“I don’t like my iPhone. I don’t really want a new one and dread that I’ll have to buy one sooner or later.”
This statement from your essay sums up why your musings on this subject are so slanted. Your additional comments about how the iPhone is the worst camera you’ve ever used and that there is no joy in it for you compounds the issue.
You also talk about not wanting additional apps and processing to get in the way of your creative flow, as if post processing using a conventional camera is not similar in effort and application.
As a “serious photographer“ for over 50 years, I can understand your bias against the iPhone as a camera. Historically, it has never been viewed as a real camera by photographers because its resolution capabilities fell well short of the most modest professional cameras. That was true for me as well.
With the advent of the iPhone 15 Pro and the 48 megapixel camera Apple raw format, this equation has been completely changed when employing the Enhance feature in Photoshop.
Not recognizing that would be unfortunate for your own personal photographic capabilities as well as how you influence your readers.
The very fact that you don’t like your iPhone and dread having to buy a new one, says it all. This device is so low in your estimation of value, that its modest price compared to most cameras, is dismissed entirely.
This explains why in your article about taking just an iPhone on a photo trip to Europe, you took an older, antiquated iPhone 13 as your test camera. You put the equipment test at a disadvantage from the very beginning by not upgrading your iPhone. Now I understand why.
With the promise of the new iPhone 16 Pro with reported major camera improvements coming this fall, this device as a camera, using Photoshop Camera Raw with the Enhance feature for processing, will be nothing short of a modern miracle.
In addition, the iPhones internal computer manipulation of each image utilizing HDR and other sophisticated adjustments, takes the quality of contrast control, tonality, and range of values to a quality level not even imagined a few years ago.
The post processing in Photoshop newest version of Camera Raw is intuitive and effortless. After having spent over 35 years in a darkroom, I am continually amazed at its ease of use, sophistication, with simple sliders and selection tools that make almost anything possible, just in that one section of Photoshop alone.
Combining these two modern marvels, the iPhone’s ease of use day to day, to using Camera Raw in creating your final image and then the print, this sequence is streamlined beyond anything I ever could’ve imagined in my dark room days with far more control.
You commented after your curmudgeon statements about the iPhone, “Yes, I would have one with me”. Good for you.
The old adage, “the best camera is the one that you have with you“, still remains true today.
I’m not sure why you dislike your iPhone so much. Possibly because it brings into your world, due to its vast capabilities, aspects of modern life you do not appreciate. Whether it be social media, or photo sharing where images come and go in an instant with no real value placed on the photograph as a piece of art, those effects are real, but only part of the story.
You asked near the end of the article, that if the iPhone could produce an image with the same quality as your other cameras, would you actually use it, and the answer for you was no, with the GarageBand app versus a real musical instrument as your analogy as justification for your opinion.
An incredibly unfair comparison.
I find using the iPhone as a camera effortless once I embraced its limitations as you would with any tool in your toolbox. The viewing screen as a viewfinder, is bright and clear and frame accurate. I don’t “mess with” the digital screen. I don’t let it think for me, I just make my photograph in the moment. It couldn’t be easier. I use Photoshop to create how the final image will be rendered.
You are right that when we are using the tool that we like the most, the results are inherently better. I am now using an iPhone as my primary camera with that same result.
I always have it with me and am ready in a moments notice to capture an image the second when the light is perfect, even if I only have a moment to work.
For example, a backlit cloud that is passing between two trees in just the right position. The wave crashing on the shore under the full moon, just when the light transitioned to an iridescent sparkle along the crest of the wave.
Coming upon a huge gunnera leaf in my garden that was illuminated in such a way as to become its own world unto itself.
All of these images. were made possible because my camera was in my pocket and could be employed in an instant.
Now that the quality is the same, and in some cases better than many conventional cameras, this capability and potential is a game changer in my estimation.
I take pleasure each and every day that my camera of choice now, the iPhone, is always with me.
It allows me to be more creative in the moment because it is the least in the way of any equipment I have ever used.
I have gone the full spectrum over my 50+ years using many different cameras and lens combinations and am thrilled that now my equipment of choice is light, compact, easy to use with remarkable quality and capability only to improve in the near future.
I can’t wait for what this technology will bring in the next few years.
