One of the questions I get asked the most often is what kind of camera should they buy for their wife, kid, or themselves? It all depends on how they want to use it and there really hasn’t been model that I would be willing to say is universal acceptable until recently when Apple introduced the iPhone 4. For the past year I’ve been shooting with an i4 and now there are many times where it’s my go to camera of choice.
I’m not being facetious when I say this. Here is the deal: I currently shoot at least 60% of my personal work on my iphone. If I could shoot all my ideas and use it for pro shoots, I would do so in a heartbeat. Lest you think that I’ve drank the Koolaide – here are some of my reasons.
I always have it with me. No more fumbling around the backseat of the car, backpack, or camera safe for a body and lens. It’s way lighter in my backpack and takes up less room. The reproduction values are terrific. I’ve had a bunch of 20″x30″ prints made from it that are mind blowing. It’s shoots great hi def video. Some of mine has aired on commercial TV. You can shoot, photoshop and upload the image to Facebook or email in minutes. No more waiting until you get home or to your laptop. There are so many great apps that make it so easy to take great shots. The post processing apps are amazing as well.
That said there are drawbacks to the phone. Namely the zoom is worthless and is unusable because it makes the photo too noisy. It would be nice if the sensor was better in low light. Other than that – the i4 is pretty amazing. If it had a better low light sensor, great zoom, fast motordrive, a bluetooth strobe slave, then I would likely use it for most all of my pro shoots.
Some may choose to loft their noses above iPhone and want to argue that a phone can’t match a DSLR and that if you don’t shoot with a great camera, multiple lenses and use Lightroom or Photoshop, then the photos aren’t worth looking at. These are generally people that are more caught up in technique rather than creativity. Once certain technical characteristics (sensor, optics etc…) have been eclipsed, then it really isn’t the camera that makes the shot all that much better.
So what do you want? A camera that is with you at all times and one that you can use to order out for Chinese food, surf the net, check your email or something that will become an expensive paperweight in a few years?
This image was taken by my 17 year old son Remington with my iPhone 4 in southern Colorado.
