Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

What do you mostly shoot with?


  • Total voters
    114

The Cockney Rebel

Suspended
Original poster
Nov 16, 2018
2,935
3,615
If you shoot with an iPhone, which iPhone are you shooting with, and what apps do you use?

If you use a “real” camera, what body/lens do you tend to use?
 
A great iPhone app is Focos.

With this app, you can greatly increase/decrease DOF, plus also completely change the focal point.

There’s a pro variant, but the free version is still very powerful.
 
  • Like
Reactions: eyeseeyou
I don't shoot much with an iPhone but when I do, it's my clunker X, no special apps though I've used things like Hydra, Halide and Camera+ in the past. Mostly shoot a variety of 35mm and medium format gear from multiple manufacturers.
I used Camera+ when it first released, but the stock camera app has since become more capable.

You should try Focos; it’s amazing in that it allows you to change your focal point after you’ve taken a shot. This is really handy, for when you’ve got a great composition, but your focus is off.

Thanks for replying, and wishing you well.
 
Only occasionally do I shoot a photo with my iPhone 12 Pro if I'm out somewhere and see something interesting. At home once in a while I'll use the iPhone prior to setting up a tabletop scene just to check whether or not an idea I had is gong to be feasible. Sometimes I'll shoot something interesting at home with the iPhone or whatever camera is closest at hand at the time. As for apps, I tend to just use what Apple provides and then if I am going to edit the image(s) I airdrop them to my computer and use one of my regular editing programs. I don't like trying to edit something on the iPhone.

In general I shoot with Sony gear, including full-frame ILCs and a 1" sensor fixed-lens bridge camera plus a small 1" sensor fixed-lens compact camera. The lenses are primarily Sony native e-mount lenses, along with three fast manual focus Voigtlander lenses and a couple of novelty fisheye lenses as well. I tend to shoot a lot of macros and closeups and then at the other end of the scale, aim my lenses at birds in the water, on land and in flight, so have a couple of long telephotos which I use for that purpose. I'll often stick a 1.4x teleconverter on there as well to extend my reach. Other lenses fall into the in-between category and I don't seem to use them as frequently.
 
I don't shoot much with an iPhone but when I do, it's my clunker X, no special apps though I've used things like Hydra, Halide and Camera+ in the past. Mostly shoot a variety of 35mm and medium format gear from multiple manufacturers.

I shoot almost exclusively with a real camera, unless I'm taking goofy photos of my dog. I have multiple bodies and lenses and can't really narrow down a specific combo, as it depends on the day and mood. I shoot Fuji and Nikon bodies, and also film.
Yep pretty much the same a this except for I have an Android phone not iPhone.

I have been playing with the Nisi filters for iphone adapted to fit my android as a potential for a lighter load out when I travel for work but nah, proper camera for proper pictures and my phone for snaps of our bunnies.
 
  • Like
Reactions: r.harris1
My phone is always with me and is a very capable tool. It takes a lot of quick photos, whether it's "I need to remember how this goes together" or "here's something cute the baby is doing and I want a picture of it." There's plenty of dog photos in there too, or just random things that happen.

Using a "real" camera tends to give me a bit of a mental shift and put me in photographer mode.

As for what I use, that's an involved answer. I've mostly staked my claim on Nikon gear, and my number one go-to combo these days is a D850+24-70 f/2.8E, although that's a heavy beast. I have a D5 that I absolutely love both for the handling(even if I rarely if ever need the frame rate) and also just for how great the straight out of the camera results are. The D5/D6 sensor doesn't get a lot of press(especially since DXOMark was kind of negative about it when it came out) but it really is amazing. I have far too many Nikon lenses, though, and since I do enjoy shooting film I have a pretty full complement both of modern film bodies that work with my modern lenses(except the 24-70...). I also have quite a collection-but a collection I enjoy using-of F and F2 era gear, and that includes quite a bit of manual focus glass. Of course it's great on my DSLRs too, even if it's not as clinically perfect as modern stuff. One of my favorite things to go out with is my F2SB and 35mm f/1.4.

I do enjoy medium format film, and have condensed down to two systems-the Hasselblad V system with a 500C, 500 EL/M, and the 50/80/150/250 kit. I also have a Pentax 67 that I love but have not used in a while-I mostly use it with the 105mm f/2.4, but have several others.

The newest addition has been a Fuji X-T5. I started with just the 16-80mm f/4 lens(APS-C, so equivalent to a 24-120) but have since added the wonerful little 23mm f/2, the amazing 56mm f/1.2, and a Fringer adapter that works quite well with my Nikon lenses. I love the output from the Fuji-especially the straight out of camera output once I set the "look" using the film preset I want, and I love the size of it even if there are some quiirks that annoy me.
 
If you shoot with an iPhone, which iPhone are you shooting with, and what apps do you use?