And this says it all... "With the promise of the new iPhone 16"... Honestly I've not seen a lot of better photography with "the promise of the new" for a very very long time. I don't like using the iPhone for anything. The funny thing is that it's not used as a phone much and even that it's not a very good one.
Ps. Les who wrote the last iPhone article is a big fan "for some things". Different writer for the newsletter.
Camera wins on all levels and to repeat all your reasons is just repetition. I love seeing the images pop Lightroom. Did I get it? Working a little with sliders for light dark shadows etc. that brings to life what I saw not what AI thinks. No photoshopped prepackage sky or foreground. If it isn’t then I dump it or give a one star to save.
When I can only carry one camera it’s the Fuji gfx50s 63 mm lens or canon mark iv 5 D w 50 mm lens. But then again the dilemma sometimes it’s the 70-200. Decisions decisions but at least I get the joy of shooting. Thanks for sharing.
inevitably - the AutoColour in Ph Sh gave me better ‘translation of what my eyes saw snorkelling - than my manual attempts - but shootin for clients is way different than shootin personal docu - I favoured the Minox 35 or years later a digital waterproof Point & Shoot in my belt pouch or zippered upper arm sleeve - have ‘eaten SLR’s while big mountain cruisin.. on a stiff ol Burton ride & swore off that lickedy split eh ! Still have both kidneys thanks - but clients wanted me on the same hill with Broadcast Cameras & heroic sundogs .. Also had a Nikon Waterproof so that was OK - often hired for Video or Film so 2 ski snowplow a lot with poles clipped on my back & everybody warned I was at large even after ‘last chair.. somewhere up there ! I could see The Pronghorn patio from up there at Whistler of course & shot Stills & Time Lapse too - Book me back then & you gots 24 hour shootin / editing - about anywhere you can put me.. with camera(s) appropriate to the Scope of Work .. 🦎🏴☠️🇨🇦
.. wow - gotta look up the MK 4 - 5 D - we folded - as I ‘olded .. our freelance hustle in the illegal studio & outpost - we were doing National Film Board level Production & Post based on the Mark 2 with double system sync’d sound.. Final Cut .. sometimes 3 cameras - no clear-com - eye contact & gesture .. “& we delivered the goods !” - ‘Mel Gibson
I've carried similar cameras as just going out without a camera bag but I grew up on Leica M and OM film cameras and lenses which make both those 50mm prime lenses and cameras look gargantuan. I finally spent the $ on a digital M only when they made it the same size as the M4/M6 cameras... they finally did that with the M10, I was not willing to budge on that same size stake in the ground given the idiotic price of the M cameras. I don't deny Leica given how small their market is but they better provide EXACTLY what I am looking for or I can go somewhere else. (or just use my film M camera which I have happily done until the M10)
This article presents a refreshing perspective on the iPhone's impact. The nuanced take on its cultural and technological influence is thought-provoking. It's fascinating to consider how a single device reshaped our interactions and daily habits. Great insights!
Funny... while I am not a fuji fanboy and have my complaints about batttery life my X Pro-2 battery lasts a long time for the way I shoot, I rarely need a second battery in a day. My Canon and Leica cameras NEVER need a second battery in a day, and in many cases a week (and yes I use them during the week)
On the third hand, I always use my iPhone and nothing else. Max battery size and storage works for hours, keeps thousands of images. I seldom post pictures online. I shoot simply - always in RAW, mostly at 48MP @ 1x. Sometimes pinch to zoom. No presets. Never process on the phone. Airdrop RAW images and open the shots in DNG on computer big screen in Photoshop ACR, where I decide which ones to keep. Because I’m not done until I’ve manually worked on an image in photoshop - a tool I’m comfortable with and love. I might choose a single image to work on. More often I pull from my own image library to make a composite image of interwoven elements. For me, unless it’s a quick snapshot for friends or family, the photo is only the first step - raw material - for what I do - how I compose a finished image to print. What I want is a camera with the top third of the phone back full of lenses for the most accurate RAW images from wide angle to zoom shots. Plus that handy phone stuff on the side.
I do as little as possible, usually nothing to pictures I make. I've been in love with the look of BW and Color film and relatively shallow DOF forever hence my longing for a simple process. Even my home film development and printing has always been dead simple and rarely did I need anything but my hand to dodge a hair here and there but that's it.
