For those who used to take a digital camera on holiday, do you now use your smartphone instead?

Forums › Digital Imaging › For those who used to take a digital camera on holiday, do you now use your smartphone instead?

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174 posts

Master Geek

#1961586 21-Feb-2018 14:47

There are laws of physics one cannot simply work around. Smart phone camera will never be able to compare with same era premium compact, CSC or dSLR.

Smart phone camera has evolved to the point where it is good enough for daily Social Media mug shots but personally I think they are a long way off if you serious into Photography.

Premium compact from Canon (G Series), Sony (RX Series) and Panasonic (LX Series) are good options if you want pocket ability. The premium compact will easily blow away a top of the range smart phone camera.

A step up from premium compacts are CSC from Olympus, Sony, Canon and Panasonic. The Olympus PEN series is definitively worth a look but there are lot of other options.

Starscream122

568 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#1961631 21-Feb-2018 15:38

kobiak: I don't go on the trip without dslr. Smartphones are good, but not great. And no zoom.

Smartphones have zoom...

cadman

1014 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#1961636 21-Feb-2018 15:46

Starscream122:

kobiak: I don't go on the trip without dslr. Smartphones are good, but not great. And no zoom.

Smartphones have zoom...

Very few have optical zoom. Digital zoom is not zoom at all.

JimmyH

2886 posts

Uber Geek

#1962502 22-Feb-2018 21:12

Batman:

I am interested in something that has at least the range of 28-300mm equivalent that can do all that you mentioned + 4k 60fps, even better if 15-600mm equivalent, under 1kg in total. anything like that yet? might have to wait a few years ... nikon d850 sounds like that but it will cost a lot more than 1kg

You have just described my (elderly) dSLR. It's a 2008 model (Canon 450D) but in my opinon it still beats my relatively high end phone camera for flexibility and image quality.

As well as the 18-55mm kit lens, I have the 10-20mm and 55-250mm image stabilised lenses. 35mm equivalent, that's a coverage of 16-400mm. Spending a few more dollars would readily get you out to 600mm equivalent or even longer if you have a need for this. Add a decent external flash, and other geegaws like circular polarising filters and close-up lenses and it leaves my nearly decade newer phone soundly beaten for speed, flexibility and picture quality. I still use it quite a bit, and am currently trying to get a new camera (probably the 800D) and a newer and higher quality lens or two into the budget. I wish I could afford L-series glass.

Having said that, I still take most photos on my phone. Simply because, unlike the dSLR, it's pretty much always with me in my pocket.

timmmay

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#1962505 22-Feb-2018 21:19

JimmyH:

You have just described my (elderly) dSLR. It's a 2008 model (Canon 450D) but in my opinon it still beats my relatively high end phone camera for flexibility and image quality.

The 15 year old Canon 10D would wipe the floor with any camera in a phone. The sensor is just so much bigger it collects more light. Maybe one day camera phones will catch up, but it'll take some time.

Elpie

1304 posts

Uber Geek

#1962523 22-Feb-2018 21:42

JimmyH:

Having said that, I still take most photos on my phone. Simply because, unlike the dSLR, it's pretty much always with me in my pocket.

This is it, in a nutshell.

I take wayyyy more photos with my phone simply because its always with me. My camera gear only comes out when I am specifically intending to get out to take photographs. When I am travelling internationally by plane I never take my camera (too much hassle with handling everything at security checkpoints and too much room taken up when I fly with only carry-on) so I only ever use the phone (iPhone 7 Plus) when I am on holiday internationally.

smalltrader

174 posts

Master Geek

#1962612 23-Feb-2018 06:37

timmmay:

JimmyH:

You have just described my (elderly) dSLR. It's a 2008 model (Canon 450D) but in my opinon it still beats my relatively high end phone camera for flexibility and image quality.

The 15 year old Canon 10D would wipe the floor with any camera in a phone. The sensor is just so much bigger it collects more light. Maybe one day camera phones will catch up, but it'll take some time.

There are law of physics one simply cannot work around with sensor size and lens design. The latest smartphone might be now on par with a 10 years old run of the mill compact but it will never beat the same era premium compact which have >1" sensor or CSC which have M43 or APS-C sensors.

Personally I find premium compact a viable alternative to bulky dSLR for image quality. CSC are very good compromises for portability

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timmmay

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#1962618 23-Feb-2018 07:16

smalltrader:

There are law of physics one simply cannot work around with sensor size and lens design. The latest smartphone might be now on par with a 10 years old run of the mill compact but it will never beat the same era premium compact which have >1" sensor or CSC which have M43 or APS-C sensors.

Personally I find premium compact a viable alternative to bulky dSLR for image quality. CSC are very good compromises for portability

True, but efficiency plays a part. The old 10D has a decent size APS-C sensor, but it's not very efficient. The 70D or whatever they're up to can do more with the light that hits it. As efficiency continues to improve it's possible a smartphone sensor could beat the 10D one day.

I switched from APS-C to full frame 5 years ago. Good move. Even though I still have older D700 cameras (which I mean to sell soon) the full frame does really well.

rayonline

1734 posts

Uber Geek

#1962672 23-Feb-2018 09:24

iPhone 7 Plus vs a older Nikon D300

With an outdated dSLR, most respects better with iPhone?

iPhone 8 vs Canon 77D (2017 model).

With a modern dSLR, the dSLR is better.

TLD

902 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1972371 10-Mar-2018 15:28

When I still lived in the UK and came here for holidays, I bought a SLR and two lenses, and carried the camera on my hip while tramping the great walks. It used to bounce and bruise my thigh, and leave a big blue and yellow bruise mark on my leg.

