Using iPhone 4 as your main camera

the iphone4 is my third camera after my dslr and my 5 year old canon powershot. the iphone is great in a pinch and if you want to instantly upload something to the web, but it leaves a lot to be desired. under the right circumstances, it can take some very good pics. however, there's no optical zoom, the sensor and flash absolutely suck in low light situations and at 5 megapixels, you can't print larger than 8x10 (less if you use digital zoom).

 

My first camera definitely. It's so convenient and I love the place and te stamp. Places is awesome

 

It seems to be good for a "daily use" camera - everyday occasions, nothing special or out of the ordinary. However, for those extremely special situations and events, I'd still use a higher quality camera. Your kids only graduate from high school once.

 

I ditched my point n shoot when I got my 3gs. Now with the 4 it's shooting better pics than my 3mp point and shoot was. They don't match up to an slr, but if I want to take good pics I bring my slr.

 

I still use my dslr as my main camera i.e. the camera that I take with me when I know I will be needing to take photos.
However, I always take my iPhone 4 with me everywhere, so it is my day-to-day camera as I dont have another digital camera that I take with me everywhere.
And yes, the iPhone 4 camera is pretty amazing for a phone.

 

Honestly I sold my point and shoots when I got this phone. It's just as good imo and works fine for in the moment, on the go, and night out photo's. When I wanna take a damn good photo and it's all planned out and what not then I'll take my 5D mark II, but who the hell wants to lug one of those around everywhere?

 

This will be my second camera, I still love my dslr but I don't carry it around often so my iP4 will pretty much be my main camera

 

It has been my primary camera for a while. Recently, my point and shoot broke down and now the iPhone is my only camera.

It does the job.

 

My son now has my Nikon D70 and its three lenses, and I use my iPhone 4 as my camera. There is no question that a DSLR is capable of much, much more than an iPhone, but only you can answer the question of what sort of images you really want to make and how much inconvenience you are willing to tolerate to make them. Although I still try to be a little creative, I have to admit that I am satisfied just taking snapshots if the alternative is lugging around a heavy and cumbersome camera and camera bag, or even having just a body and zoom lens around my neck. I haven't wished I had better equipment in my hands more than a few times in the two years I've been traveling with an iPhone exclusively.

And the bonus is that now people stop me on foreign streets and ask ME for directions--no more am I a glaring tourist!

 

Well Im no pro either, but yes it is my main camera.

Recently on vacation my canon SD800 broke, and I plan on replacing it very soon.

If your just taking simple shots the iPhone 4 is great. However if you want to take a picture or video that's further than 15 ft, good luck. It's a digital zoom so gets very bad quality when zoomed in. Also low light situations, yes..it is leaps and bounds ahead of previous versions, however do not expect full bright photos even with the flash on. But, it's just a phone...what do you expect?? It takes great vids though, but not able to zoom...

Those are the only disadvantages compared to a regular digital camera

 

Outdoors = hell yes ( iphone takes great outdoor pictures)
Indoors/nightime/poor lighting = hell no

 

Maybe not first but close second,
Certianly first video camera, I find its video stunning

 

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My brother in-law is a "pro-sumer" type of photographer and is usually present at important events with his DSLR. As such, great photos are only a thumbdrive away (after a day or to for his excellent post processing work)

The wife and I just use our iP4's. Only if it was SUPER important would I personally bring along my ole point and shoot. For a phone, the iP4 takes great pics!

 

My iPhone 4 is now my main camera.
Its good enough for most usage, and I'll only really need my point and shoot for day drips and stuff, where I know I'll want to take photos and zoom etc. The iPhone is more than enough for normal day to day use though.

 

My "main camera" is just the one I have with me when I want to take a picture. If I have my point and shoot, I'd use that, but I primarily only carry around my iPhone.

The only major weakness as others have said is the lack of optical zoom

 

I prefer it! At the moment I have a 10mp point and shoot panasonic lumix camera and it pretty much proves that MP isn't everything! I even went around London last night just to compare the two cameras and most of the time I preferred the iPhone in terms of colour. I've printed many of the iPhone pics and they've been great quality.

Only issue is nighttime landscape shots can be very noisy, but otherwise I think its a great camera.

 

I use my ip4 all the time.

I shoot semi-professionally with a DSLR, but from day to day I am carrying a laptop bag weighing upwards of 15lbs - adding my DSLR kit to that would be a huge hassle, so I tend to rely on my ip4 for any simple things.

Simple meaning: a pic of a friend, or pets, or something for twitter/facebook etc.

As for REAL photos: portfolio worthy, landscapes, true portraits, work, etc etc - DSLR cant be beat by the phone (obviously)


Point is: the ip4 camera is great for casual every day use and certainly has the ability to beat a point and shoot in most situations.

 

I use it a lot when I don't have my dslr

 

The lack of optical zoom means that it could never be my main camera. The digital zoom on the iPhone produces some terrible pictures.

 

Yes but it's uses are limited.

 

its cool and the apps you can get really make it fun but yeah if you need to do any zooming forget it. Its worthless. But for candid shots and fun shots perfect. I have a Leica M9 for pro shots, etc... there is no comparison to a "real" camera to the i4 cam.

 

As a rule, a cam phone is no where near as good as a dedicated DSLR or SLR for the old timers. Over on one of the Symbian forums someone actually said the new Nokia N8 is better than a high end Nikon D3S. This is fanboyism to the extreme. While the N8 camera will absolutely destroy the iPhone4'c image capturing abilities there is no way the N8 will best a Nikon D3S in any situation other than being able to reside in a pocket. I have an iPhone4 that I carry all the time but when I want the shots that matter, I break out the heat. If you are a casual photographer and really do not know better nor can care less, stay with the iPhone4 and maybe learn a bit more. But if you want shots that look better, get a dedicated DSLR.

 

It is my primary video camera, but only because it's convenient. It takes good pictures in ideal conditions. Otherwise any 8MP+ point-and-shoot camera will take much better photographs.

 

I use it as my primary camera. I suppose out of default though, as I rarely have another camera with me