.. i shoot to share - akin to ‘i look to see.. but ‘share the moment - is the message - & runs like a river through me.. gladly - & i’m ‘just the hardware 🦎🏴☠️🎬
.. was an archival printer back in the day - B & W & Colour Cibachrome - roll paper size - would grade myself ‘journeyman - if that - as I worked with exemplars & had also become competent in 4x5 for outlandish size docu or decor & noticed clients had orgasms seeing their architecture, art or design on a light table - chock full of 4x5 chromes .. stopped printing when the money got scarce but my Epson ruled ..
For me, smaller/lighter is better. I'm more inclined to use something that's easy to take along and that feels less intrusive in the moment. I use Olympus cameras and actually just sold some of my larger lenses so I could replace them with smaller versions. I also have an x100V which I really enjoy using. But to your point, I don't love using my iPhone camera. I agree with all your reasons and I especially don't like what the software does to the image.
I WISH olympus made something the exact same size as an OM2 with lenses the same size as their manual focus lenses but with 35mm film sensor size... even APS-C... the 1/4 frame 4:3 I just cannot get the image look I gravitate to with 28mm-50mm equiv lenses.
On returning from Portugal traveling only with an iPhone I found I enjoyed not having a “kit” with me. However, I had a hell of a time with keeping the thing level. They are so powerful it is easy to sink into the mindset of “I’ll fix it in post” ending up with lots of images that aren’t worth the trouble fixing. I haven’t tried to print any of the photos so I can’t comment on the quality of the capture. On review, the images that I like where the ones that I remember slowing down for, taking in the scene, asking what’s important here. That is, the same amount of time and effort if I had my ‘kit’ with me
I've found the same thing with my phone, my GR, and a few other cameras that I didn't like holding/using/adjusting and gravitate to cameras that MAKE me think and take care while enjoying the process.
My iPhone is an older 11Pro model and I agree that using it is not really ideal unless it’s all I have with me. I do really enjoy my Fuji’s (XPro-3 and X100V). They are set up nearly identical and have dials I can adjust quickly. I have multiple film recipes stored to get the look I want in camera with very little change later.
I miss using my film cameras for sure but the cost of using them means they mostly sit these days.
I mentioned before, I am wrestling with my daily carry camera between my X Pro-2 (sold my 3 and repurchased the 2) and my digital M camera with one of two 50mm.
Oh... the illustrations in this post are yet the 100th test at various apertures of my Summitar vs a modern ASPH 1.4... If anyone is interested I can post something on the extreme dilemma which is NOT about matching "sharpness" wide-open it's entirely about lens size/character vs f/1.4 capability.
Hate using the iPhone for photos, although video is ok. My favorite camera is the OM2n. All the goodness of the enormous OM1 viewfinder and compact Zuiko lenses but with aperture priority too.
Yep nice article. I love my OM2SP too, although I agree that features-wise it's a real muddle. It was my third Olympus after my Trip and OM30, bought new in Newcastle, UK in 1986 for 235 pounds. I'm still using it and it's still going strong. It's never even had a CLA, which is pretty amazing, but the metering display is pretty dim now. It's got a much smaller viewfinder than the OM2, but I do like the spot meter which I use for tricky backlit exposures etc.
If I had to choose only one OM camera it would probably be a black OM-1 or OM-2, I'd have a real tough time deciding. Those cameras absolutely look the best out of the entire lot but I cannot quite decide if I like the no-battery capable OM-1 or the accurate shutter of the OM-2
OM2 every time for me because if the battery dies in my OM1 I would still lean on an external meter or meter using my iPhone, so might as well have the more accurate shutter (and flash) and aperture priority.
Sure, but I guess what I was trying to say (not very clearly) is that the OM1 is pretty useless to me without a battery due to my ineptitude at manual metering in all but the most straightforward scenarios, so might as well plump for the OM2. Talking strictly for myself here. Yes the OM1 will work without a battery but whether I would get anything useful out of it is another matter.
“I don’t like my iPhone. I don’t really want a new one and dread that I’ll have to buy one sooner or later.”
This statement from your essay sums up why your musings on this subject are so slanted. Your additional comments about how the iPhone is the worst camera you’ve ever used and that there is no joy in it for you compounds the issue.
