Can a Phone make a good enough general camera

eastenders

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Hi All, I have an iPhone 3G which i use way more than my 8Mp HP digital camera for the simple reason that it's conveniently always with me and it's almost always charged.

As my contract is up soon i'm wondering whether it's worth looking at a phone that tries harder to be a good camera, and if so what to go for??

In an ideal world it would also synch my calendar, contacts and Email with exchange like the iphone currently does.
 
You should be posting on a phone forum, not a photography forum.

Most here are interested in digital SLR's or high end P&S/bridge cameras and there are few discussions about the quality of phone lenses, image sensors or phone camera image quality.

Image sensor size, lens maximum aperture, and low light ISO performance have a significant impact on image quality and bigger is better and drives the opportunities for artistic expression.

A camera phone has a lot of limitations. Moreover, in the hands of someone that has a good understanding of art and composition the tool(s) used to produce the art oft times matters little.

Based on what you have said, yes, I would recommend you look for the next, best camera phone you can afford.
 
no phone is worth being your general camera. the quality isnt worth it. get a small PS if possible...

as for your latter qn. consider a Windows Mobile Phone....
 
i would agree that having your phone be you main camera is not a good idea; however, wonderful things can be done with the iphone

here is a sample of what can be accomplish in the hands of someone who knows what he is doing.
iPhone Artistry
 
Cell phone cameras, especially the better models, have already cut wayyyyy into the lower end of point and shoot digital cameras. There are a few cell phones that deliver pretty good image quality. Chase Jarvis recently published a book shot entirely with the Apple iPhone. Who is to say how good a 'general camera' needs to be? A 24MP d-slr that you cannot get past security, or which you're scared to take to the beach doesn't shoot as good an image as a cell phone camera that you actually have with you...

Somebody once said, "The best camera is the one you happen to have with you."
 
Well, if you already use your iphone for most of your pictures (compared to the HP p&s) and you're happy with the results, that's OK. I have a friend with a Droid phone and it takes pretty decent photos. I'll post one after I ask him if it's ok.

OK, back. Here's one from Cedar Point, f'ing scary death coaster.

2010-06-10165125.jpg


It's not terrible. It kinda sucks in low-light but so do point and shoots. Like Derrel said, you can't bring a DSLR to certain places.
 
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I agree with Derrel. I thought of Chase Jarvis' work when I read the thread title.

Gear talk is so fucking boring. People have been producing stellar images with all kinds of equipment and techniques.

Chase Jarvis' iPhone art
 
iPhone cameras are not bad my uncle uses his iPhone for his job. He is a lawyer too.
 
Thanks for all the replies guys, and yeah i totally agree that probably the best camera is the one you always have with you and if i owned a dSLR i wouldn't have it half the places i go that i end up taking pictures.
 
I guess you would have to define "good enough".

My "good enough" is likely not the same as other people's "good enough".

Some of the new phones do look pretty nice though. I've seen some that looked more like a camera that you can call people with...

It's a few years old now, but I considered getting one of these when I first heard about it:
Sony Ericsson K850i - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I still might get whatever the new version of that is whenever I get a new phone.

It would never be my main camera, but it would be nice to always have something half-way decent in my pocket.
 
I think it depends on who is holding the camera phones.
We had a thread here before that showed what someone can do with a camera phone.

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...allery/145542-photos-beginer-cameraphone.html

The OP in that thread already remove his photos from flickr. That is why you will not see them inside the thread. But you can view his cell phone photos here instead.

Take a look at the responses from other members inside that TPF thread, you will see how good they are.
 
For what its worth I think the iPhone camera kinda sucks. I own one. I bought a HTC hero and it has a much better camera on it.
Try tilting an iPhone back and forth as you take a picture, it gets pretty crazy looking. Good for abstract shots and Facebook heaters but...
 
i don't think the sensor size on a camera phone or the aperture will every get large enough to take a good picture.
 
i don't think the sensor size on a camera phone or the aperture will every get large enough to take a good picture.
The phone I linked to has a bigger sensor than the P&S I currently use...

The aperture part, well - you can say the same about any P&S really...
 

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