DSLR after using an iPhone

[Rob C]

Just after lunch today, suddenly terribly conscious of the passage of time for some not entirely clear reason, I remembered that I had collected one of those Coke glasses with raised lettering. I also remembered that little series of Smirnoff ads that Bert Stern had made with the upside down pyramid reflecting/refracting? in the liquid. So, against the experienced voice of my inner self, I went indoors and pulled out a tripod, stuck my 105 micro Nikkor onto the camera, and set up a shot.

What a nightmare! After two years of nothing but the generosity of the iPad screen, the pentaprism of the camera almost instantly gave me a sore eye, an attack of panic and the conviction that no longer were little viewfinders for me. If, however unlikely, a new camera comes my way, it will have to be one totally operable via the rear screen. No ifs, no buts. I also resent that I will now have to put the card into a reader and futz about with cables instead of just sending myself my files via e-mail. On the other hand, I might simply format the card and avoid the hassle altogether.

;-(

[Chris Kern]

I use my iPhone to shoot pictures rather frequently, but I find it to be a nuisance.  The controls are fiddly, probably because I have large fingers (or maybe "fat finger syndrome"), and not infrequently the capture setting slides into video or one of those highly-processed Apple still image modes.  The screen often washes out in bright sunlight and even when it doesn't I have difficulty seeing it: there's no diopter adjustment on an LCD display and there's always a risk I will drop the phone as I fish around into a pocket for my reading glasses.  And when I hold it landscape orientation, there's a 50-50 chance I'll wind up covering part of the image frame as I point the camera with one hand and trigger the virtual shutter button with the other.

I wouldn't go back to using a DSLR, but I much prefer a compact mirrorless camera with a decent electronic viewfinder and physical controls at least for aperture and exposure compensation.  The only advantage of the cellphone, as far as I'm concerned, is that it's always in my pocket.

[Rob C]

Yes, there are real drawbacks to the iPhone, but it’s possible that I have managed to switch off enough distractions to make the shooting process fairly straightforward. The thing that annoyed me the most was that trick it had of making very brief motion images, where a portrait, for example, became several snaps at a time. I truly hated that “function”! Yes, I discovered that those little series can be made into a single image, but why have to do so at all?

I suppose that an advantage I have is that I have almost no interest in colour. Because of that, the colour exaggerations don’t really affect me very much at all.

The relative dimness of the screen would probably become a problem if I was trying to do very precise framing, but so far, I have managed to get what I need. Regarding focussing, DOF is so deep… of course, that might be a problem in itself - but until I get an iPhone 17 (only if it does end up with a better long lens), that’s pretty academic for what I do.

I have sometimes been wrong-footed by my finger inadvertently switching the setting from Photo mode to Video, too. They need a locking system.

I have found that using the super-wide lens allows me space to correct for vertical perspective in PS. That’s nice.

However, as you say, the device is almost always with us, and I know that a camera no longer will be. Without a proper gig, there just isn’t any point: I no longer print, and so the added inconvenience of any extra weight and responsibility isn’t worth it.

All of that said and believed, getting so accustomed to using wide-angle lenses now has made me think kindly of the original Leica Q. Shame about the prices, though!

[Chris Kern]

I have found that using the super-wide lens allows me space to correct for vertical perspective in PS. That’s nice.

Agreed.  I find architecturals that are uncorrected for perspective distortion irritating.  There's no excuse for that.  These days the software will perform all the heavy lifting and, with modest effort, it's possible to achieve a plausible result—even with interiors.

All of that said and believed, getting so accustomed to using wide-angle lenses now has made me think kindly of the original Leica Q. Shame about the prices, though!

Ahhh, the Leica Qs.  About a year ago, I popped for a Q3.  Outrageous extravagance, but I was seduced by multiple reviews describing its ergonomic attributes.  And, indeed, after fiddling around with the configuration options, while shooting I rarely need to delve into the menus.  (Which, though imperfect, are still more rationally designed that those of my various generations of Canons, Nikons, and Fujis.)

Once I had configured the parameters I wanted, I wound up with six shooting modes ("Profiles" in Leicasprache: Generic, High Dynamic Range (multi-exposure stitch), People (face recognition), *Scape (protect highlights), Tripod (base ISO), and Low Light (high auto ISO).  I've listed the most prominent distinguishing characteristics here; there are some other tweaks I thought were appropriate for each genre that for simplicity I haven't bothered to include.

Now once I select the type of subject, I typically only need to choose the aperture and dial in any exposure compensation that is indicated in the electronic viewfinder.  Both of those adjustments are made with physical controls that don't require me to take my eye away from the (diopter-corrected, needless to say) EVF.  No more complicated than shooting with a film SLR—except for the instant gratification of being able to determine immediately whether you got the shot you wanted.

By the way, with respect to perspective correction, if you shoot JPEG, the camera performs it based on the camera's inertial measurement sensors.  If you shoot raw, the appropriate adjustment values are added as metadata to the raw files and can be enabled by a single click in Adobe Lightroom.  Either way, you can make additional perspective adjustments in post.