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How does the iPhone 6s camera compare to other iPhone generations?

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Re: How does the iPhone 6s camera compare to other iPhone generations?

#91
post #46
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It would give a sense of how far they still have to go.

There is nowhere to go, not with the available physical space. I expect noise to get lower and lower and low light performance to increase, leading to sharper (due to less noise reduction) and less noisier images in the coming years, though, due to the small available physical space and small sensor probably always a step behind larger sensors (like the ones one would find in larger cameras). Maybe it will be possibl…

Well, it depends how you use the available space. With a simple stack of sensor and lens pointing out of the phone, there's very little height available. But if you were to arrange the optics down the length/width of the phone, you'd grant yourself rather more space. This patent talks of external add-ons, but the same principle would be applicable internally:

http://appleinsider.com/articles/14/01/28/apple-granted-two-...

And then there's the option of having multiple cameras taking the same shot, with different focal lengths (whether fixed or zoom) on each. You're still limited in dynamic range by the photosite size, but as we're seeing now, that's often not so huge a problem in many scenarios. One startup working on such a principle is Light:

http://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2015/04/18/photo-startu...

Re: How does the iPhone 6s camera compare to other iPhone generations?

#92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The best camera is the one you have with you. Once the moment has passed, having a better camera isn't going to recreate that moment. The iPhone pretty much wins this every time. It's always with you. If you're in the studio creating scenes, you aren't going to use your iPhone, so it doesn't really matter. If you're going to buy a camera to carry everywhere, you're still not going to use your iPhone. So it's really a…

"I'm visiting Chicago this weekend; should I bring my big camera or can I save space by taking just my phone?" is not an academic theoretical question for some people.

Bring your big camera. If it's too obtrusive for someone you want to photograph on the street, you have your iPhone in your pocket anyway.

Re: How does the iPhone 6s camera compare to other iPhone generations?

#94
post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I learned by watching Antony Morganti's tutorials [1]. They're freely available on youtube and they cover everything you need to know. Watch the first 3 videos I linked, play with Lightroom, and then come back and watch again. You'll learn more now that you're familiar with the tool. [1] https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLllFqBuTM0WI0fC_PujkG...

Thanks, I've never seen lightroom before, but I've used photoshop extensively. I have a Sony A6000 and shoot jpeg as I'm a novice and probably won't bother modifying all of my vacation photos (the A6000 applies corrections for things like barrel distortion for the attached lens automatically when set in jpeg mode). I watched the first three videos and it actually turned me off to lightroom a bit or at least the workf…

If you're shooting JPEG, then your camera has already done a lot of corrections for you. The heuristics that the camera use are limited, and one can always do better than that by doing the post processing manually on Lightroom.

Try shooting RAW + JPEG and see the differences between the pics.

Personally, I believe that doing the post-processing myself is part of the experience of photography, and I find it fun to tune each photo according to my tastes. But I do understand that's not for everyone.

Re: How does the iPhone 6s camera compare to other iPhone generations?

#95
post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I learned by watching Antony Morganti's tutorials [1]. They're freely available on youtube and they cover everything you need to know. Watch the first 3 videos I linked, play with Lightroom, and then come back and watch again. You'll learn more now that you're familiar with the tool. [1] https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLllFqBuTM0WI0fC_PujkG...

Thanks, I've never seen lightroom before, but I've used photoshop extensively. I have a Sony A6000 and shoot jpeg as I'm a novice and probably won't bother modifying all of my vacation photos (the A6000 applies corrections for things like barrel distortion for the attached lens automatically when set in jpeg mode). I watched the first three videos and it actually turned me off to lightroom a bit or at least the workf…

I used to think "I know photoshop well, I don't need lightroom". Now I rarely, if ever, open photoshop (only for extensive clone/stamp stuff as you mentioned).

Anything you can achieve in lightroom you can achieve in photoshop. So why lightroom?

Firstly, it's optimised for the type of things you want to do to photographs (compared to the scope of what's possible in all of digital image manipulation i.e. photoshop). Editing functionality, UI and additional tooling/features are all focussed (pun not intended) on this, so it's a much more pleasant experience when working with hundreds (or even tens!) of photos

Secondly, lightroom is as much about editing photos as it is about managing collections photos. You might want to tag photos, rate them, search for "photos taken in this date range, with this lens, rated above 4 stars". You will have a hard time doing this by other means.

Don't dismiss it because you know photoshop, or because you don't like that guy's style. Shoot RAW, give lightroom a go, you'll be surprised how much you can recover photos which would otherwise go in the trash if shot as JPEG. Lightroom also has lens profiles built-in, so it knows how to correct vignetting, distortion etc for each lens

Re: How does the iPhone 6s camera compare to other iPhone generations?

#96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The point is that the iPhone is technically utter garbage compared to even the cheapest low-end DSLR. Zoom into 100% on any iPhone picture and you're going to see nothing but compression artifacts with whatever remains blurred by pocket lint on the microscopically small lens. Meanwhile, your DSLR is sitting at home in the closet. Guess which picture wins. Here are two pictures I took recently, one with the iPhone, wh…

Yes but the point is - it's a given that people want better cameras in their iPhones. They want to see DSLR images to see what they are missing out on and what they aspire to. The DSLR is just a sensor benchmark.

Just go to Flickr or look at any picture in the New York Times. That's what DSLR pictures look like.

Re: How does the iPhone 6s camera compare to other iPhone generations?

#98
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It would give a sense of how far they still have to go.

TBH, the image quality isn't the limiting factor. The lack of interchangeable lenses, manual control, and RAW files will always limit the appeal of camera phones for pros and more advanced amateurs.

As an advanced amateur photographer (http://photos.aballs.com/), the iphone getting better and better and better has tremendous appeal. My photos are instantly geotagged, and I can immediately upload them to twitters, IG, and share them directly with people via WhatsApp and SMS.

Every year I get a new camera (along with new features) from Apple for the cost of $200-300 (New Contract Free Price - Selling my old phone used). That is nearly impossible to do with my SLRs.

For serious travel photography, I enjoy using my 5D2, but there really is no comparison between using my full kit, and using my iphone.

I prefer my iphone.

Re: How does the iPhone 6s camera compare to other iPhone generations?

#99
post #63
post #30

Our team (RYOT) got the opportunity to film a documentary short in Haiti with the new 6S+, results were lovely. Feel free to check out the film in 4K: http://www.ryot.org/watch-the-first-documentary-filmed-on-an... also for fun there's a behind the scenes on the same link that shows how the shots came together.

This is really impressive, and the result is beautiful. How is the lens attached to the iPhone? How is the focus controlled?

A lot of the equipment is 3d printed in house since most all of this tech is still so new. The directors really like manual focus for much of their work, so I'm pretty confident there's no auto-focus ability. Similar to when you add a conversion between manufacturers with rigs and lenses. Hoping we can post more soon on the fun stuff the team is creating!

Re: How does the iPhone 6s camera compare to other iPhone generations?

#100
post #41
post #30

Our team (RYOT) got the opportunity to film a documentary short in Haiti with the new 6S+, results were lovely. Feel free to check out the film in 4K: http://www.ryot.org/watch-the-first-documentary-filmed-on-an... also for fun there's a behind the scenes on the same link that shows how the shots came together.

How did mounting canon lenses on the front work for your needs? I would be very keen on that if its practical.

From what I heard, it's still pretty rough but gets the job done. Lots of 3d printing and trying new hardware that's coming out in the filming circles (that I'm not part of, heh).
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