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Can the iPhone be used for pro digital photography?

.JahJahwarrior. said:
"Doc, I think I have leg cancer."
"Oh really, why is that?"
"Well, there is this tumor, it's a wierd lumpy thing....and it just appeared on my leg and what else could it be?"
"Well, does it look at all like a hand? Maybe a lego hand..."
"I guess...it's sort of yellow, I guess it might be a lego hand, almost..."
"Alright, don't worry, you'll be fine."
"There's a cure!"
"Yes. That is PrinceAlfie's disease, it's not a cancer at all."
"What do I have to do?!?"
"Simple: stop reading about photography, get off your lazy butt and go photograph something!"
"Oh......thanks doc!"
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That's some deep sh&/ man!!! I'm going to be thinking about that for days while I'm reading about photography.
 
 
princealfie said:
Yes, but isn't the art of photography more about the artist's vision rather than the equipment involved?

I still have a Leica M6 I can use when I get desperate you know...
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You seem highly offended that people are questing you... Which is ironic, because I suppose you are, in a sense, questioning the nature of quality photography as an art, muffing that the visually finer points of an image matter little. Iin return, we might be a tad offended too.

Anyway, I read the articles, and still wouldn't agree with using a camera phone as a tool for a professional.
 
Seriously now, check out the size of the lens! Being a photojournalist means that your work will often be printed and you want your photos to tell as much as possible to the reader. I personally get pissed when i look at horrible resolution photos even of one-of-a-time world channging events!. And no i don't blame the photographer, it's just that the technology isn't there yet to get good quality photos out of this kind of miniaturization.

ifixit-iphone-teardown-13.jpg
 
Using just about any cameraphone is like driving a car... while only engaging first gear. There are generally no adjustments to make and, no matter how many megapixels you've got, the lens is basically a piece of glass the size of a pinhead. You can take 'interesting' shots... that maybe use the camera's limitations to make a point about something or other. But apart from the occasional opportunist shot (Lord Lucan riding Shergar, say), the iPhone camera is basically a fun toy.
 
princealfie said:
Just wanting whether anyone here got the iPhone to use for documentary or professional photography.
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This is a joke right? You can't be serious.

Ok I do know of at least one professional who uses toy camera for "fine art" photography.

Also I bought my 7 year old daughter a "Hello Kitty" digital camera for about $29 and she is using it with iPhoto and you'd be surprised at some of the images. Being three and a half feet tall must give one a different perspective on the world (pun intended)

So Holgas, web cams and iPhones do have a place but it's really not in the mainstream of professional photography. Butit right there with cross processed film, solerization and shooting through the glass from broken bottles. You do it for the novelty effect.
 
Coheebuzz said:
... it's just that the technology isn't there yet to get good quality photos out of this kind of miniaturization.
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It's not "technology" it's "physics". Angular resolution of an optical system is proportional to the diameter of the aperture divided by the wave length of light. Light is a constant that we can't change.
 
Lovesong said:
I was going to write a lengthy response, perhaps adding something to the table... but to be frank, I have officially given up on princealfie threads:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/296561/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/324599/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/293652/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/289341/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/289261/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/285305/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/279402/

to name a few
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Wow, I sure don't have time to write books on my new MacBook, play games, shoot pro documentary photography, have a "real job" to pay for Leicas, and also sit around waiting for a new version of VMware to be released. Geesh.
 
princealfie said:
Yes, but isn't the art of photography more about the artist's vision rather than the equipment involved?

I still have a Leica M6 I can use when I get desperate you know...
Click to expand...

yes, but a painter would be an idiot to paint with cotton swabs held between his teeth, yes? Even if the painting was magnificent, I would still call the artist a moron. Pick up a brush, or in your case, your d70.
 
I happen to think the picture quality on the iPhone is amazing ... maybe not for professional photography but for the occasional humorous sighting it's much more than suffice
 
seenew said:
yes, but a painter would be an idiot to paint with cotton swabs held between his teeth, yes? Even if the painting was magnificent, I would still call the artist a moron. Pick up a brush, or in your case, your d70.
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Just an aside, in todays art world a painter panting with cotton swabs between their teeth may well be regarded as a genius, no doubt it would represent something deep and meaningful, and then they get their work displayed in places like the Tate Modern.
 
JDN said:
Just an aside, in todays art world a painter panting with cotton swabs between their teeth may well be regarded as a genius, no doubt it would represent something deep and meaningful, and then they get their work displayed in places like the Tate Modern.
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I realize this; but that is not to say said artist would not be a moron. :p
I'm a painter, and I enjoy my brushes. Fingers work well, too. But I wouldn't paint with cotton swabs in my mouth unless I became paralyzed. Even then, I'd use brushes. :D
 
the iphone may do wonders for paper companies and such, because its a pretty good camera i spose and itl be easy to to snap pictures and its in your fone.... however its not for the eliete fotographers...doesnt wuite cut it
 
You know too that there are review websites online that specifically dedicate articles to testing "high end" cell phone cameras. Do a search and you'll find some. If you really want to use a phone for a "photojournalistic camera" then do your self a favor and get a phone that is SPECIFIC to being a camera first, then a phone second, the iPhone's pics, while ok, is not that.
 