If you use a “real” camera, what body/lens do you tend to use?
Reading your question, I discovered a feature in the Photos app I didn’t realise was there before.

Not sure it’s entirely accurate as I’ve had an iPhone since the 3G though.
IMG_3504.jpegIMG_3503.jpeg
 
Reading your question, I discovered a feature in the Photos app I didn’t realise was there before.

Not sure it’s entirely accurate as I’ve had an iPhone since the 3G though.
View attachment 2228327View attachment 2228328
Nice and consistent. Apologies as what follows is of no value to anyone, a mere moment of curiosity for myself.

Ouch. I took a look at my numbers in the metadata of my catalogue and I have shot with 53 (and owned - no one gives out freebies) different digital camera models in the past 14 years taking 75K images.

That is NOT a good number and is very very indicative of my early quest to improve my images through technology purchases instead of being consistent and learning my tool like you seem to have.

What is interesting though is that I thought I was most active on the Sonys but turns out I shot more (quantity not quality of course) during my Fuji phase.
 
Nice and consistent. Apologies as what follows is of no value to anyone, a mere moment of curiosity for myself.

Ouch. I took a look at my numbers in the metadata of my catalogue and I have shot with 53 (and owned - no one gives out freebies) different digital camera models in the past 14 years taking 75K images.

That is NOT a good number and is very very indicative of my early quest to improve my images through technology purchases instead of being consistent and learning my tool like you seem to have.

What is interesting though is that I thought I was most active on the Sonys but turns out I shot more (quantity not quality of course) during my Fuji phase.
I’m a Cannon person.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jwolf6589
I started out as a Canon person and then Sony released the A7 - it has been a bumpy road ever since... lol....

In a world where all cameras are excellent now, then stick with what you know. I would not recommend the chopping and changing I have done. Not a good idea.
I'm going to start shooting again, soon.

It's been many years since I've been out (I'm a street photographer.)

Sold all of my good gear, years ago, so I'm going to start with my iPhone 14 Pro Max, to see what I can get with it. I'm looking forward to seeing what I come up with.
 
For anything other than random shots of interesting stuff to send to my wife while I'm out and about, I use a proper camera - Canon EOS 1300D, plus various lenses, plus astrophotography with a Celestron 102mm refractor. You can't beat a proper manual mode!
 
In a world where all cameras are excellent now, then stick with what you know. I would not recommend the chopping and changing I have done. Not a good idea.

As someone who has just recently jumped into a new system, I can just add that cameras are so complicated now that it's essentially learning two "languages."

It's easy to hop from one film system to another, especially in the manual focus era. Yes, they all have their quirks but at the end of the day you have two controls,(sometimes) a way to read the meter, and a way to advance the film. The biggest variables are probably which directions the controls turn and of course just exactly how you interpret the meter read-out, but there are some overarching commonalities. Of course then we have the mess known as the screw mount Leica where, when I had one, if I was out shooting with it and ran out of film, I was done for the day as I wasn't about to try and load it anywhere but at home.

I have used Nikons long enough that I can pretty much pick up any digital or modern(90s) film body and know how it works. It may take me a few minutes to find where Nikon decided on that particular generation to put a setting or to figure out that something doesn't exist on that particular camera, but at the end of the day basically I can figure it out.

I'm finally to where I can mostly get the Fuji to do what I want it to, but it was an uphill battle. Even though it seems like I use the Fuji a lot more these days, it's almost hard to explain but I just feel so comfortable and at home when I pick up one of my Nikons as the muscle memory takes over and the camera just does what I want it to.
 
I use an old SLR 200mm lens to shoot my kids’ sports. Parents love it when I share action shots of their kids on the ice or soccer field. Nothing professional but it works well.

Also take it along for nature hikes etc.

iPhone for everything else.

I’d say 80% iPhone (8 plus) overall.
 
  • Like
Reactions: kenoh and person s
As someone who has just recently jumped into a new system, I can just add that cameras are so complicated now that it's essentially learning two "languages."

It's easy to hop from one film system to another, especially in the manual focus era. Yes, they all have their quirks but at the end of the day you have two controls,(sometimes) a way to read the meter, and a way to advance the film. The biggest variables are probably which directions the controls turn and of course just exactly how you interpret the meter read-out, but there are some overarching commonalities. Of course then we have the mess known as the screw mount Leica where, when I had one, if I was out shooting with it and ran out of film, I was done for the day as I wasn't about to try and load it anywhere but at home.

I have used Nikons long enough that I can pretty much pick up any digital or modern(90s) film body and know how it works. It may take me a few minutes to find where Nikon decided on that particular generation to put a setting or to figure out that something doesn't exist on that particular camera, but at the end of the day basically I can figure it out.

