Luminous Landscape Forum
Equipment & Techniques => Cameras, Lenses and Shooting gear => Topic started by: Jonathan Cross on November 17, 2018, 03:06:46 am
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Larry Allen started a current thread in the Landscape Showcase section about just seeing what is out there. I have Fuji and Canon gear, none of it that I carry with me all the time in my everyday life. I might have some in the car, but not in my pocket. I do have an iPhone 5s though. At 10Mp, I can print A4. I am wondering if that is all I need to have in my pocket all the time to grab the moment when I spot a fleeting combination of light and subject that appeals.
Do I keep the iPhone, upgrade it (but not to the top range iPhone; too expensive) or spend the same amount on a small camera with, say, something like a 24-70/100 integral lens that will fit my coat/anorak pocket? If a camera, any ideas what? Any solution would not replace the rest of my kit.
Best wishes,
Jonathan
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2 further points to my post above. My iPhone 5s is only 8Mp, not 10 (oops), and I do like to take RAW images, but could put up with just JPEG.
Jonathan
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Olympus Pen series with your favorite small lens if all you want are decent snaps. Buy used.
Why not carry your Fuji ?
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Would love to carry my Fuji. It is just that it will not fit in my pocket even with 35mm f2 lens. When I am travelling I have a small rucksack with me, so a body and my 2 zooms fit easily and do all I want. I want something even smaller, for being with me all the time, so it is just do I stay with a mobile phone or get a small camera for those grab moments.
Jonathan
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I have an iPhone 8 Plus (12mp main *camera) that goes wherever I go. Took quite a few pics with it, using the ProCamera Raw-generating app, on my just-concluded trip. Also had a Panasonic GX8 m43 outfit with me. Because the phone cam's quality is high enough, when I'm out & about I don't feel the need to carry around the GX8 "just in case."
I took the first attached pic while walking back to my hotel after having dinner "in town." The low overall light level and high contrast push the 8 Plus harder than they would the GX8, but IMO the result is still fine. I don't mind the noise at all…it adds texture, which I like. The second pic is a better example of what the phone can do during daylight.
-Dave-
*Technically two cameras since each lens, ~28 & 56mm "equivalents," has its own sensor.
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I'm either serious about my photography and have my kit with me or I just let the images that reveal themselves just lock into my mind. I don't find using anything less than my photography kit worth the effort of taking the image. I have zero use for such images.
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Thank goodness we all have different ways of working. It would be very boring if we all did the same. There are many occasions when I do not have my photographic kit with me and so times when I say, ‘If only I had a camera with me.’ We go to Tate Britain, the amazing gallery in London. A few years ago, in a long space inside the entrance a group with red tops was silently dancing in the magnificent stone surroundings of the space. It really stopped visitors in their tracks; so imaginative. No camera, so it was an iPhone image. Now it acts as a memory tickler when I occasionally want to refresh what is in my mind.
I have a friend who supplies bricks for conservation work and so travels around. He always has a small sketchbook with him and uses it. The sketches (he is good) provide both memories and ideas. A small camera or smartphone can serve the same purpose. Sometimes those sketch photos are worth keeping; the moment was grabbed. These are the reasons why I am interested in something I can have with me that takes up little room. It will complement those times when I am seriously photographing, an activity which Jane, my wife, tells me is not a spectator sport!
Best wishes,
Jonathan
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When I want to step up from cell phone but want something very small I carry Sony RX100-4. Weighs 10 ounces, very compact. For $100 more you can get the Sony RX100-5VA, but for what I use it for it wasn't worth the extra money. Sensor has about 3 times the area of a cell phone sensor and the lens is pretty good. Printed a 21X14 taken in a Sierra pass in August and it looks amazing.
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iPhone Xs Max is in a different league for photographers, often rivaling or even beating DSLRs, thus worth every penny.
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I do have an iPhone 5s though. At 10Mp, I can print A4. I am wondering if that is all I need to have in my pocket all the time to grab the moment when I spot a fleeting combination of light and subject that appeals.
I have an iPhone 6s with a 12 Mpx camera. Aside from the slightly higher resolution, I think the low-light performance is probably an improvement over that of your 5s (sample here (https://www.flickr.com/photos/chriskernpix/27736867467/in/datetaken-public/)), although way below that of the best cameras in current cellphones. I save raw files using Lightroom Mobile, and post-process them in the desktop ("Classic") version of Lightroom. Nobody would ever mistake the results for what you can do with a dedicated camera with a larger sensor, but for capturing a "fleeting combination of light and subject," it works more often than not.
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Have you considered the Ricoh GRii? APS-C and 1.4 x 2.5 x 4.6 in, Fits many pockets
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The upcoming Ricoh GRDIII looks promising: 28mm lens and IBIS.
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Thank goodness we all have different ways of working. It would be very boring if we all did the same. There are many occasions when I do not have my photographic kit with me and so times when I say, ‘If only I had a camera with me.’ We go to Tate Britain, the amazing gallery in London. A few years ago, in a long space inside the entrance a group with red tops was silently dancing in the magnificent stone surroundings of the space. It really stopped visitors in their tracks; so imaginative. No camera, so it was an iPhone image. Now it acts as a memory tickler when I occasionally want to refresh what is in my mind.
I have a friend who supplies bricks for conservation work and so travels around. He always has a small sketchbook with him and uses it. The sketches (he is good) provide both memories and ideas. A small camera or smartphone can serve the same purpose. Sometimes those sketch photos are worth keeping; the moment was grabbed. These are the reasons why I am interested in something I can have with me that takes up little room. It will complement those times when I am seriously photographing, an activity which Jane, my wife, tells me is not a spectator sport!
Best wishes,
Jonathanû
Jonathan, sorry my post burned you so much. Yes it's great we all approach photography differently. I just don't see the point of a image taken with a phone. I've done plenty and they just disappear after time. I've since decided to just enjoy the moment rather than having to record all these moments...just works fine for me.
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The real question about capturing the moment actually is:
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The real question about capturing the moment actually is:
GoPro camera, waterproof. No need to worry about aperture too.
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To all who contributed to this thread, many thanks. To Hogloff, you did not burn me, I just replied amplifying why I was asking the question; phones suit some but not others.
Best wishes to you all,
Jonathan
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I am not crazy about the ergonomic experience of using a cell phone camera, but it does have its function for snapshots, and for "identification" photos of insects and plants. I have an iPhone "6" SE, the base model, with 12 MP, and use ProCamera RAW-format-capture software. A big enough pocket for a 1" 24-75mm equivalent camera with full manual controls, that would be my preference.
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A digital version of a leica M6 would be a delight. For grab work I'm fine with a fixed lens.
But Leica has decided to price for doctors, dentists and hedge fund managers not artists.
So I make do with my Google Pixel XL which makes much nicer out of camera images than my olympus Pen F did and has a much better ui...