You also talk about not wanting additional apps and processing to get in the way of your creative flow, as if post processing using a conventional camera is not similar in effort and application.
As a “serious photographer“ for over 50 years, I can understand your bias against the iPhone as a camera. Historically, it has never been viewed as a real camera by photographers because its resolution capabilities fell well short of the most modest professional cameras. That was true for me as well.
With the advent of the iPhone 15 Pro and the 48 megapixel camera Apple raw format, this equation has been completely changed when employing the Enhance feature in Photoshop.
Not recognizing that would be unfortunate for your own personal photographic capabilities as well as how you influence your readers.
The very fact that you don’t like your iPhone and dread having to buy a new one, says it all. This device is so low in your estimation of value, that its modest price compared to most cameras, is dismissed entirely.
This explains why in your article about taking just an iPhone on a photo trip to Europe, you took an older, antiquated iPhone 13 as your test camera. You put the equipment test at a disadvantage from the very beginning by not upgrading your iPhone. Now I understand why.
With the promise of the new iPhone 16 Pro with reported major camera improvements coming this fall, this device as a camera, using Photoshop Camera Raw with the Enhance feature for processing, will be nothing short of a modern miracle.
In addition, the iPhones internal computer manipulation of each image utilizing HDR and other sophisticated adjustments, takes the quality of contrast control, tonality, and range of values to a quality level not even imagined a few years ago.
The post processing in Photoshop newest version of Camera Raw is intuitive and effortless. After having spent over 35 years in a darkroom, I am continually amazed at its ease of use, sophistication, with simple sliders and selection tools that make almost anything possible, just in that one section of Photoshop alone.
Combining these two modern marvels, the iPhone’s ease of use day to day, to using Camera Raw in creating your final image and then the print, this sequence is streamlined beyond anything I ever could’ve imagined in my dark room days with far more control.
You commented after your curmudgeon statements about the iPhone, “Yes, I would have one with me”. Good for you.
The old adage, “the best camera is the one that you have with you“, still remains true today.
I’m not sure why you dislike your iPhone so much. Possibly because it brings into your world, due to its vast capabilities, aspects of modern life you do not appreciate. Whether it be social media, or photo sharing where images come and go in an instant with no real value placed on the photograph as a piece of art, those effects are real, but only part of the story.
You asked near the end of the article, that if the iPhone could produce an image with the same quality as your other cameras, would you actually use it, and the answer for you was no, with the GarageBand app versus a real musical instrument as your analogy as justification for your opinion.
An incredibly unfair comparison.
I find using the iPhone as a camera effortless once I embraced its limitations as you would with any tool in your toolbox. The viewing screen as a viewfinder, is bright and clear and frame accurate. I don’t “mess with” the digital screen. I don’t let it think for me, I just make my photograph in the moment. It couldn’t be easier. I use Photoshop to create how the final image will be rendered.
You are right that when we are using the tool that we like the most, the results are inherently better. I am now using an iPhone as my primary camera with that same result.
I always have it with me and am ready in a moments notice to capture an image the second when the light is perfect, even if I only have a moment to work.
For example, a backlit cloud that is passing between two trees in just the right position. The wave crashing on the shore under the full moon, just when the light transitioned to an iridescent sparkle along the crest of the wave.
Coming upon a huge gunnera leaf in my garden that was illuminated in such a way as to become its own world unto itself.
All of these images. were made possible because my camera was in my pocket and could be employed in an instant.
Now that the quality is the same, and in some cases better than many conventional cameras, this capability and potential is a game changer in my estimation.
I take pleasure each and every day that my camera of choice now, the iPhone, is always with me.
It allows me to be more creative in the moment because it is the least in the way of any equipment I have ever used.
I have gone the full spectrum over my 50+ years using many different cameras and lens combinations and am thrilled that now my equipment of choice is light, compact, easy to use with remarkable quality and capability only to improve in the near future.
I can’t wait for what this technology will bring in the next few years.
“I don’t like my iPhone. I don’t really want a new one and dread that I’ll have to buy one sooner or later.”
This statement from your essay sums up why your musings on this subject are so slanted. Your additional comments about how the iPhone is the worst camera you’ve ever used and that there is no joy in it for you compounds the issue.
