Travel Photography - iPhone camera vs. digital camera???

I just got an iPhone and am intrigued by the camera.

Can anyone provide some insights on what a user would give up by leaving his conventional digital camera at home and only using the iPhone camera (other than, of course, the digital camera...LOL)?

Thank you in advance to anyone who responds.

It's going to depend a lot on the camera you're using.

The iPhone camera, if I recall, is 5MP. I'm not sure on the censor size (this is important). Smaller sensors typically have more noise at high ISO settings(low light shooting anyone?) so that plays into it. You're also going to lose any option for optical zoom, which most semi-decent digital point and shoots have. Top that on with a lot of the other dedicated features they come with for ease of use.

Stock iPhone camera has one focal length and no other options other than auto-adjusting for image brightness.


If you're giving up a DSLR, well, I doubt you'd even be asking this question then.

I just got an iPhone and am intrigued by the camera.

Can anyone provide some insights on what a user would give up by leaving his conventional digital camera at home and only using the iPhone camera (other than, of course, the digital camera...LOL)?

Thank you in advance to anyone who responds.

The iPhone 4 camera is a good two generations behind state-of-the-art -- state-of-the-art camera phones that is.

-The LED flash on any phone camera renders subjects in an unnatural and unflattering light and is only effective out to about 3 feet anyway.

-Phone cameras are all but useless in less-than well lit conditions. In low-light conditions the phone camera will just apply what is effectively an ISO max boost and the results will be a grainy, washed out mess.

-Focusing is a hit-or-miss proposition, forget it if your subject has even the slightest bit of movement.

-There is no optical zoom and any digital zoom function does nothing but enlarge the already not-so-great pixels captured by the fixed focal length optical lens.

A decent 4MP Nikon Coolpix or Canon Powershot compact digital camera from 2006 will blow away the iPhone 4 in terms of image quality and flexibility. If you are at all interested in the quality of your photos and plan to adjust, crop, and/or print them then you would be well advised to spend ~$200 and buy a decent, current generation compact digital zoom camera. If all you plan to do with your photos it post 72dpi snaps to your Facebook page then the iPhone 4 camera should suffice.

I will NEVER abandon a digital camera in favor for a phone camera! Not even for Facebook pictures. (I know it's overkill for the web, but then again, it will be the same photo that will keep in my laptop or print, so might as well make it as good as possible)

I like all my pictures to look nice. It's either my dSLR, my superzoom or my compacts.

I like my phones just to call people or text and my cameras to take pics or videos...

iPhone cameras (in fact all phone cameras) and the current generation photo apps have spawned a whole new era of crappy photos.

iPhone cameras (in fact all phone cameras) and the current generation photo apps have spawned a whole new era of crappy photos.

While this is true, they have also spawned a lot of good photos. From a purely technical perspective, the iPhone camera is mediocre, at best. It is, however, convenient, everpresent, and because of the small size and form factor, you take easily take images from intriguing angles.

I don't consider a phone camera and a regular camera alternatives to each other; they are complements and both parts of my arsenal (which includes a DSLR, a good compact, and the iPhone).

Cheers,
T.

@:-) Any camera you have with you is better than any camera you don't have with you.....

Digital camera is a must for big stuff. I could not imagine a Paris, London or African safari done with a a phone camera. I dont seem to hold them as steady and dont have all the zoom functionality. for a quick pic when at the beach or out on the road, the phone is fine.

because of the small size and form factor, you take easily take images from intriguing angles

The iPhone's not much smaller than a decent compact P+S and much harder to use as a camera (imo) due to the crappy back screen navigation, but you are correct that it's omnipresent. I would also say that cellphone camera's are sometimes viewed as less "threatening" because a very large portion of the world has them now

I love my iphone, but wouldn't trade its camera for my P&S. For one offs at Costco or my kid is doing something funny, yeah its great. I'd hate to say I went to Paris and look at my photos from my phone...

This goes for any camera phone...

I think the Iphone 4 is great for pictures as far as a cell phone goes. get an app called photostitch and you can take some great panoramic shots!

I had a photography teacher that said "the best camera is one that you will always have with you".

An iPhone camera will never compare to a real digital camera. Its great that the iPhone camera is always with you so you never miss an interesting shot, but if you are planning to take photos its better to carry a real camera.

FWIW, I have an dSLR, Point & Shoot, and an iPhone camera. I use all 3 of them for different things, but I would never consider letting the iPhone camera replace one of my real cameras.

I agree, even the cheapest of Canon...say A490 ($100) is a lot better taking pictures than your $800 iPhone

I used to bring my 1st gen iPhone for work trip. whenever I had free time I just started snapping around and it wasn't too bad. I then used the pictures for my 'blog' trip journal that I sometimes post in FB. since the resolution is so small most people don't even know if it's taken with iphone.

now I just switched to samsung focus and it has the CRAPPIEST camera ever.

