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Apple unveils the best photos from the Shot on iPhone Macro Challenge

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Re: Apple unveils the best photos from the Shot on iPhone Macro Challenge

#141
post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's pretty cool that you can get such nice results from a phone. But you'd probably have an easier time of it on a five year old aps-c camera with a macro lens, to say nothing of modern 35mm cameras. Sure, but how often do you have them on your person in time to take candid photos? I am in a lot of entomology and myrmecology online groups and people are able to take clear photos of insects that look like professio…

> Sure, but how often do you have them on your person in time to take candid photos? Totally bad argument in justifying phone cameras. If you are having the expectation of getting photos of similar quality as shown on the page, my question is, how often do you have a high quality ring light on your person along with a stable tripod?

It's a great argument for camera phones, because you don't need added lighting or stabilization to get decent shots. The pictures you take are better than the ones you never took, and if you take a lot of pictures you're more likely to stumble onto a great one even as a total amateur.

I think the pictures on that page are aspirational, to be sure... but my own experience with this camera system suggest that they're not out of reach.

Here's one of the first macro pictures I took with an iPhone 13 Pro a day or two after I got it, completely without stabilization, on a momentary stop while I was walking my dog: https://imgur.com/uux8RNS (I'm not saying I'm a good photographer; this is just for technical purposes. It's also unedited.)

Compare that to the "leaf illumination" picture in the article. The professional's picture is noticeably better, of course. But it's more a matter of framing and choice of subject than any hardware limitation.

Re: Apple unveils the best photos from the Shot on iPhone Macro Challenge

#142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Cell phone cameras are multiple stops slower than "real" cameras (i.e. they take in 1/4 to 1/8th as much light). this is not true. the iPhone camera's sensor receives the same density of light from its f/1.8 lens than any old traditional camera using an f/1.8 lens. this means the stops are identical. of course the total amount of light that passes through the iPhone's lens is much smaller than a normal camera's, but…

This

That: https://www.dpreview.com/articles/2666934640/what-is-equival...

Re: Apple unveils the best photos from the Shot on iPhone Macro Challenge

#143
post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Focusing for macro is definitely a painstaking process. That's why they invented equipment to help like focus rails[0]. At macro sizes, the focus ring on the lens is just not going to help get that final focus. Instead, the camera is physically moved closer/further from the subject to get final focus. With the super shallow depth of field, millimeters matter so these rails allow you to make very tiny adjustments. [0]…

I would imagine focus stacking would be a future enhancement, like HDR has stacked images for a long time

Focus stacking is a style. It doesn't necessarily make it better outright. Someone might not want the look of a wider depth of field.

HDR is also a style, and at least they made it optional and not forced on every single image. Hopefully any focus stacking will be optional as well.

Re: Apple unveils the best photos from the Shot on iPhone Macro Challenge

#144
post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you have ten axes to grind about stuff Apple did years ago to build its manufacturing capacity, that's cool and all, but it has zero place in this thread.

Years ago? Try last year! https://www.theinformation.com/articles/seven-apple-supplier... And it's sick you think all they did is OK since they needed to "build its manufacturing capacity" and you forget it all the minute they show you a pretty photograph. And it is also sick that you think sharing the reality about Apple means "I have an axe to grind", and not that I am just a person who cares about humanity.

You're out of line. Think more carefully before referring to others as "sick".

You haven't the slightest notion of what I "think" or what I have or have not "forgotten" or what I think is or is not "ok". I'll thank you to cease pretending otherwise.

You clearly and obviously have an axe to grind, you have no objectivity whatsoever, and the stuff you're trying to inject into this thread simply has no place here. None at all.

Re: Apple unveils the best photos from the Shot on iPhone Macro Challenge

#145
post #62

If I counted correctly, 8/10 of the selected submissions specifically mention the iPhone and the macro feature by name. Same with the comments on different submissions. Okay, okay, I know, it's Apple, this is a marketing campaign. I guess next time, I'm going to take a photo of the contents of my fridge, with the caption: "Every morning, when I check my new iPhone 14 Pro Max Plus, I'm filled with a sense of inspirati…

It is literally called the "Shot on iPhone Macro Challenge".

Re: Apple unveils the best photos from the Shot on iPhone Macro Challenge

#147
post #11

On the leaf image: “The reason I like this so much is the obvious layering. The depth of field created with the iPhone here very clearly shows you what the focal point is, and represents a fantastic example of how good the software is at completely isolating the foreground, leaving the background blurry. A perfect example of computational depth of field.” — Peter McKinnon Is this correct? From what I've shot in macro…

At this point, I don't know how to apply any natural photography rules to camera phone results. There is so much processing going on that it is hard to even try to do things the "old" way. From the skin softening, to the pushing of the contrast/color balance/saturation, to the correcting of content replacing a person's face with a leaf type examples, etc, I really don't want to use the damn camera at all from a puris…

It doesn't actually do any of those, people just hear "computational photography" and make up things in their heads.

"Real digital cameras" also have computational photography a.k.a. sharpening, auto exposure and auto white balance.