You also talk about not wanting additional apps and processing to get in the way of your creative flow, as if post processing using a conventional camera is not similar in effort and application.
As a “serious photographer“ for over 50 years, I can understand your bias against the iPhone as a camera. Historically, it has never been viewed as a real camera by photographers because its resolution capabilities fell well short of the most modest professional cameras. That was true for me as well.
With the advent of the iPhone 15 Pro and the 48 megapixel camera Apple raw format, this equation has been completely changed when employing the Enhance feature in Photoshop.
Not recognizing that would be unfortunate for your own personal photographic capabilities as well as how you influence your readers.
The very fact that you don’t like your iPhone and dread having to buy a new one, says it all. This device is so low in your estimation of value, that its modest price compared to most cameras, is dismissed entirely.
This explains why in your article about taking just an iPhone on a photo trip to Europe, you took an older, antiquated iPhone 13 as your test camera. You put the equipment test at a disadvantage from the very beginning by not upgrading your iPhone. Now I understand why.
With the promise of the new iPhone 16 Pro with reported major camera improvements coming this fall, this device as a camera, using Photoshop Camera Raw with the Enhance feature for processing, will be nothing short of a modern miracle.
In addition, the iPhones internal computer manipulation of each image utilizing HDR and other sophisticated adjustments, takes the quality of contrast control, tonality, and range of values to a quality level not even imagined a few years ago.
The post processing in Photoshop newest version of Camera Raw is intuitive and effortless. After having spent over 35 years in a darkroom, I am continually amazed at its ease of use, sophistication, with simple sliders and selection tools that make almost anything possible, just in that one section of Photoshop alone.
Combining these two modern marvels, the iPhone’s ease of use day to day, to using Camera Raw in creating your final image and then the print, this sequence is streamlined beyond anything I ever could’ve imagined in my dark room days with far more control.
You commented after your curmudgeon statements about the iPhone, “Yes, I would have one with me”. Good for you.
The old adage, “the best camera is the one that you have with you“, still remains true today.
I’m not sure why you dislike your iPhone so much. Possibly because it brings into your world, due to its vast capabilities, aspects of modern life you do not appreciate. Whether it be social media, or photo sharing where images come and go in an instant with no real value placed on the photograph as a piece of art, those effects are real, but only part of the story.
You asked near the end of the article, that if the iPhone could produce an image with the same quality as your other cameras, would you actually use it, and the answer for you was no, with the GarageBand app versus a real musical instrument as your analogy as justification for your opinion.
An incredibly unfair comparison.
I find using the iPhone as a camera effortless once I embraced its limitations as you would with any tool in your toolbox. The viewing screen as a viewfinder, is bright and clear and frame accurate. I don’t “mess with” the digital screen. I don’t let it think for me, I just make my photograph in the moment. It couldn’t be easier. I use Photoshop to create how the final image will be rendered.
You are right that when we are using the tool that we like the most, the results are inherently better. I am now using an iPhone as my primary camera with that same result.
I always have it with me and am ready in a moments notice to capture an image the second when the light is perfect, even if I only have a moment to work.
For example, a backlit cloud that is passing between two trees in just the right position. The wave crashing on the shore under the full moon, just when the light transitioned to an iridescent sparkle along the crest of the wave.
Coming upon a huge gunnera leaf in my garden that was illuminated in such a way as to become its own world unto itself.
All of these images. were made possible because my camera was in my pocket and could be employed in an instant.
Now that the quality is the same, and in some cases better than many conventional cameras, this capability and potential is a game changer in my estimation.
I take pleasure each and every day that my camera of choice now, the iPhone, is always with me.
It allows me to be more creative in the moment because it is the least in the way of any equipment I have ever used.
I have gone the full spectrum over my 50+ years using many different cameras and lens combinations and am thrilled that now my equipment of choice is light, compact, easy to use with remarkable quality and capability only to improve in the near future.
I can’t wait for what this technology will bring in the next few years.
To each his own.
Thank you for your time.
William Pierson
And this says it all... "With the promise of the new iPhone 16"... Honestly I've not seen a lot of better photography with "the promise of the new" for a very very long time. I don't like using the iPhone for anything. The funny thing is that it's not used as a phone much and even that it's not a very good one.