Hold on. What about a camera with wi-fi. Perhaps then someone will be kind enough to make a web 2 app (if thats possible) that can connect to it. As far as I'm aware that more a consumer phone type of feature, but the iphone might incentivise the inclusion of that standard. Then you would have an useful photo journalistic tool out of the iphone. Just not a camera.
 
And Photoshop for the iphone? How about just running basic colour algorithims preset to you camera/conditions before a shoot... Nice way of getting quick garage results...
 
princealfie said:
I guess back to the Carl Zeiss Nokia phones then?
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They say the lens is made by Carl Zeiss, but it's just a name. Do you think they actually worked on these lenses? The job was probably outsourced to some other company.

It's ridiculous to say "It's a Zeiss so it must be good." If you buy a pair of jeans, do you honestly believe that Calvin Klein or any of his trusted designers actually "designed" them? Calvin Klein had nothing to do with them.
OllyW said:
What it proved was it is the photographer that is the most important element. Understanding light, composition and timing is a highly skilled craft and is why the pros get such stunning results.
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princealfie said:
Thanks for the positive feedback. At least I can put away my Nikon D70.
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Princealfie must have missed the part of your response that said understanding light is a highly skilled craft. The iPhone doesn't have manual settings to allow the user to adjust his photo for the light conditions. It's all automatic.

I don't know why he agrees with OllyW.
princealfie said:
Guys, I'm dead serious.
http://digital-lifestyles.info/2005...-trip-sponsored-by-sony-ericcson-pr-own-goal/
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Why did you post an article that disproves your point?

(see below)
Article said:
Now, you may think getting a top photographer to go around taking pictures and then slapping them up on a Web site is fairly unspectacular stuff, but Sony’s press department clearly doesn’t agree.

(SNIP)

And just when you thought he couldn’t get any further carried away, he rolls out this spectacular piece of convoluted PR guff:
Click to expand...

Also, you posted an article from May 2003 about how great camera phones are. You know he's wrong, don't you? We all know camera phones from 2003 are crap. There's no question.

If the photos coming out of an iPhone are just as good as the ones coming out of a Nikon D70, then there's something wrong with the way he's using his D70. You can talk about the importance of composition all you want, but the fact of the matter is that using a D70, I have control of what I'm doing, and get photos to come out. With the iPhone, you're just a point and shoot monkey.

Get a small p&s.
 
.JahJahwarrior. said:
And besides, isn't it more about the photographer than the euqipment?
Click to expand...

When the camera is beyond a certain minimal level of quality, then yes, you're right.

Use the cameraphone on my SE T630, and no, composition won't help the photo at all. Nothing would help my photo other than retaking the shot with a better camera.

With regards to the iPhone, if a big, important event occurred spontaneously, and you happen to be there at the time (ie: across the street from a building that got blown up during some sort of attack), and there aren't many photos of the event, then yes, a newspaper or news station may want to use your photo if they are desperate. Do you want news agencies to pick up your photo because it's the only one available, and so they're desperate for anything? Wouldn't you want your photo to be picked up because it was of high quality?
 
ChrisA said:
It's not "technology" it's "physics". Angular resolution of an optical system is proportional to the diameter of the aperture divided by the wave length of light. Light is a constant that we can't change.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the lesson, i just checked the wiki and it explains it all pretty good.

Now i wonder how our eyes manage to see under low light with a max 'aperture' diameter of only a couple of mm's. It must have something to do with light sensitivity, or ISO as we call it.
 
The question is are we laughing with you or at your idea? :D (just kidding not trying to be mean)
 
Lovesong said:
I was going to write a lengthy response, perhaps adding something to the table... but to be frank, I have officially given up on princealfie threads:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/296561/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/324599/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/293652/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/289341/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/289261/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/285305/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/279402/

to name a few
Click to expand...


Wow those are some of the most useless thread I have seen on Macrumors. Did a little more searching and this guy has a ton of gems like the few you listed. I think its best to just ignore him in hopes that he will take his ridiculous questions and leave
 
Coheebuzz said:
Seriously now, check out the size of the lens! Being a photojournalist means that your work will often be printed and you want your photos to tell as much as possible to the reader. I personally get pissed when i look at horrible resolution photos even of one-of-a-time world channging events!. And no i don't blame the photographer, it's just that the technology isn't there yet to get good quality photos out of this kind of miniaturization.

ifixit-iphone-teardown-13.jpg
Click to expand...

good for on the spot ohh check that out type of situations, but pro stuff nope nada not even close.
 
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