Sandmarc vs. Moment vs. iPhone Pro

[lkalliance]

Hi, all,

I recently decided to make a commitment to myself to leave my Canon behind more often when I'm going on a trip. Though my DSLR is going to take much better photos than my phone, I find myself resenting carrying all the equipment, worrying over its safety and security. As I've gotten older, I find myself wanting to be more in the moment than in the lens, which is where I often find myself. This came to a head as my partner and I arranged a (virus-pending) trip to Italy. My first time out of North America! A hugely photogenic place! Deciding not to travel with my Canon is a huge deal, but I am greatly looking forward to having my mind where I am instead of in my lens.

So all that being said, I am considering upgrading my iPhone, after the 13's come out. I'm not going to be shooting with a DSLR, but I can at least have the best quality photos I can get otherwise. I currently have an SE 2020. I've never been on a higher-end iPhone with a higher-end camera, and there is a large improvement I feel I can get by doing so.

So I'm stuck between two options. Let's assume for a moment that besides a few improvements, the 13 lineup is essentially the same as the 12; or at least the decisions between the different upcoming models are going to be the same kinds of decisions. I like the size of the 12 Mini, but I would like having the telephoto lens of the 12 Pro. But I also have the option of getting a small lens like from Moment or Sandmarc to augment the cameras on the 12 Mini. Do you think that that option legitimately brings a 12 Mini close to the standards of a 12 Pro? Or am I better served just getting used to the size and going with the Pro?

And, as a corollary, what do you all think of Moment lenses vs. Sandmarc lenses?

Thanks, all, for your input!

 

[deep diver]

Have you considered a quality P&S. I was struggling with the same question and finally decided on the Lumix ZS100 (It has different leading letters depending on what part of the world you live in.) I only recently got it so I've only taken one trip with it. I am delighted with it. I got a lot of really good feedback here about the various options.

 

[OldMacs4Me]

Have you considered a quality P&S. I was struggling with the same question and finally decided on the Lumix ZS100 (It has different leading letters depending on what part of the world you live in.) I only recently got it so I've only taken one trip with it. I am delighted with it. I got a lot of really good feedback here about the various options.

Second that thought. Some very compact cameras with sensors a good deal larger than the typical point and shoot or iPhone. The Panasonic Lumix ZS100 or ZS200 would be excellent choices if the budget eliminates the excellent Sony line.

Look for the 1" or even Micro 4/3rds sensors. Images from either should display well on the latest big monitors and allow for at least 11x14 and maybe 16x20 enlargements.

 

[lkalliance]

Have you considered a quality P&S. I was struggling with the same question and finally decided on the Lumix ZS100 (It has different leading letters depending on what part of the world you live in.) I only recently got it so I've only taken one trip with it. I am delighted with it. I got a lot of really good feedback here about the various options.

Second that thought. A number of very compact cameras with sensors a good deal larger than the typical point and shoot or iPhone. The Panasonic Lumix ZS100 would be an excellent choice if the budget the excellent Sony line.

I just got a similar answer on a tangential thread, lol. You know, I'd always discounted point-and-shoots because of course I was going to get better output from the DSLR...but having made the decision to leave the DSLR behind, P&S is back in play! It is still an additional thing to carry (because of course I'm taking my phone with my anyway)...but it would be something much much less burdensome. I'm going to look at some. Thanks for the advice on the Lumix. OldMacs4Me, what is it about the Sony ones that make you rate them more highly?

 

[AlaskaMoose]

My former supervisors put his DSLR camera away and started using his iPhone for taking photos of just about everything as he often travels. He has always preferred to take advantage of natural light to illuminate his subjects, and has developed a great knack for taking amazing photos of people and church interiors. He even managed to take a few photos of the Auroras in Alaska. However, for taking photos of the Auroras he prefers to use his DSLR camera. He is using his iPhone taking photos about 99.9% of the time now.