I missed my iPhone....

$800 iPhone??? on which currency???????

I agree, even the cheapest of Canon...say A490 ($100) is a lot better taking pictures than your $800 iPhone

$800 iPhone??? on which currency???????

Cost of 32GB iPhone4 without a contract around the world.

Hong Kong: HK$5,888 = US$755
Canada: C$779 = US$794
UK: £612 = US$983
Australia: A$999 = US$1,024
Germany: €739 = US$1,044

ouch... is that the MSRP or prices from retailers? well in defense you don't need 32 GB to just take photos.. with contracts they are priced much lower (yes most people actually use their phones for at least 2 years) and there are MANY ways to get the phone much much cheaper unless you're an early adopter...

let's just say that if you pay $800 for an iphone you're not looking hard enough..



Cost of 32GB iPhone4 without a contract around the world.

Hong Kong: HK$5,888 = US$755
Canada: C$779 = US$794
UK: £612 = US$983
Australia: A$999 = US$1,024
Germany: €739 = US$1,044

ouch... is that the MSRP or prices from retailers? well in defense you don't need 32 GB to just take photos.. with contracts they are priced much lower (yes most people actually use their phones for at least 2 years) and there are MANY ways to get the phone much much cheaper unless you're an early adopter...

let's just say that if you pay $800 for an iphone you're not looking hard enough..

That is the going rate of iPhones from Apple Stores or authorized dealers without a contract. In places like China, the grey market pushes them even higher due to limited supply. It's not that much more than similar smart phones running Android or other OSes without a contract.

If you can find a brand new iPhone4 under US$640 (the price for a 16GB one in Hong Kong, HK$4,988) without a contract, please tell me where I can get them.

You cannot compare the real cost of any phone with those in the US that come with contracts, where the cellular carriers pay huge subsidies.

I bought an unlocked 1st gen iphone for $200 unlocked from a craigslist just a year after release... you can probably get if close to free now..

if you want the newest and the best of course you have to pay premium... but the discussion is about iphone.. not iphone4.. if you are willing to go with older system you can get good deal..

even with 1st gen iphone the camera is already good...


That is the going rate of iPhones from Apple Stores or authorized dealers without a contract. In places like China, the grey market pushes them even higher due to limited supply. It's not that much more than similar smart phones running Android or other OSes without a contract.

If you can find a brand new iPhone4 under US$640 (the price for a 16GB one in Hong Kong, HK$4,988) without a contract, please tell me where I can get them.

You cannot compare the real cost of any phone with those in the US that come with contracts, where the cellular carriers pay huge subsidies.

if you want the newest and the best of course you have to pay premium... but the discussion is about iphone.. not iphone4.. if you are willing to go with older system you can get good deal...

Right, but you were the one that wondered who was using $800 iPhones. I gave you the answer - apparently, plenty of people around the world.

Picture quality of the iPhone 4 is quite remarkable considering the size of the lens and package. When you consider that you're bringing it anyway, for travelling light this is a nice option. It's sensor is tiny compared to a good point and shoot like the Canon S90. This means it will fall behind in low light situations, and at 5MP you won't be blowing up huge 20x30 prints that you're happy with. The 720p video is better than the S95!

Consider using it with the Glif tripod mount. Consider using it with an App for more features like capture triggered by no movement. The built-in HDR is pretty good also, but always set it to keep the non-hdr photo and delete whichever one you don't like.

I have a Droid X and use the camera quite a bit when I'm traveling for work. I don't go many interesting places, but my phone's camera works pretty well when I just want to take some generic snaps. For instance, I just posted a pic in the View From Your Hotel Room thread that I thought turned out pretty well. Not award winning certainly, but passable. However, I wouldn't ever consider going on a once in a lifetime trip with only my phone's camera.

If you were to use your iPhone4 as a substitute for your point and shoot digital camera, I would highly recommend downloading these two apps:

1) Camera+ ($.99)
2) 360 Panorama ($1.99)

I would also recommend you get an app (or two) for further editing of your photos. The availability of these additional apps is where the iPhone excels over a standard digital camera.

I just got back from a trip with both my iPhone 3GS and the similarly sized Casio Exilim EX-S12. My goal was to take casual photos for posting online, so I didn't need great quality, but even with my low standards the iPhone became only my last resort.

Problems with the iPhone camera:

Too much contrast, resulting in 100% blown-out lighter areas and detail-free dark areas, neither of which can be fixed with editing
Hard to compose in bright sunlight because I can't see the screen well
No control over depth of field, at least none that I could manage
Terrible in low light--any light source is huge and blurry, and everything else is very grainy
Unrealistic, intense saturation--I'd rather have a realistic photo and edit it if I want to boost the colors


The Casio is small and relatively cheap but vastly outperforms the iPhone. The only drawbacks were having to carry two small gadgets instead of one and the greater complexity of the Casio.