Re: Apple unveils the best photos from the Shot on iPhone Macro Challenge

#148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know what your budget is, but it is not that expensive to get into a "real" macro setup, at least compared to the cost of a new phone. Try this on for size: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1485795-REG/7artisans... https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=a6100&_sacat=... https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1059024-REG/manfrotto... https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1459178-REG/viltrox_v...…

Compact cameras (under $500) usually have great macro lenses too, though you miss the flexibility of being able to change the lens. I've owned for quite a while a Micro Four Thirds camera from Olympus and that's a very good spot to be a hobbyist: not too expensive, but can do "pro things" like changing lenses, shoots raw, has a horseshoe socket, etc. Of course, the quality is not the same as a full frame camera, but…

The A6100 (linked above) isn't a full-frame camera either.

It uses a APS-C sensor (dimensions of 23.5 x 15.6 mm). The Micro Four Thirds sensor is 17.3 mm × 13.0 mm

Full Frame is 24 mm x 36 mm.

Re: Apple unveils the best photos from the Shot on iPhone Macro Challenge

#149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At this point, I don't know how to apply any natural photography rules to camera phone results. There is so much processing going on that it is hard to even try to do things the "old" way. From the skin softening, to the pushing of the contrast/color balance/saturation, to the correcting of content replacing a person's face with a leaf type examples, etc, I really don't want to use the damn camera at all from a puris…

It doesn't actually do any of those, people just hear "computational photography" and make up things in their heads. "Real digital cameras" also have computational photography a.k.a. sharpening, auto exposure and auto white balance.

"real digital cameras" have all of those features you mentioned as options.

"real photographers" set up their camera with the settings they prefer and develop in post. i'm deliberately using quotes there as photo journalists have been forced to do certain things that would go against the norms as mandates have come down upon them. These mandates are meant to ensure claims about mainipulation in post has a little ground to stand on, but the people making those mandates don't understand what they are mandating with their PHB directives.

Re: Apple unveils the best photos from the Shot on iPhone Macro Challenge

#150

Slight OT: I am thinking about buying a camera. I have never had a good camera system nor I ever had a flagship phone (iPhone/Samsung/Pixel). I though a mirrorless with good lenses would be a good starting choice. I don't want to do professional photography, I just want to shoot holidays in nature and my upcoming baby. I did some internet research and was blown away when people compare photos from best phones to phot…

> Would you agree that buying a camera is worth only if you are willing to do a lot of preparation and post processing but if not just buy a phone with all the advantages it brings?

Yes.

You definitely can get better pictures out of a camera than a phone if you want to put in the time and the work, not just of using a camera instead of a phone, but of learning how to get the most out of a camera. But it is a lot of time and a lot of work, and given the capital investment not something I'd recommend taking on until you've pushed your phone as far as it can go and find you still want to go further.

Too, you mention a baby coming. Not saying this is you, but I've lost count of the guys I've worked with who get all excited with a baby on the way, buy a camera, and knowing I'm a photographer ask lots of questions about how to use it well - then, three months later, they're back to their phones because it turns out "the best camera is the one you have with you" is a cliché because it's true.

Lately most of my work is chasing wasps around with a macro rig, and let me tell you: there is no wild animal on Earth, a baby included, who will wait around for you to set up a shot. They're going to do what they're going to do, and whether you get the shot you want is entirely your problem. If you want to get that shot with a camera, that means not just knowing how to use the camera, but having it at hand and ready to shoot basically all the time. Which you can do! But you've already got your phone with you all the time anyway, you already know how to use it, you already keep its battery charged - and not for nothing, but a phone'll take a lot more abuse than just about any camera ever made, and we're talking about a baby here.

Which brings me back to the point of time. The shots I get (and occasionally post at https://aaron-m.com/topic/images) are the product, not just of hours of effort in capture and post, but also of four years I spent making photography a daily part of my life. I didn't go anywhere without my camera - eventually, my cameras, both the macro and the 200-500mm tele birding rig. I bought a giant backpack specifically because it would fit them both, I took them out with me on breaks at work, I walked all over God's green earth with them looking for good spots and eventually for good insects and spiders - I more or less lived and breathed photography for four solid years, long enough to figure out what I really wanted to do and get pretty damn good at it for an amateur with a full-time job.

I don't say this to brag, but to make clear the point that you want to think about whether that's the kind of time you want to invest, and the kind of time you can invest - with a baby on the way, and with a phone that if we're being honest already does 90+% of what the best DSLR or mirrorless on the planet can do. Sure, I happen to live firmly within the 10% that phones can't match, or at least not yet. Nobody thinks about the macro wildlife photography that I do as a phone camera use case. Taking pictures of babies, though? People in general? That's where phone cameras live. For that, I can't do better, or even as well - I'd have needed to spend those four years doing portrait work instead. (Or human portrait work, anyway...)

So yeah, I'd say save the money and the frustration, and revisit the idea of a DSLR or mirrorless once you can clearly articulate a reason why you might need one. Until then, your phone's going to serve you much better than any discrete camera will.

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