has the iphone replaced the point and shoot

Do most beginning amateur photographers use a point and shoot or an iPhone/android? 

Wildflower-nut wrote:Do most beginning amateur photographers use a point and shoot or an iPhone/android? 

The answer to that question would be obvious if you are referring to bird and wildlife.  I have YET to see photographers use a smart phone to shoot birds or wildlife other than on the rare occasion but not as a rule. Well maybe for social media.  

Bird and wildlife photography as we know it here in these forums and other wildlife photography forums, is a specialty area requiring at least a point and shoot. The smartphone has replaced the point and shoot for casual photography (taking pictures of your friends, co-workers, family, street shots, spur-of-the-moment shots etc.) where a point and shoot may have been used in the past.  I know, I have a number of point and shoots which stay at home and use my iPhone just about all the time.  

Many years ago the big word was convergence but not sure how many people thought the form factor would be a smartphone.  I got a camera that takes photos, videos, makes calls, text and surfs the web and which I take everywhere but is not cumbersome. 

Wildflower-nut wrote:Do most beginning amateur photographers use a point and shoot or an iPhone/android? 

Yes. Even serious photogs shoot with a phone. Look at the stats.

Study: smartphone camera use on the rise among pro photographers


'Most photographs for business purposes are still captured with a dedicated camera of some sorts. However, 11 percent of the surveyed photographers use a smartphone camera for approximately 50 percent of their pro images. Smartphone use for professional images is also on the rise, with 31 percent saying they use the smartphone more now than they did 12 months ago."


Are the pros ready to switch to smartphones?

I'm thinking landscape and flowers or vacation camera for typical people not pro photographers.

Wildflower-nut wrote:I'm thinking landscape and flowers or vacation camera for typical people not pro photographers.

For that type of photo taking, many people will likely use an iPhone or Android phone or tablet.  What are people typically taking photos of on vacation or in their own city or traveling around?  Landmarks, people, scenics, street scenes - all of which an iPhone is capable of taking nice photos and videos of.  Now that some iPhone models have a zoom lens even moreso now than before.  No extra gear to carry around.  iPhone goes into your pocket.

Wildflower-nut wrote:I'm thinking landscape and flowers or vacation camera for typical people not pro photographers.

  I bought the original Sony RX100 then the RX100m3 and most recently the RX100mV for just these kind of photos, low light and wide angle (would keep it in my pocket).  However when I bought an iPhone 11pro, I found that I could use the camera phone instead of the Sony.  In fact I did a quick test (not at all scientific) for low light shots and decided to just use the iPhone 11 instead of the Sony.  Here is the comparison of the two:

I bet the first was with the phone. The processing is far better in a phone than a P&S. The drawback with a phone is lack of control of DOF, except by shooting distance from subject.

Joe

SantaFeJoe wrote:I bet the first was with the phone. The processing is far better in a phone than a P&S. The drawback with a phone is lack of control of DOF, except by shooting distance from subject.

Joe

  You are correct Joe!  Was wondering if anyone would ask or try to guess.  I am sure there are other drawbacks, but it is easier not to carry my Sony than have one more thing to worry about dropping, carrying and charging!  So have pretty much stopped taking my almost like new Sony. 

Wildflower-nut wrote:I'm thinking landscape and flowers or vacation camera for typical people not pro photographers.