A photo lasts forever, it would be silly to settle for a mediocre cell-phone camera when, as said before, even a lower end <$200USD point and shoot will be purpose-made and provide far superior quality to a cheap added to your phone just for fun. If you were to take shots with a phone and a camera and compare them(on a computer screen or printed out of course) the difference will be clear as day.

It's going to be a sad day when people look back at their memories and regret settling for sub-par media :(

The availability of these additional apps is where the iPhone excels over a standard digital camera.

Not really - many a modern, affordable digital compact camera has a host of powerful and useful editing/enhancement features built-in such as panorama, HDR, sophisticated highlight and shadow enhancement apps such as Nikon's D-Lighting, and a wide range of creative color and effects filters.

Not really - many a modern, affordable digital compact camera has a host of powerful and useful editing/enhancement features built-in such as panorama, HDR, sophisticated highlight and shadow enhancement apps such as Nikon's D-Lighting, and a wide range of creative color and effects filters.

Notice I said standard digital camera ... I agree that more advanced point and shoots offer this but you pay a premium for it.

Just saw this today and found it hilarious that you can make your Iphone look like a Leica!

http://gizmodo.com/#!5612860/heres-a-way-to-really-make-your-iphone-4-look-like-a-leica-camera

I just got an iPhone and am intrigued by the camera.

Can anyone provide some insights on what a user would give up by leaving his conventional digital camera at home and only using the iPhone camera (other than, of course, the digital camera...LOL)?

Thank you in advance to anyone who responds.

I think the iphone camera is pretty sweet from what I've seen of it. There are a bunch of apps out there too where you can edit the photos. I think if you just want to take pics of your friends when you're out it's great. Why bring 2 cameras out with you.

I wonder if I'm doing something wrong, have high standards (I highly doubt that), or people just have really low standards.

The only time I think a photo taken on the iPhone looks good is when viewed on the iPhone itself. Not very good, altho if the lighting is perfect and other optimal conditions happen naturally I suppose I could see a "very good" photo. Just average to good. When uploaded to Facebook, it just looks passable or average at best. That could just be cuz Facebook lowers the quality during upload so I don't totally blame the iPhone for that. However, when I back up those photos into iPhoto, the iPhone photos look crappy to mediocre at best.

I took my kid out on a field trip. Used the iPhone for a few pics so I could MMS them to DW. Really should have brought a P&S with me. Other pics were taken with a DSLR. Obviously a world of difference, but the P&S likely would have produced awesome pics as well as there was great lighting that day. While it was nice that I had a small camera with me cuz it was embedded into my phone, it was REALLY awkward trying to take pics. It's just not that ergonomical. A p&s is much easier to hold and take pictures with and isn't really much bigger.

The videos come how HORRID on an iPhone. Passable when viewed on the iPhone, but when viewed on a computer or even uploaded to Facebook, they're pretty awful.

We are headed to Europe for a 3 week cruise/land vacation. I have an iPhone 3GS, will carry a pocket Canon and will also be bringing a Rebel XS. the iPhone camera is for quick shots only. The camera quality isn't that good. i know the iPhone 4 is better, but....

Also, taking movies with the iPhone is garbage. the sound quality is terrible since the phone cannot modulate the volume causing loud situations to be completely distroted.

Dont have either problem with my smallcanon

I'm a tiny bit of a fan of the iPhone camera, as for a causual shot, it's perfect 9/10 times.

For more ambush photography (or say shopping at in a Jade Market in Hong Kong), it fits the bill.

Again, as uva185 says "the best camera is one that you will always have with you".

I'd agree. For some situations, a big DSLR is inappropriate and difficult to get to hand. Heck, even a compact camera falls into this category. An iPhone (or most camera phones)... blends in - for some photography situations, this is darn useful.

I wouldn't use it as a primary camera, but it's better than a lot of the cheap junk out there....

I travel with a DSLR and an iPhone. I sometimes use the iPhone for a quick Facebook upload of something I also shot with the DSLR as it's convenient for uploads and to make people jealous I am travelling someplace cool!

iPhone camera stacked up to one another in our formal tests for color accuracy, exposure quality, sharpness, distortion, video quality in bright and low lighting, and audio capture.
Digital camera displaying images on a screen immediately after they are recorded, storing thousands of images on a single small memory device, and deleting images to free storage space.

iPhone camera stacked up to one another in our formal tests for color accuracy, exposure quality, sharpness, distortion, video quality in bright and low lighting, and audio capture.
Digital camera displaying images on a screen immediately after they are recorded, storing thousands of images on a single small memory device, and deleting images to free storage space.

I must be having a slow day. I understand the words but cannot make out the meaning.

Cheers,
T.