The decision is for you to make, but I would not invest on another camera system and go through another learning curve. Instead, something like this is what I would do (learn a few photographic tricks with the gear I already have):

Become a Better Photographer With These Mobile Photography Tips and Techniques

Learn how your phone can make you a better photographer with these mobile photography tips and techniques you can translate to your dedicated camera.

www.slrlounge.com

Indoors photos of people:

https://www.elan-studio.com/blog-post/iphone-photography-tips-to-improve-your-indoor-photos

Architectural iPhone photography may be of interest if traveling to Italia:

10 Tips For Extraordinary Architecture Photography On iPhone

Discover 10 tips for shooting jaw-dropping architecture photography with your iPhone. You'll never take a bad photo of a building again!

iphonephotographyschool.com

 

[jz0309]

While I have no desire to "give up" on my DSLR, last year I went onto a trip to Germany and London. I did take my DSLR, but ended up basically not using it because I didn't want to deal with carrying it around in bad weather. Plus, in London, I definitely did not want to walk around the city for 3 days with a backpack nor a DSLR hanging around my neck.
I used my iPhone almost exclusively, took like 700 or so photos. Were they all as good as my DSLR could have done? no, but I was and still am happy with most photos. iPhone camera capabilities is amazing, and if you care to spend a few bucks to even go and shoot RAW, you have everything at your fingertips. But frankly, HEIC is pretty amazing already and that is what I usually shoot. Me personally, I cannot see myself investing in a P&S for the time being, maybe that will change in time but iPhone and other will continue to evolve too ...

 

[lkalliance]

While I have no desire to "give up" on my DSLR, last year I went onto a trip to Germany and London. I did take my DSLR, but ended up basically not using it because I didn't want to deal with carrying it around in bad weather. Plus, in London, I definitely did not want to walk around the city for 3 days with a backpack nor a DSLR hanging around my neck.
I used my iPhone almost exclusively, took like 700 or so photos. Were they all as good as my DSLR could have done? no, but I was and still am happy with most photos. iPhone camera capabilities is amazing, and if you care to spend a few bucks to even go and shoot RAW, you have everything at your fingertips. But frankly, HEIC is pretty amazing already and that is what I usually shoot. Me personally, I cannot see myself investing in a P&S for the time being, maybe that will change in time but iPhone and other will continue to evolve too ...

What's your take on my original question? Is the telephoto lens on the 12 Pro worth the extra $$? Or having the external telephoto lens you could get from companies like Moment?

 

[jz0309]

What's your take on my original question? Is the telephoto lens on the 12 Pro worth the extra $$? Or having the external telephoto lens you could get from companies like Moment?

I have the 11ProMax and I use the telephoto lens a lot, absolutely love it. mine is 2x, I believe 12 is 2.5x and we'll have to see what the 13 brings. I cannot comment on the attachable ones, never used one nor do I recall ever seeing one out in the wild.
I'm not sure if the 13 is for me, but when I decide to upgrade from my 11 it will be a ProMax again for sure

 

[Ledgem]

What's your take on my original question? Is the telephoto lens on the 12 Pro worth the extra $$? Or having the external telephoto lens you could get from companies like Moment?

I also don't have the detachable lenses, but I use an 11 Pro with the three-lens array, and I love it. Definitely hasn't replaced my MILC and I use the standard and ultra-wide lenses more than the telephoto, but having all three is fantastic. The way I see it, if I'm going without my MILC then it's because I want to travel light. I don't want to fumble around with swapping lenses on my iPhone; might as well bring the MILC if I want to do that. Being able to shift between angles of view on the phone by just pressing on the screen is the ultimate convenience and it's definitely worth it if you use your phone for photo and video.

 

[akash.nu]

Being a primary iPhone photographer these days I have the following points for you.
- if you’re into photography then don’t get the mini, more than the quality of the lenses you’re going to struggle with the battery life. Choose between the pro or pro max models instead.

- of course point & shoot cameras will be better when it comes to actually taking the pictures but, as you said, it’s another thing to carry and also you’ll miss out on the awesome computational photography algorithm Apple has started adding to iOS.

- an extra small lens attachment will definitely improve the quality of the pictures on the phones. You can get one of those telescopic lenses and some other ones depending on your preference.