Ps. Les who wrote the last iPhone article is a big fan "for some things". Different writer for the newsletter.
Camera wins on all levels and to repeat all your reasons is just repetition. I love seeing the images pop Lightroom. Did I get it? Working a little with sliders for light dark shadows etc. that brings to life what I saw not what AI thinks. No photoshopped prepackage sky or foreground. If it isn’t then I dump it or give a one star to save.
When I can only carry one camera it’s the Fuji gfx50s 63 mm lens or canon mark iv 5 D w 50 mm lens. But then again the dilemma sometimes it’s the 70-200. Decisions decisions but at least I get the joy of shooting. Thanks for sharing.
inevitably - the AutoColour in Ph Sh gave me better ‘translation of what my eyes saw snorkelling - than my manual attempts - but shootin for clients is way different than shootin personal docu - I favoured the Minox 35 or years later a digital waterproof Point & Shoot in my belt pouch or zippered upper arm sleeve - have ‘eaten SLR’s while big mountain cruisin.. on a stiff ol Burton ride & swore off that lickedy split eh ! Still have both kidneys thanks - but clients wanted me on the same hill with Broadcast Cameras & heroic sundogs .. Also had a Nikon Waterproof so that was OK - often hired for Video or Film so 2 ski snowplow a lot with poles clipped on my back & everybody warned I was at large even after ‘last chair.. somewhere up there ! I could see The Pronghorn patio from up there at Whistler of course & shot Stills & Time Lapse too - Book me back then & you gots 24 hour shootin / editing - about anywhere you can put me.. with camera(s) appropriate to the Scope of Work .. 🦎🏴☠️🇨🇦
.. wow - gotta look up the MK 4 - 5 D - we folded - as I ‘olded .. our freelance hustle in the illegal studio & outpost - we were doing National Film Board level Production & Post based on the Mark 2 with double system sync’d sound.. Final Cut .. sometimes 3 cameras - no clear-com - eye contact & gesture .. “& we delivered the goods !” - ‘Mel Gibson
I've carried similar cameras as just going out without a camera bag but I grew up on Leica M and OM film cameras and lenses which make both those 50mm prime lenses and cameras look gargantuan. I finally spent the $ on a digital M only when they made it the same size as the M4/M6 cameras... they finally did that with the M10, I was not willing to budge on that same size stake in the ground given the idiotic price of the M cameras. I don't deny Leica given how small their market is but they better provide EXACTLY what I am looking for or I can go somewhere else. (or just use my film M camera which I have happily done until the M10)
This article presents a refreshing perspective on the iPhone's impact. The nuanced take on its cultural and technological influence is thought-provoking. It's fascinating to consider how a single device reshaped our interactions and daily habits. Great insights!
Agree with your conclusion: iPhone will take decent pictures but the usability and user experience is all wrong.
Battery life on the iPhone is not terrible—it’s much much better than on my Fuji cameras…
Funny... while I am not a fuji fanboy and have my complaints about batttery life my X Pro-2 battery lasts a long time for the way I shoot, I rarely need a second battery in a day. My Canon and Leica cameras NEVER need a second battery in a day, and in many cases a week (and yes I use them during the week)
On the third hand, I always use my iPhone and nothing else. Max battery size and storage works for hours, keeps thousands of images. I seldom post pictures online. I shoot simply - always in RAW, mostly at 48MP @ 1x. Sometimes pinch to zoom. No presets. Never process on the phone. Airdrop RAW images and open the shots in DNG on computer big screen in Photoshop ACR, where I decide which ones to keep. Because I’m not done until I’ve manually worked on an image in photoshop - a tool I’m comfortable with and love. I might choose a single image to work on. More often I pull from my own image library to make a composite image of interwoven elements. For me, unless it’s a quick snapshot for friends or family, the photo is only the first step - raw material - for what I do - how I compose a finished image to print. What I want is a camera with the top third of the phone back full of lenses for the most accurate RAW images from wide angle to zoom shots. Plus that handy phone stuff on the side.
I do as little as possible, usually nothing to pictures I make. I've been in love with the look of BW and Color film and relatively shallow DOF forever hence my longing for a simple process. Even my home film development and printing has always been dead simple and rarely did I need anything but my hand to dodge a hair here and there but that's it.
