Ever since I got back into photography I have almost always had a camera with me. At first it was my DSLRs and an assortment of lenses. Later I began carrying a compact camera like the Leica D-Lux 3 and 4. I then started carrying just my Leica M8 and now I only carry my GF1.
I hate lugging DSLRs and their dependent glass around, too heavy, too bulky, too much theft appeal. I much prefer the small bag the GF1 and lenses fit into but even that can become a pain sometimes. Yeah, I know it sounds like I’m just whining but let’s face it, we all would like a really good camera that we could have with us all the time that would fit in our pocket or at least a jacket pocket. Turns out many of us already do.
The camera on the latest version of the iPhone is quite amazing when you consider its size and the images you can capture and of course that solid state flash. I have an older iPhone so the camera on it does not compete with the newer version on the iPhone 4. Makes me wonder what the camera on the iPhone 5 and the iPad II will be like.
I was in a bookstore a few months ago and stumbled across a book that contained only photos taken with the iPhone and I was amazed by what I saw.
Check out the video below. While he is obviously promoting his iPhone Ap and book, it’s worth a look.
And click here to see a number of iPhone books you might enjoy viewing.
The beautiful thing about photography today is that it doesn’t matter what you use to take the shot.. it’s that you now have the opportunity to take the shot almost anywhere, anytime. With the new mirrorless cameras and the cameras that keep getting better and better in cellphones we can almost always have a camera with us.
The counter argument runs something like this…. “Yes, but serious photographers would never use an iPhone”. Well, I think they would and have. And like everything else that is electronic/digital.. they’ll keep getting better. Let’s face it, you’re not going to get DSLR quality out of an iPhone but if it’s all you have with you, at least you have the shot.
I’m not suggesting anyone sell their gear and opt for an iPhone camera… just entertain the thought every now and then of seeing what you can do with a “lesser” camera. It doesn’t matter if your lesser camera is a an iPhone or a micro four thirds system. The point is to try to do more with less. Try it, you might surprise yourself.