- definitely buy a small travel tripod, something like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00D76R..._dp_1CFMW0J4JC16VQ6P7Y2T?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

And to inspire you a little bit more on phone photography, here’s a shot taken on an iPhone

Post in thread 'Photo of the Day - September 2021' https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/photo-of-the-day-september-2021.2309386/post-30227497

And also

Post in thread 'Photos taken with the 12 Pro Max only' https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/photos-taken-with-the-12-pro-max-only.2268309/post-30237157

 

[lkalliance]

I also don't have the detachable lenses, but I use an 11 Pro with the three-lens array, and I love it. Definitely hasn't replaced my MILC and I use the standard and ultra-wide lenses more than the telephoto, but having all three is fantastic. The way I see it, if I'm going without my MILC then it's because I want to travel light. I don't want to fumble around with swapping lenses on my iPhone; might as well bring the MILC if I want to do that. Being able to shift between angles of view on the phone by just pressing on the screen is the ultimate convenience and it's definitely worth it if you use your phone for photo and video.

I had my first chance to play a little bit with the 12 Pro this weekend. My brother needed a phone in a rush and his local AT&T store had just that model in stock (or, that was all they told him they had, perhaps), so he went ahead and bought it. He didn't even realize that he had a telephoto lens on it. I could see right away how useful it was, just from the snapshots he was doing. I use my zoom lens with my DSLR so often, it felt natural to me to have that available.

 

[lkalliance]

Being a primary iPhone photographer these days I have the following points for you.
- if you’re into photography then don’t get the mini, more than the quality of the lenses you’re going to struggle with the battery life. Choose between the pro or pro max models instead.

I am more and more looking at not getting the mini. When they came out, that was CLEARLY the one I wanted, because the camera stuff wasn't high on my priority list compared to size. I'm just going to have to get comfortable with the size.

- of course point & shoot cameras will be better when it comes to actually taking the pictures but, as you said, it’s another thing to carry and also you’ll miss out on the awesome computational photography algorithm Apple has started adding to iOS.

The computational photography stuff is something I've been thinking about more as well. I see this as an oversimplified model:

(1) General snapshots and simple documentation (taking a quick pic of a receipt, say, or a reference image for something else)
(2) Low-priority photography: some creativity is nice, but bringing all or a subset of my equipment is either overkill or just not practical
(3) "Real" photography

Traditionally, my phone is (1), and my DSLR is both (2) and (3). Recently, I've used my phone--an iPhone SE (2020)--more for (2). I'm less happy with the results, more happy with the convenience. And my Canon is (3). Numbers (1) and (3) won't change: it's (2) that is the swing area. This is where others on this thread have very helpfully suggested a good point-and-shoot.

But I have to be honest with myself: how high a quality am I going to be satisfied with in (2)? It used to be that there was no way I was not going to use my DSLR. The photo quality was just too important to me. But even if I relax those standards (here's the self-honest part: I have), my SE is still not very good.

- an extra small lens attachment will definitely improve the quality of the pictures on the phones. You can get one of those telescopic lenses and some other ones depending on your preference.

- definitely buy a small travel tripod, something like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00D76R..._dp_1CFMW0J4JC16VQ6P7Y2T?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Several years ago when it was still on Kickstarter, I bought a Studioneat Glif. Great accessory, love the wood handle attachment, and I can attach it to any tripod. I can see the utility of a small tripod. Between the glif and a pocketable tripod, that also would be something to carry if I'm going to be in that middle area, but something non-electronic that wouldn't hurt so much to replace if anything happened to it.

And to inspire you a little bit more on phone photography, here’s a shot taken on an iPhone

Post in thread 'Photo of the Day - September 2021' https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/photo-of-the-day-september-2021.2309386/post-30227497

And also

Post in thread 'Photos taken with the 12 Pro Max only' https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/photos-taken-with-the-12-pro-max-only.2268309/post-30237157

Love these shots!

 

[donny0603]

I know this thread is a few years old, but one of the questions seems to have never been answered. Any opinions on the Moment and Sandmarc lenses?

 

[akash.nu]

I can vouch for the Moment lenses if you want to carry attachments around! It has just become too much of a headache for me and that’s why I do not use such attachments myself anymore unless I know it’s absolutely needed for some specific shots such as the moon or any other celestial body.