After coming to live in NZ and going to the UK to visit family, the first time I took a 30D, 70-200mm F2.8L and a 10-20mm ultrawide. It was a total pain carrying it all around all day.

So I then took just a G10 compact on year, and a G1X on my last visit. The shots it took were sharp enough, but shutter lag and crap minimum focus distance made it a compromise too far.

We are going back again this year, and I have decided to rely entirely on my iPhone 8 Plus. I hate the photo taking experience with the phone — especially for video — but I can hardly believe how good the image quality is, and it will be so nice not having to lug kit around all the time. What is perhaps a bit bizarre is that I am still thinking of taking my little Manfrotto Befree Carbon travel tripod with me. I got it with Amazon vouchers Adobe gave me for helping folk on the Adobe forums. I weighs bugger all, and will even fit in a carry-on bag. I love it.

BTW, what's a good solution for mounting a cell phone on a tripod?

Trevor Dennis
Rapaura (near Blenheim)

Jaxson

8043 posts

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#1972411 10-Mar-2018 16:47

TLD:

what's a good solution for mounting a cell phone on a tripod?

Basic

Medium

Fancy

Jaxson

8043 posts

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#1972412 10-Mar-2018 16:49

I think it really depends on whether you are on a photography holiday specifically or not. If you're going somewhere with the intent of finding that epic shot, then you want the gear to capture it.

If you're going on a holiday, and will be taking some photos along the way, then it's that there are viable small devices to achieve that now.

Technofreak

6530 posts

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#1972541 10-Mar-2018 21:56

TLD:

BTW, what's a good solution for mounting a cell phone on a tripod?

One of these is very very good. It's a tripod in its own right but the holder unscrews from the foot and the holder screws onto a full size tripod. It folds up into a very tidy compact unit for storage.

Apparently there's two sizes. We bought ours locally at Snapshot. Their website has a broken link to their tripods at the moment so I had to find another link for it.

https://joby.com/griptight-one-micro-stand

It might be a bit pricier than some others but it leaves all the other cell phone tripod mountings for dead.

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lchiu7

6476 posts

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#1972849 11-Mar-2018 21:14

I took a Sony A6000 with me on our last trip while my wife took her iPhone 6S and took all her photos on it.

I took most of my photos on the MILC and if I wanted (rarely) to post photos I had taken (actually usually only to the family) I would connect the camera to my phone via BT and transfer them that well.

The phone took decent enough pictures but the reason I switched to the A6000 (from an earlier Sony MILC without a viewfinder) was because I much prefer to hold a camera to my eye and use a viewfinder than stare at the screen. I think I can compose a better picture and hold the camera steadier.

But quality wise, it seems that the computational photography and AI in the newer phones like the Pixel 2 or iPhone 10 are catching up to DSLR etc.

Just check this out

https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/google-pixel-2/6

I have neither of those phones so until then I am going to stick with my Sony for precious shots which I shoot in RAW.

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rayonline

1734 posts

Uber Geek

#1985113 28-Mar-2018 19:56

The Google Pixels are quite nice but there are also other nice phones as well. To me it depends what I do with them, should I put my geeky photography aside. If i was walking around with other people in the day time and pretty much just head to my room at night it's pretty good. Compared to the film days of ISO 400 that most consumer got hold of I couldn't even see the scene whereas handheld with a phone I can see with blur. Under good light the phones look pretty sharp compared to 35mm film with the film grain and etc. Even for myself most images are just put on social media and shared. I know a few professional photographers at my camera club and a lot of their own time they also use a phone.

Recently I got a Ricoh GR. Wellington also had the Cuba Dupa festival which is quite travel-like when most people are in urban areas. You're walking around the busy tourist areas, the markets, the food and drink places, the museums, the tourist sites, out all day with the crowd and doing a fair bit of walking etc. That worked quite well, it does have a APS-C sensor. Very compact. I am looking at a second hand mirrorless with interchangeable lenses but I would prob stick to very few lenses and prime lenses to keep the load down. Like a Fuji 10-24 and a 23/2 maybe provides me 15-36 and a classical 35mm and maybe a 35/2 that is equiv to a 50mm. I seldom use telephoto lenses on travel.

Over time I have kinda gotten away from the primary goal of photography to more enjoying the holiday for a change. In the past, I often I go to a place and all I do is seek my spots out, shoot my sunset and grab some convenient quick food and back to my room and experience less of the place than many.

Edit. Silly how it may sound but even if I were to visit Auckland. It was like walk down Queens Street, bus to the museum, pay the fee and wander inside it's convenient ok lunch inside the cafe there. Go to one of the markets maybe the Parnel market. Walk the waterfront, photograph the Auckland bridge and the Sky Tower and call it a holiday. Which is a lot similar to what many people overseas.

I admit this. I have visited Japan 3 separate times. I have never been inside a larger shopping mall. Because each of those trips I only carried a digital SLR and I was lugging a tripod with me every day. Really need to put that in the hotel and take it out a few times in the evening only when I need it. When I was in Singapore and Malaysia I carried my dSLR and I did visit some malls on 1 or 2 days but it was just a hassle while you have a tripod and your camera bag as you walk between the clothes rack and shelves .... The previous time to Hong Kong and China I also didn't. It was always like ok today, street photography in the older area, visit the Kowloon Wall Park, visit the waterfront, the peak lookout. Then the catch was after sunset photography all I got left was tourist eating places or steamboat because the traditional dinners the chefs have gone home. I guessed I could have went to a central mall and go to the basement for food but I was maybe at the other side of the harbour wrong place wrong time.

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