.. i shoot to share - akin to ‘i look to see.. but ‘share the moment - is the message - & runs like a river through me.. gladly - & i’m ‘just the hardware 🦎🏴☠️🎬
no prints?
.. was an archival printer back in the day - B & W & Colour Cibachrome - roll paper size - would grade myself ‘journeyman - if that - as I worked with exemplars & had also become competent in 4x5 for outlandish size docu or decor & noticed clients had orgasms seeing their architecture, art or design on a light table - chock full of 4x5 chromes .. stopped printing when the money got scarce but my Epson ruled ..
Hi. Thank you for this conversation.
For me, smaller/lighter is better. I'm more inclined to use something that's easy to take along and that feels less intrusive in the moment. I use Olympus cameras and actually just sold some of my larger lenses so I could replace them with smaller versions. I also have an x100V which I really enjoy using. But to your point, I don't love using my iPhone camera. I agree with all your reasons and I especially don't like what the software does to the image.
I WISH olympus made something the exact same size as an OM2 with lenses the same size as their manual focus lenses but with 35mm film sensor size... even APS-C... the 1/4 frame 4:3 I just cannot get the image look I gravitate to with 28mm-50mm equiv lenses.
On returning from Portugal traveling only with an iPhone I found I enjoyed not having a “kit” with me. However, I had a hell of a time with keeping the thing level. They are so powerful it is easy to sink into the mindset of “I’ll fix it in post” ending up with lots of images that aren’t worth the trouble fixing. I haven’t tried to print any of the photos so I can’t comment on the quality of the capture. On review, the images that I like where the ones that I remember slowing down for, taking in the scene, asking what’s important here. That is, the same amount of time and effort if I had my ‘kit’ with me
I've found the same thing with my phone, my GR, and a few other cameras that I didn't like holding/using/adjusting and gravitate to cameras that MAKE me think and take care while enjoying the process.
My iPhone is an older 11Pro model and I agree that using it is not really ideal unless it’s all I have with me. I do really enjoy my Fuji’s (XPro-3 and X100V). They are set up nearly identical and have dials I can adjust quickly. I have multiple film recipes stored to get the look I want in camera with very little change later.
I miss using my film cameras for sure but the cost of using them means they mostly sit these days.
I mentioned before, I am wrestling with my daily carry camera between my X Pro-2 (sold my 3 and repurchased the 2) and my digital M camera with one of two 50mm.
Oh... the illustrations in this post are yet the 100th test at various apertures of my Summitar vs a modern ASPH 1.4... If anyone is interested I can post something on the extreme dilemma which is NOT about matching "sharpness" wide-open it's entirely about lens size/character vs f/1.4 capability.
Hate using the iPhone for photos, although video is ok. My favorite camera is the OM2n. All the goodness of the enormous OM1 viewfinder and compact Zuiko lenses but with aperture priority too.
This may amuse you...
https://camera.fashion/p/the-olympus-om2s
Yep nice article. I love my OM2SP too, although I agree that features-wise it's a real muddle. It was my third Olympus after my Trip and OM30, bought new in Newcastle, UK in 1986 for 235 pounds. I'm still using it and it's still going strong. It's never even had a CLA, which is pretty amazing, but the metering display is pretty dim now. It's got a much smaller viewfinder than the OM2, but I do like the spot meter which I use for tricky backlit exposures etc.
If I had to choose only one OM camera it would probably be a black OM-1 or OM-2, I'd have a real tough time deciding. Those cameras absolutely look the best out of the entire lot but I cannot quite decide if I like the no-battery capable OM-1 or the accurate shutter of the OM-2
OM2 every time for me because if the battery dies in my OM1 I would still lean on an external meter or meter using my iPhone, so might as well have the more accurate shutter (and flash) and aperture priority.
Only one small issue... OM2 won't fire without battery.
Sure, but I guess what I was trying to say (not very clearly) is that the OM1 is pretty useless to me without a battery due to my ineptitude at manual metering in all but the most straightforward scenarios, so might as well plump for the OM2. Talking strictly for myself here. Yes the OM1 will work without a battery but whether I would get anything useful out of it is another matter.