I'm finally to where I can mostly get the Fuji to do what I want it to, but it was an uphill battle. Even though it seems like I use the Fuji a lot more these days, it's almost hard to explain but I just feel so comfortable and at home when I pick up one of my Nikons as the muscle memory takes over and the camera just does what I want it to.
My biggest complaint about switching Nikon bodies is that Nikon never seems to leave the buttons in the same place. I never was comfortable shooting the D700 and D800 together because the WB and ISO buttons got swapped. And then the Z cameras are completely different altogether. Luckily the Z cameras made the most sense for me in terms of handling and button placement. I tried to set up my Fuji body to be similar since the controls are so mappable on Fuji bodies.

But to the OP, I think sticking with your phone for the short tme is a good idea because you can see if you actually get in the habit again of taking photos regularly, and then you can pay attention to where your phone is missing shots for you - do you need a longer focal length, do you need more resolution, more DOF? Working within the limitations of the phone for a few months or a year will really help you figure out what kind of big kid gear you might want in the future. And there aren't really any bad brands or cameras these days, so you will have a lot of options when the time comes.
 
  • Like
Reactions: The Cockney Rebel
Mostly I shoot with my iPhone because it's literally always on me. I do shoot quite a bit with my K70, though. Hoping to maybe shoot some Taurids tonight if it's not cloudy.
 
I was a Nikon user for many, many years. When the time came that I was thinking about maybe going mirrorless, I waited patiently for Nikon to release its Z line or at least provide information about it. To make a long story short, I was disappointed in their initial offerings and also learned that some of my F-mount ("legacy") lenses would not work at all with the FTZ adapter and others would work, but would now be manual focus only, no longer AF. The deal-breaker for me was that Nikon didn't even include a macro lens in its first mirrorless line offerings.

With that in mind, I decided it was time to move on, which I did, and made a complete switch to Sony, as they already had a complete system and had the lenses I wanted right then and there plus as time went on and I was ready to add other lenses they would also be available. It all has worked out very nicely.
 
  • Like
Reactions: The Cockney Rebel
My biggest complaint about switching Nikon bodies is that Nikon never seems to leave the buttons in the same place. I never was comfortable shooting the D700 and D800 together because the WB and ISO buttons got swapped. And then the Z cameras are completely different altogether. Luckily the Z cameras made the most sense for me in terms of handling and button placement. I tried to set up my Fuji body to be similar since the controls are so mappable on Fuji bodies.
Thom Hogan likes to talk about "moving the cheese."

The biggest annoyance for me when I got the D850(and on the D500 I had previously) was that the mode and ISO buttons are swapped, Of course that's the same on the D5. It makes sense as I change ISO a lot more than mode, and it's nice on the D850/D5 to be able to do it without taking my eye away.

I went back and remapped ISO to video record on my D800 and D810 so at least I have that button in the same general area. I have video record mapped to mode on the D5 and D850.

Fuji's customization is wonderful and I do have a lot of controls mapped the same. Still, though, there's things I thought important enough on the Fuji to give up buttons to them. Stabilization on/off is a big one since they don't give you a switch like most F mount lenses. The film sim is another big one for me, as I do change that often enough to give it its own button(I tend to switch between Pro Neg and Velvia depending on the subject, and I know I can change this in post but it's a lot of clicks and seems less than perfect in Lightroom, and Fuji's software is a pain). I've come to terms with face/eye/subject detect especially since the new firmware dropped, but it's still finicky enough sometimes that I felt the need for a button to turn it on/off.

At least they do let you set everything, though. I've brought up the more or less useless to me Fn3 button on the D5, for example, although recently I've been playing with the wired ethernet on it so at least have it set to bring up that menu.
 
Thom Hogan likes to talk about "moving the cheese."

The biggest annoyance for me when I got the D850(and on the D500 I had previously) was that the mode and ISO buttons are swapped, Of course that's the same on the D5. It makes sense as I change ISO a lot more than mode, and it's nice on the D850/D5 to be able to do it without taking my eye away.

I went back and remapped ISO to video record on my D800 and D810 so at least I have that button in the same general area. I have video record mapped to mode on the D5 and D850.

Fuji's customization is wonderful and I do have a lot of controls mapped the same. Still, though, there's things I thought important enough on the Fuji to give up buttons to them. Stabilization on/off is a big one since they don't give you a switch like most F mount lenses. The film sim is another big one for me, as I do change that often enough to give it its own button(I tend to switch between Pro Neg and Velvia depending on the subject, and I know I can change this in post but it's a lot of clicks and seems less than perfect in Lightroom, and Fuji's software is a pain). I've come to terms with face/eye/subject detect especially since the new firmware dropped, but it's still finicky enough sometimes that I felt the need for a button to turn it on/off.

At least they do let you set everything, though. I've brought up the more or less useless to me Fn3 button on the D5, for example, although recently I've been playing with the wired ethernet on it so at least have it set to bring up that menu.
On the GFX I can change the film sim through the Q button which I find pretty fast. I think it's the same on the X100V, but they are named differently and I haven't read the manual thoroughly enough to figure them out.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.