What do photographers miss the most in smartphones?

[RalphLambrecht]

I wonder, what do photographers, who have exclusively used 'real' cameras before, miss the most when they start using smartphones?Different focal lengths? What else?

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

A dark cloth, or even a hood. Sometimes it's hard to see that screen in the blazing sun!

 

[Kino]

The satisfaction that I had something to do with the quality of the image, other than framing...

 

[RudyMerz]

For me it’s the viewfinder and the handling. Most annoying is the multiple swipes. But it’s not just smartphones. I have a Z6 and Z7, and every time I use those I feel like an airline pilot going through a pre-flight check. I rather use one of my F3’s. They get out of the way and let me photograph. And, IMO, have the best viewfinder. YMMV.

 

[Steven Lee]

I miss the neutral unedited look. Every image has a ton of "smart" filters applied automatically. Contrast and saturation are selectively boosted, always. Too grotesque. I suppose there are camera apps that allow export of RAW images, but I have not tried them yet.

 

[Anon Ymous]

1) Normal to tele focal lengths
2) Oversharpening

 

[MattKing]

A decent way for this essentially one-handed, left handed photographer to hold the d**n things!

 

[benderscameracorner]

Ability to make images in damp conditions and/or while wearing gloves.
And just ergonomics, tactility and responsiveness of controls in general.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I seen the iPhones as a telephone and a limited but useful source of information: weather, directions, news, fast look up for questions. Not often as a camera.

 

[michaelelliottphotog]

Having control over depth of field... having real shallowness of field rather than AI/computational generated stuff. True long exposure photography.

These days focal length doesn't bother me so much as you typically have a wide and normal/superwide and wide and if you're fancy, a superwide, wide and short tele. The digital zoom in between focal lengths works fine especially with the AI infill, I don't baulk at digital zoom so much any more.

But there's something about actually choosing aperture and making that conscious decision to have a specific field in focus that you can't replace with fixed aperture lenses and AI/computational imaging.

But, by the same token, I absolutely love the iPhone for taking snaps of my rather agile 2 1/2 year old - especially with live photos where I can pick from a selection of frames if I hit the shutter just a moment too soon or late...

 

[wiltw]

I miss a shutter release that is virtually instantaneous in activating the shutter opening...smartphone have such a delay that it is hard to take a photo of a small child on a merry-go-round...when you finally see them coming and press the button on the screen, the child has gone almost 1/4 of the way around its circumferential path before the shutter is actuated.

 

[koraks]

Most of my qualms have to do with poor interface layout of the 'Pro' mode of the standard Android camera app. I.e. controls overlaying part of the image so you can't manually focus in those areas. Or its tendency to reset exposure to some automatic value once scene changes too much (or something? it seems kind of random). It would be nicer if the viewfinder area occupied the center of the screen, with the controls for aperture, ISO and white balance being grouped along the left and right edges. That way, holding the phone in two hands would give good control without interfering with focus point selection etc.

I also miss longer focal lengths, like many others.

For the most part, however, I find smartphones a really convenient way of taking decent quality snapshots that I can easily share, and the results are often far superior for their intended purpose than if I'd shot them on 35mm color film, especially given the small hardware package (convenient) and the flexibility in adjusting to even somewhat challenging shooting conditions.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

No Articulating View screen.
Ergonomics. Can't hold easily and the shutter release works best when I say smile
Poor Flash
Can't see screen in bright sunlight.
No eye viewfinder.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I miss a shutter release that is virtually instantaneous in activating the shutter opening...smartphone have such a delay that it is hard to take a photo of a small child on a merry-go-round...when you finally see them coming and press the button on the screen, the child has gone almost 1/4 of the way around its circumferential path before the shutter is actuated.

I have found that I have the same problem. Therefore I bring out my cameras to avoid the shutter delay problems, resulting in getting the photograph with one shot, the first time.

 

[lecarp]

There absence from my surroundings!

 

[VinceInMT]

The feature I use on my iPhone most frequently is the camera. I’m a distance runner and it’s much more convenient to carry the phone than any other camera in order to document my runs. Yes, I document them as my current project is to run all the streets of my city. Every run gets a blog write up with photos, pretty much providing an in-the-ground tour of the city. I don’t know how many miles there are to do but I’ve run about 550 since the first of the year and have plenty to go.

To the topic, the only problem I’ve had is the iPhone shutting down due to temperature. I run outside all year and when the temperature dips below zero, the phone goes to sleep even though I carry it in an inside pocket.

 

[aw614]

For me, a lot of the issues is with the handling of the phone to shoot. I've never been a fan of the shutter key being on the screen and since the transition to touch screen phones, the overall use of it as a camera. Older camera phones that were good for their time (image quality) from Sony Ericsson, Sharp, I enjoyed using and very similar to using a digital point and shoot in their handling and size.

 

[Disappointed_Horse]

The thing I miss most when using my iPhone camera compared to using my "real cameras" is film. I like the physical nature of my manual cameras; what I'm doing is happening because I and I alone am causing it to happen. I decide how my images will look, not some developer in Cupertino.

What do I miss most when using my iPhone camera compared to my other digital cameras—not much. I kind of feel like if I'm going from a film camera/light tight box to a computer with a lens on it, I might as well use the computer with the best processor and most sophisticated and easiest to use software.

I still sometimes play with my DSLR to use my nice lenses, especially if I need telephoto, but I probably shoot tens times as many photos with my iPhone.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

For me, a lot of the issues is with the handling of the phone to shoot. I've never been a fan of the shutter key being on the screen and since the transition to touch screen phones, the overall use of it as a camera. Older camera phones that were good for their time (image quality) from Sony Ericsson, Sharp, I enjoyed using and very similar to using a digital point and shoot in their handling and size.

See if you can change the shutter release to one of the "hard" buttons on the side of the cellphone. Many (most?) have this option in Settings.

 

[Helge]

Image quality. I miss image quality.
Otherwise I wouldn’t shoot film.
There are physical limits to how good such a small camera can get.
I also miss easy and smooth access to exposure.

 

[nmp]

For me, a lot of the issues is with the handling of the phone to shoot. I've never been a fan of the shutter key being on the screen and since the transition to touch screen phones, the overall use of it as a camera. Older camera phones that were good for their time (image quality) from Sony Ericsson, Sharp, I enjoyed using and very similar to using a digital point and shoot in their handling and size.

On iPhone you can press the shutter with voice activation - I have set it so that when I say shoot, the shutter goes off. Don't know if Android has something similar. Here are the instructions for iPhone:



:Niranjan.

 

[cliveh]

Film.

 

[Chan Tran]

On iPhone you can press the shutter with voice activation - I have set it so that when I say shoot, the shutter goes off. Don't know if Android has something similar. Here are the instructions for iPhone:



:Niranjan.

This is the part that I miss. The cell phone isn't responsive. Sometimes when I tried to tap the shutter release it didn't take the picture. Same thing with voice control sometimes it doesn't understand you.

 

[nmp]

This is the part that I miss. The cell phone isn't responsive. Sometimes when I tried to tap the shutter release it didn't take the picture. Same thing with voice control sometimes it doesn't understand you.

Mine works fine. May be you have a defective touch screen? Should get it checked out.

 

[MattKing]

On iPhone you can press the shutter with voice activation - I have set it so that when I say shoot, the shutter goes off.

I think I would choose something other than "shoot" as my voice command .........