“I don’t like my iPhone. I don’t really want a new one and dread that I’ll have to buy one sooner or later.”
This statement from your essay sums up why your musings on this subject are so slanted. Your additional comments about how the iPhone is the worst camera you’ve ever used and that there is no joy in it for you compounds the issue.
You also talk about not wanting additional apps and processing to get in the way of your creative flow, as if post processing using a conventional camera is not similar in effort and application.
As a “serious photographer“ for over 50 years, I can understand your bias against the iPhone as a camera. Historically, it has never been viewed as a real camera by photographers because its resolution capabilities fell well short of the most modest professional cameras. That was true for me as well.
With the advent of the iPhone 15 Pro and the 48 megapixel camera Apple raw format, this equation has been completely changed when employing the Enhance feature in Photoshop.
Not recognizing that would be unfortunate for your own personal photographic capabilities as well as how you influence your readers.
The very fact that you don’t like your iPhone and dread having to buy a new one, says it all. This device is so low in your estimation of value, that its modest price compared to most cameras, is dismissed entirely.
This explains why in your article about taking just an iPhone on a photo trip to Europe, you took an older, antiquated iPhone 13 as your test camera. You put the equipment test at a disadvantage from the very beginning by not upgrading your iPhone. Now I understand why.
With the promise of the new iPhone 16 Pro with reported major camera improvements coming this fall, this device as a camera, using Photoshop Camera Raw with the Enhance feature for processing, will be nothing short of a modern miracle.
In addition, the iPhones internal computer manipulation of each image utilizing HDR and other sophisticated adjustments, takes the quality of contrast control, tonality, and range of values to a quality level not even imagined a few years ago.
The post processing in Photoshop newest version of Camera Raw is intuitive and effortless. After having spent over 35 years in a darkroom, I am continually amazed at its ease of use, sophistication, with simple sliders and selection tools that make almost anything possible, just in that one section of Photoshop alone.
Combining these two modern marvels, the iPhone’s ease of use day to day, to using Camera Raw in creating your final image and then the print, this sequence is streamlined beyond anything I ever could’ve imagined in my dark room days with far more control.
You commented after your curmudgeon statements about the iPhone, “Yes, I would have one with me”. Good for you.
The old adage, “the best camera is the one that you have with you“, still remains true today.
I’m not sure why you dislike your iPhone so much. Possibly because it brings into your world, due to its vast capabilities, aspects of modern life you do not appreciate. Whether it be social media, or photo sharing where images come and go in an instant with no real value placed on the photograph as a piece of art, those effects are real, but only part of the story.
You asked near the end of the article, that if the iPhone could produce an image with the same quality as your other cameras, would you actually use it, and the answer for you was no, with the GarageBand app versus a real musical instrument as your analogy as justification for your opinion.
An incredibly unfair comparison.
I find using the iPhone as a camera effortless once I embraced its limitations as you would with any tool in your toolbox. The viewing screen as a viewfinder, is bright and clear and frame accurate. I don’t “mess with” the digital screen. I don’t let it think for me, I just make my photograph in the moment. It couldn’t be easier. I use Photoshop to create how the final image will be rendered.
You are right that when we are using the tool that we like the most, the results are inherently better. I am now using an iPhone as my primary camera with that same result.
I always have it with me and am ready in a moments notice to capture an image the second when the light is perfect, even if I only have a moment to work.
For example, a backlit cloud that is passing between two trees in just the right position. The wave crashing on the shore under the full moon, just when the light transitioned to an iridescent sparkle along the crest of the wave.
Coming upon a huge gunnera leaf in my garden that was illuminated in such a way as to become its own world unto itself.
All of these images. were made possible because my camera was in my pocket and could be employed in an instant.
Now that the quality is the same, and in some cases better than many conventional cameras, this capability and potential is a game changer in my estimation.
I take pleasure each and every day that my camera of choice now, the iPhone, is always with me.
It allows me to be more creative in the moment because it is the least in the way of any equipment I have ever used.
I have gone the full spectrum over my 50+ years using many different cameras and lens combinations and am thrilled that now my equipment of choice is light, compact, easy to use with remarkable quality and capability only to improve in the near future.
I can’t wait for what this technology will bring in the next few years.
To each his own.
Thank you for your time.
William Pierson