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Can Iphone 4S replace point n shoot camera>

T

thanakornl

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 13, 2005
3
0
Hi all,
I am looking to buy a new point and shoot camera. Iphone 4s came alive and people are posting great picture with it, so i am wondering will iphone 4s take as good photo as regular point n shoot?
 
thanakornl said:
Hi all,
I am looking to buy a new point and shoot camera. Iphone 4s came alive and people are posting great picture with it, so i am wondering will iphone 4s take as good photo as regular point n shoot?
Click to expand...
should be a thread around here with lots of pics, generally yes. as long as ur not a photographer
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A334 Safari/7534.48.3)

The iPhone 4S camera is great. I posted some pictures on Facebook and my friends couldn't tell the difference between my DSLR and the iPhone. The iPhone 4S is definitely good enough at photos and videos for the average person.
 
Best camera is the one you have with you. Most important of a camera is the photographer themselves.

If you can live without optical zoom and Xenon flash, then yes, you can replace a P&S. Personally, I can't. I owned a Nokia N82 which had Xenon flash and was awarded best cameraphone back in 2008. While its Xenon had good range for a cameraphone, it still didn't compare to a $150-$200 P&S one and all it had was digital zoom. I need shots to come in at closer range without sacrificing quality or battery. A dedicated camera will always be better at its OWN craft. They will always have a bigger/latest sensors and more options. The cam on the 4S is basically one found in the Xperia Arc that Sony makes and illuminated sensors has been around in cameraphones since 2009. Trying to replace a dedicated camera is like trying to have your tablet replace real work from your desktop PC. They can do a noble job but they can only do so much. Having a good cam on a phone is just a great bonus but a very good dedicated P&S cam is better at its forte while most phones are becoming the jack of all trades but masters of none.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A334 Safari/7534.48.3)

$100-$200 camera yes.
 
I personally couldn't fathom the idea of using my iPhone has my primary camera, but I suppose you could do it. Not to mention, pics are pretty good. It depends what you're looking for though. Basic photos? Yeah. Serious ones? Maybe not.
 
thanakornl said:
Hi all,
I am looking to buy a new point and shoot camera. Iphone 4s came alive and people are posting great picture with it, so i am wondering will iphone 4s take as good photo as regular point n shoot?
Click to expand...

I am a photographer. I have used my Iphone 4 as my point in shoot for a long time. It's like anything, the more you know about photography, the better you are at it.

I plan on using the Iphone4S as my point in shoot.

I guess it totally depends on what you are looking for.

Alot of photography depends on the operator and it doesn't matter which camera you are using. :)
 
Yes. For basic shots it will replace your point and shoot.

iPhone web browsing is like having a 2001 computer.

The iPhone camera is like having a 2001 point and shoot camera. No optical zoom
 
I plan on using it for those times when you don't realize you need to bring a separate camera with you. But if I know I'm going somewhere and I'm likely to take a lot of photos, I'll bring along my regular camera so I have the optical zoom.
 
As stated before, the best camera is the one you have with you. Photography depends on lighting, great photography depends on great light.

Many people will go out with their camera phones and start taking snapshots left and right and wonder why "the camera takes poor photos", not realizing it is because of poor lighting, boring subjects, or a poor understanding of photographic techniques etc that even an expensive DSLR wouldn't even help with.

I am very excited about the camera on the iPhone. In of itself it isn't anything new but with the multitude of apps out there to change how one can use the camera is effectively limitless which greatly contributes to varying utility.

While this is atypical to how one could use their phone camera, it goes to show with a little pre-planning, knowledge and foresight, one can take some outstanding photos with a phone camera:
http://fstoppers.com/iphone
 
I've never owned a fancy camera and have only used $100-$300 point and shoots over the years. But I haven't even used a those one single time since I got my iPhone 4 in June 2010. I took this photo last year on a trip through Wisconsin and Minnesota with my iPhone 4 and edited right on my phone and uploaded it to Photobucket right from my phone.



Now, I am by no means a real photographer, don't know crap about photography, and wouldn't even remotely consider myself a "hobbyist" photographer, but I was astounded that *I* took the above picture with a CELL PHONE. I don't know that it's technically any good from true photographer standards but it's good enough for me. That about sealed the deal for me and the 4S is even better.

A couple more I've taken that still amaze me from my iPhone 4 last year:



Here's another example that's really impressed me. I was able to get my iPhone 4 to focus on this cracked crank position sensor when I couldn't even for the life of me get my point and shoot to focus on it.