I have avoided chiming in on this subject because I have a definite bias towards using a phone for general photography. I use a phone a lot for all types of photography and feel that it is going to be the tool of choice for most amateur and beginning photographers, if it isn’t already. Just look around any tourist destination and you will note that most people taking images are doing so with phones. Flowers and landscapes are great subjects for a phone camera, as is macro. Pro photographers will totally disagree with me, but we are not talking about images of the very highest caliber here. With the advancement of AI, you will be hard pressed to deny the viability of camera phones. The other night a neighbor and I were taking photos of the comet, me with a Nikon D700 and him with a Pixel 4. My images came out crappy and dull, while his came out crisp, colorful and full of stars. The comet was impressive. His were handheld, while mine were on a solid tripod with a 500mm lens.  The low light capabilities blew me away. Most beginners and many amateurs don’t pixel peep and only care about how an image looks on screen, simply put! With the new periscope type telephotos being built into the latest phones, 3x is feasible and some reviews claim 10x is acceptable. The Samsung s20 ultra has a fairly large sensor and others will follow soon. The processors are amazing and I can’t improve on an image by working with a RAW phone image, albeit I freely admit to my lack of PP skills. The phone does a much better job, but still can be adjusted easily within the phone app. Using a phone for wildlife is more of a challenge, but there are a lot of possibilities when working with habituated animals and birds. I have frequently posted phone images here in the last couple of years. You can check them out here and see what you think. Do most beginners ask for more than that? If so, then maybe a point and shoot won’t be good enough either.

Joe

Thanks everyone for confirming my thoughts. I teach a class on flower photography using an slr. Several years ago I started a second based on the point and shoot that many students were bringing. I later added comments for those with an iPhone. I think the time has come to emphasize the phone and add comments for the point and shoot. I must admit, I tend to use my phone rather than my point and shoot anymore, particularly now that it has a short telephoto. That was my biggest objection is the past that the lens was too wide angle for many of my pictures. Of course, my phone was more expensive that my point and shoot but then it will make calls too!

The best camera is always the one you have with you.

Wildflower-nut wrote:Thanks everyone for confirming my thoughts.  I teach a class on flower photography using an slr.  Several years ago I started a second based on the point and shoot that many students were bringing.  I later added comments for those with an iPhone.  I think the time has come to emphasize the phone and add comments for the point and shoot..........

You didn’t ask for tips, but these may be of help to you or others, here or in your classes, who are wanting to use a phone for a primary camera(or even as a supplementary camera).

Center your subject to use the best part of the lens for less distortion, then crop as desired. It is surprising how sharp these tiny camera lenses are nowadays and how much you can crop into an image. It’s counterintuitive to using the rule of thirds on screen, but if you leave enough room around your subject, it works fine and you can still frame your image with the rule of thirds in mind.

For more DOF on a close up subject like flowers and insects, back up from subject and crop later. Also, be sure to square up to your subject for DOF across the front of subject.

Use a remote release when possible, preferably a Bluetooth, but a wired release or eadbuds(volume control) can be used as well. This helps eliminate movement from touching the screen. My phone can also be voice triggerred.

A case, such as those made by Moment, can be fitted with a circular polarizer, ND filter, etc. The filter adapter can be used as a lens hood. The polarizer helps with reflections, especially from water. They also make lenses to fit the case, but I don’t know how good they are. I have yet to be impressed with images I have seen using the macro lens, but the telephoto seems to be pretty good and can be stacked on top of an in phone telephoto lens.

Clean your lens as needed(obvious). I use the Moment case with a filter adapter and a 37mm screw-in metal lens cap. It really helps to keep dust off and other smudges.

Auto focus by touch screen when hand holding. Use a tripod and manual focus when at a fixed distance, if possible. There are many good phone tripod adapters and some even have Arca Swiss type dovetails for mounting. Example here. And here.

Keep BG far away for bokeh whenever possible. It helps in eliminating a cluttered scene. DOF is hard to control on a phone except by choosing your BG carefully.

Watch the angle and quality of light, as with all photography. Flowers work well with subdued light. Bugs can take some direct light if not too harsh.

Early mornings work well on bugs, since they are less active then.

Surprisingly, phones are often sensitive to IR and can take infrared images by using a filter with no modification to the phone. 

I hope others add more tips because I’m always interested in learning more.

Hope this helps.

Joe

Thanks for the ideas.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned, that I've seen anyway, is the discrete factor that a phone provides. As soon as you bring out a "big" camera and tripod, you get noticed fast. Phones, much less so.

These guys offer some good tips about phone photography. This is one I received today on macro photography:

https://iphonephotographyschool.com/nat ... otography/

You can sign up for their emails.

Joe