 

[donny0603]

@akash.nu Thanks. This whole thing came up when I realized shooting the total eclipse recently was a bomb for me. I haven’t picked up my old analog SLR in forever. Started looking at mirrorless digital then realized I didn’t really need big guns for everyday shots. I too, will likely not carry the extra lenses daily but want them for shots where digital tele or macro just doesn’t work well. Thanks for your thoughts. BTW, did you use the built-in camera software or did you elect to go with the MomentPro software. If it really is helpful, I don’t mind spending the $10 on it.

 

[akash.nu]

@akash.nu Thanks. This whole thing came up when I realized shooting the total eclipse recently was a bomb for me. I haven’t picked up my old analog SLR in forever. Started looking at mirrorless digital then realized I didn’t really need big guns for everyday shots. I too, will likely not carry the extra lenses daily but want them for shots where digital tele or macro just doesn’t work well. Thanks for your thoughts. BTW, did you use the built-in camera software or did you elect to go with the MomentPro software. If it really is helpful, I don’t mind spending the $10 on it.

I don’t use any other apps except for the built in camera app unless I know specifically that I’d need to do proper post editing!

In most cases just switching to ProRaw works for me to be honest but then I’m not a professional and am just a phone photography enthusiast.

I did manage to capture the Milky Way somewhat without any gears though.

 

[lkalliance]

I haven't been here in a while, but I was surprised to see this thread has gotten some love recently. Here's an update:

I got the Sandmarc. In part it was to save a little money; in part it was to get the handy manual clip I could just slap onto my phone without having to put it in a specialized case. Not that I regret the decision, it appears to do a fine job, but I never use the clip, it takes a very steady hand and some patience to get it aligned just right. Instead I still just use the case. I might have gone Moment instead in hindsight, BUT if I remember correctly it didn't have a case sized for my 13 mini at the time.

Then last year, I went to Italy. I held my breath, and decided to leave my DSLR at home. One more thing I'd have to lug around, one more thing I'd be worried about theft. All I had was my iPhone 13 mini, and the Sandmarc lens. And I got some really good shots. Perhaps they would have been better with my DSLR, but they were good enough that I didn't regret leaving it behind. Here is one that I shot using the Sandmarc over the standard wide-angle lens, as a pano from the prow of our tour boat entering Positano. I would not have been able to do this with my DSLR (I'm sure it could have done it, I mean that with my skill level and lack of flexibility and balance and the desire to be present in the moment, it wouldn't have happened).

I still can't speak to whether the Moment lens would have been better suited.

So I don't use the Sandmarc nearly as much as I thought I would, but since I didn't pay too much for it, I feel I definitely got my money's worth out of it.

 

[deep diver]

I haven't been here in a while, but I was surprised to see this thread has gotten some love recently. Here's an update:

I got the Sandmarc. In part it was to save a little money; in part it was to get the handy manual clip I could just slap onto my phone without having to put it in a specialized case. Not that I regret the decision, it appears to do a fine job, but I never use the clip, it takes a very steady hand and some patience to get it aligned just right. Instead I still just use the case. I might have gone Moment instead in hindsight, BUT if I remember correctly it didn't have a case sized for my 13 mini at the time.

Then last year, I went to Italy. I held my breath, and decided to leave my DSLR at home. One more thing I'd have to lug around, one more thing I'd be worried about theft. All I had was my iPhone 13 mini, and the Sandmarc lens. And I got some really good shots. Perhaps they would have been better with my DSLR, but they were good enough that I didn't regret leaving it behind. Here is one that I shot using the Sandmarc over the standard wide-angle lens, as a pano from the prow of our tour boat entering Positano. I would not have been able to do this with my DSLR (I'm sure it could have done it, I mean that with my skill level and lack of flexibility and balance and the desire to be present in the moment, it wouldn't have happened).

I still can't speak to whether the Moment lens would have been better suited.


View attachment 2377221

So I don't use the Sandmarc nearly as much as I thought I would, but since I didn't pay too much for it, I feel I definitely got my money's worth out of it.

Nice image. Clearly, you chose well.