, etc, but no mention of how we came up w/ it.</p>