The Future of the iPhone

With several incarnations of the iPhone coming shortly to pass, I am intrigued by the iPhone 6 Plus, the various 7's, and whatever else they have as related to camera function... I want a super still camera and video cam upon which I can occasionally make phone calls and surf the net!

The question" Which version will have the top shutterbug toys? 'Rose Glaze' covers are nice, (and thickness, headphone jacks and antennaes? Really?)... but aside from one that would be completely waterproof, I have no complaints about my current iPhone 6... except that it sometimes goes blurry in 240 FPS... for some reason... and you can't zoom in that mode, at all...

Anyone have any idea which versions of this thing would be for the shutterbugs as opposed to the smaller is better C class tourists? Thanks!!

They never go over camera stuff to the point that I should like in their Tarot readings of the future!!!

A phone (any phone) is NOT a serious camera, and probably never will be, IMHO. If you are a serious photographer, the phone (any phone) is not a good platform. Even if the camera were stinking brilliant, even if the video was studio quality, the form factor is not conducive to good photography. The phone lacks the stability, mass, handleability to be a professional device. Of course, you could add on tripods, balances, lenses, whatever, but then it's not useful as a mobile phone because you have to carry all that stuff around. "Shutterbugs" need cameras. No Tarot readings needed. Phone makers hype the camera because it's for the tourist who doesn't want to lug a camera bag around with them as the wander through Versailles with the other 200,000 tourists carrying phones. And from your comments about thickness, headphone jacks and antennae it's apparent you have read the latest rumor rag about the iPhone7. Want to know what's in the iPhone 7? You'll have to wait, like the rest of us, for Apple to announce it, assuming it even exists.

Actually, iPhones take remarkably good photos -- much better ones now than the point-and-shoots people used to carry around. And some models use optical stabilization to compensate for much of what Jake talks about.

Where the iPhone cameras fall down is primarily in two areas: an inability to do RAW photos, and an inability to have any optical zoom. The lack of RAW is because the sensor in a smartphone that can physically match the large sensors used in pro cameras. So the resolution is much lower, and the file is compressed from the get-go. However, for "point-and-shoot" type photography this isn't really much of a concern -- those old cameras, as I say, weren't any better (and most were worse). The zoom issue is what keeps me buying "real" cameras, more than anything else. Increasingly, I'm doing more casual stuff that doesn't require a big camera to capture adequately. Hopefully, I'll get more time to pursue more serious photography again eventually, but for now I mostly use my iPhone 6s for anything other than "definitely keepsake" type photography. Below is a photo I took with the 6s -- you tell me.

The image stabilization is a good thing, but if you are a professional, what you want is true stability, with the mass of the camera helping with good grips, good sight angles, good feel and good placement of controls. None of that will ever happen on a phone. Also, phones are lousy at panning or following motion in a movie, where the image stabilization also has to compensate for the low mass of the phone leading to unsteady hand movements. That's not to say you can't take good pictures on an iPhone, because you definitely can, but if you are a professional photographer or videographer, the awkwardness of using a phone as a camera will not meet your needs.

Just ask yourself this question: How many professional wedding or portrait photographers use a phone?

And so, I now ask you gentlemen... what camera do you suggest? Since 2005, I have been shooting video with several Digital8 Sony Handycams and using iMovie to edit... but that has great limitations, as you might well imagine...

What cameras would you suggest for ease of use, and yet stunning sharp pictures and Video??? THANKS!!

Below are a couple of my youtubes showing what the iPhone 6 can do...



Ocean Waves and Blue Sky Gulls short entirely on iPhone 6

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIP1kTJ3vms


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuhugJdrRd0


For some reason and at certain times, the iPhone 6 goes blurry shooting in 240 FPS (slo mo) not sure why... I know it always blurs if one zooms in that mode.

Beowulf54 said:

For some reason and at certain times, the iPhone 6 goes blurry shooting in 240 FPS (slo mo) not sure why... I know it always blurs if one zooms in that mode.

Click to expand...

That's probably auto-focus trying to refocus after it perceives something has changed. Try using an app like Filmic and see if you get better results.

I'm not a photographer or videographer so I have no recommendation. You might seek the advice on a website for professional photographers, or inquire of a wedding photographer/videographer. The mobile phone is the 21st century implementation of the Kodak brownie...a pretty good camera for taking "happy snaps" that is easy to carry and now that it's your phone, always there.

As everyone has said above, if you're using a camera for professional purposes, get a professional camera. I'm very much in the Canon (Chevy?) camp versus the Nikon (Ford?) people, but I've tried both and gotten great results from the DSLR lineup. I'll have to get a LOT better before I would consider what's called a medium-format camera -- at that level you're spending tens of thousands on the body alone.

For these kind of beach videos and such, you're going to want to move up to a camera that can give you great quality 4K in the near future -- and reshoot everything you've done in 4K!

Luckily Daytona Beach is still there, and when it's not Spring Break you can usually find a quiet spot.

Some of the best beach footage I ever got was on an unusually frosty day in Sanibel, FL -- the haze was much reduced, the sun was gorgeous, and of course there was NOBODY around.

Okay. Thanks!

Sounds like a golden shoot!!

Yeah, this is just a low level hobby for me, right now!!

I'm a serious amateur photographer with 4 DLSR bodies and over $10k worth of lenses. I've been shooting for decades. And I absolutely agree that a cell phone is not a DSLR-quality device. That said, the recent crop of cell phones do take very impressive pictures. One photographer I follow posted some shots on Flickr that he took with an LG V10 and I was stunned at the quality. Cell phone cameras really have become cameras that you can use to make a phone call. I just bought an iPhone 5s for myself and a 6s for Wifey. She wanted something that would take decent pics and I'd like to have something to grab a shot of a cool sunset or whatever when I don't have one of my usual camera rigs handy. I'm looking forward to seeing what I can produce with the 5s.

Thanks M_Six!!

I am looking at a 6S Plus, maybe, or else one of the chief competitors who claim to take even better shots... A Galaxy something, or other.. I have some time to compare. but my only complaint with the iPhone 6 is that the slo mo footage, even fully focally extended, sometimes shoots BLURRY!! and I lose that entire sequence!! I have to shoot full bore 60 FPS and hope iMovie slows it good for me to be absolutely SURE I don't shoot a furry sequence!!

I believe that using a different app to shoot the video, like Filmic, might alleviate that issue. Or it might be something as silly as locking the focus and exposure controls (which you do with a press and hold)

Beowulf54 said:

And so, I now ask you gentlemen... what camera do you suggest? Since 2005, I have been shooting video with several Digital8 Sony Handycams and using iMovie to edit... but that has great limitations, as you might well imagine...

What cameras would you suggest for ease of use, and yet stunning sharp pictures and Video??? THANKS!!

Below are a couple of my youtubes showing what the iPhone 6 can do...



Ocean Waves and Blue Sky Gulls short entirely on iPhone 6

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIP1kTJ3vms


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuhugJdrRd0


For some reason and at certain times, the iPhone 6 goes blurry shooting in 240 FPS (slo mo) not sure why... I know it always blurs if one zooms in that mode.

Click to expand...

For me you can't go past the Sony Alpha 6000. Traditionalists will scoff and I am not going to try to list all of the great features like lens compatibility but I am just suggesting you take a serious look at it and compare before making any decisions.