So, for me, yes the iPhone 4 and now my 4S definitely have completely replaced my point and shoots!
 
thanks for all the great comments. I know that iphone 4s cannot replace point n shoot camera like the new release canon s100. And its so true that the best camera is the one you have with you all the time. Which i wont carry my camera with me everyday, more likely i will carry an iphone. Hope i can see more real life pictures.
:)
 
thanakornl said:
thanks for all the great comments. I know that iphone 4s cannot replace point n shoot camera like the new release canon s100. And its so true that the best camera is the one you have with you all the time. Which i wont carry my camera with me everyday, more likely i will carry an iphone. Hope i can see more real life pictures.
:)
Click to expand...


It replaced my own p&s camera. I carry my phone nearly all the time. I don't want to have to carry another device to take pics. Best camera is the one you have when you need it.
 
aneftp said:
The iPhone camera is like having a 2001 point and shoot camera. No optical zoom
Click to expand...

I don't think you've actually owned 2001 P&S cameras. Those cameras were excruciatingly slow. I still have one from 2002-2003 that was one of speediest non-DSLR digital cameras in that era and the iPhone 4S camera is so much faster starting up and focusing it's not even a contest.

Zoom has nothing to do with the era. It's merely a choice between the size vs xoom range. We have some boutique high end cameras released in recent years such as the Fuji X100 that do not have zoom. I usually go with the smallest prime lens on my mirror less camera to avoid bulk.

As for the OP's question. Sure, as long as you don't need zoom or Xenon flash, and the point n shoot camera in question is a cheap one. From my limited understanding, the biggest improvements over the iPhone 4 camera, other than the faster speed, are the colour accuracy and better DR as well as less noise.
 
macingman said:
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The iPhone 4S camera is great. I posted some pictures on Facebook and my friends couldn't tell the difference between my DSLR and the iPhone. The iPhone 4S is definitely good enough at photos and videos for the average person.
Click to expand...

Well it IS Facebook, all pictures get compressed pretty poorly :D
But all kidding aside I agree, the 4S should be a worthy replacement for an average point and shoot. A DSLR is a device dedicated to taking photos (and video) so of course a DSLR can outshine the 4S in the right hands. But I think it can definitely replace point and shoots. It is actually going to serve as my interim camera until I can get a new DSLR, and even then, it'll be good to know you have a dependable camera in the 4S in your pocket.
 
If you don't need the kind of super-zoom lenses that todays larger P&S cameras come with, then yes, it can replace a P&S. It does for me. I have my iPhone 4S (and 4 before then) and my 5D MkII (dSLR), and that's it. With my iPhone I just treat it as a wide prime (no zoom) that I have to zoom using my feet.

It's a great camera. A couple of photos from yesterday:

i-gTjWdMK-L.jpg


i-QnQTzgS-XL.jpg
 
Took my iPhone 4S out last night on a night out. Bit disappointed in the quality to be honest, very grainy and nowhere near where my (fairly cheap and basic £100) Casio P&S. Sure it's great in good light conditions, and it's certainly miles ahead of my iPhone 3G, but as a replacement for a real camera - not yet.
 
russellelly said:
Took my iPhone 4S out last night on a night out. Bit disappointed in the quality to be honest, very grainy and nowhere near where my (fairly cheap and basic £100) Casio P&S. Sure it's great in good light conditions, and it's certainly miles ahead of my iPhone 3G, but as a replacement for a real camera - not yet.
Click to expand...

P&S cameras are not exactly meant for low-light scenarios. If you want non-grainy photos in low light you're going to have to look at dSLRs with fast lenses.
 
It's a good combination of quality and practicality. My other camera is a Canon S90, and as small as it is, I still don't carry it around all the time like I do with my iPhone. You'll always sacrifice convenience for size and quality; my S90 has nothing on a DSLR (which I don't own cause I would never use it), which has nothing on my 52 year old Yashica Mat, which has nothing on a 4x5 view camera.

For something as small as it is, I think it's awesome for the majority of photo opportunities.
 
sweetbrat said:
I plan on using it for those times when you don't realize you need to bring a separate camera with you. But if I know I'm going somewhere and I'm likely to take a lot of photos, I'll bring along my regular camera so I have the optical zoom.
Click to expand...

Same here.

I'd say if you're taking stills it'd be more than sufficient. But I still find my digital camera takes better pictures that may include movement and/or require a zoom.

Not to say I'd replace my digital if/when it craps out. Probably won't.
 
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