Spartan Photo Center

The death of point-n-shoot cameras is near. Not this year, or next, or even the year after but it is coming. It is inevitable and you can thank Apple for this. One of the most innovative, ground-breaking, ingenious, revolutionary, state-of-the-art, pioneering, cutting-edge, brilliant,… okay okay, enough adjectives but I am talking about the iPhone.  It has altered the photography world. It may not seem like it has now to some people but just wait. Give it 5 years, maybe less. The iPhone can take photos better than some point-n-shoot cameras. It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles as most of the little cameras but it is steadily getting there and when it does, that will be the untimely death of the beloved point-n-shoot camera.

Yes, there were cameras on cell phones before there was an iPhone but the iPhone has changed the easy side of photography dramatically. Right now, all you can do is turn flash on and off, use digital zoom if you want, and tap on the screen where you want the camera to focus. But soon, white balance control, metering control, TTL flash control, M A S P control zzzzzzZOMG! This is the future, and point-n-shoot cameras are the Dodo bird.

Now, at the moment I own a Droid X. I love the phone. I love everything about it but one thing: the camera. It is unresponsive at times when hitting the shutter button, and then it is sometimes too responsive when hitting the shutter button. The photos look flat in color and contrast. It is horrible in low light. It switches between scene modes too slowly. What else do I have to complain about? Hmmm… “but Mr. Blog Writer, you are going against the whole point of this blog post.”
Keep reading my readers.
On the bright side (and very bright side I must say) the native camera app has more options to change than the iPhone such as changing ISO, effects, scene modes, exposure compensation and……… see my point I am trying to get at. Camera phones are getting there and once they do there will be no need for people to carry around a point-n-shoot camera as well as a camera phone.  These camera phones already can shoot Full HD video (and that was the death of Flip video cameras), has face detection, can do HDR photography and it is just going to get better. Even some additional camera apps have become very popular such as Hipstamatic for the iPhone and RetroCamera for the Android. Even Adobe made a Photoshop app for phones now! But when September rolls around and the iPhone 5 is released, I am switching and I am getting it not because I am an Apple fanatic but because of its camera. That sole reason.

I am going on a big trip in September to mid-October. Of course, I am taking my Nikon SLR and a bunch of Lomography cameras but I was also in the market for a small point-n-shoot camera that I can carry with me when I do not want to lug around all my camera gear. But then I got to thinking, I am getting an iPhone soon. The camera on the iPhone 5 will be better than the camera on the 4th generation. And plus it is a PHONE! Done, decision is made! And see what just happened there. The point-n-shoot line just lost a sale.

And here is reassurance on how well the iPhone takes photos… Ahem (clears throat…). Once upon a time in a far away land called Afghanistan, a New York times photojournalist named Damon Winter was documenting the First Battalion, 87th Infantry of the 10th Mountain Division. To best convey those soldier’s story he decided to shoot pictures with his iPhone using an app called Hipstamatic. There was a lot of controversy about his photos being taken with a camera phone but that is a whole other blog post. Back to Damon’s story, with his photos from his iPhone he won third place in POYI international photo contest. iPhone photos… winning in a accredited international photo contest… that is pretty good for a camera phone. Below are some of those winning photographs that he took.

Damon Winter / The New York Times

Damon Winter / The New York Times

Damon Winter / The New York Times

Here are some camera phone pictures from myself using RetroCamera.

© Brandon Pendred. www.nodnarbphotography.com

© Brandon Pendred. www.nodnarbphotography.com

© Brandon Pendred. www.nodnarbphotography.com

© Brandon Pendred. www.nodnarbphotography.com

Also, here are some other cool things that have been done with an iPhone

Watch this: iPhone Wedding Video

Nikon and Canon SLR lens mount for the iPhone

Photojojo.com

Photojojo.com

Now do you see how great camera phones are becoming?

-Brandon-

I have a Panasonic T2 which I can take EVERYWHERE!  It goes to the pool, the beach, and mostly is in my pocket.  Same for the TOUGH cameras by Olympus.  I am now such a big fan of their TOUGH series, they would be my second choice as a walking around camera.

So over the 4th of July weekend, my family and I went to the beach, into the surf and sand.  The camera was very dirty after our fun day. After a day like that, how do you safely remove the battery to charge it?

First, don’t skimp when it comes to reading the instructions on maintaining the water seals.  There is nothing more important to the integrity of a waterproof camera than its seals.  One hair or speck of sand is enough to compromise the seal. With a bit of pressure from the water, the seal can fail and ruin your camera.  No, the manufacturers warranty does not cover water damage on water-resistant cameras, mostly because if the seal was maintained it wouldn’t have failed.

So, I rinsed the camera and washed off the salt and sand off the outside of the camera.  I dried the camera thoroughly and removed lint and dust that was clinging to the outside, then I removed the battery and charged it.  At the same time I inspected the battery door and the seals VERY carefully.  There was sand long the edges which I carefully removed and dusted and blew out and dusted until I couldn’t see any more.  I let the camera air out and when the charger was finished, replaced the battery and resealed the camera, again checking for hairs and eyelashes and ANYTHING that could get on the seal.  Of course, there were a few bits of sand form where I had already cleaned.  Once I was sure that everything was clean,  I closed and locked the covers, and off I went again!

We all take our camera with us to the beach, or the mountains or wherever we take our vacations.  But the hardest part of taking good shots is always thinking ahead and being prepared.  I carry my camera bag, but arthritis prevents me from carrying it like i did when I was younger (read as: 3 years ago when I didn’t have the flareups) .  So I take the bag, but leave it and try to go light, taking only the things I think I need.

I always carry the lens I know I will need.  Last night I started with a 50mm f1.4 for low light, walking around.  When the fireworks started, I was unprepared since the field of view was so limited. Luckily I could change the lens to a 17-55mm f2.8 for the fireworks. The wide area allowed me to shoot the fireworks that the neighbor was shooting off.

When we are walking on the beach, I tend to carry the 70-200 f2.8 lens for the ability to shoot distance shots, and reasonable macro.  Portraits are nice, since I can use the depth of field and compression to get a better shot.

Now, do I take the flash as well?  I have to say that overall, I would rather take the equipment and have it if I need it (that includes the cable release, flash cords, filters etc).  After all, if the shot is Ok, but not worth hanging on the wall, was it really worth taking the shot in the first place?  I will always go for quality over quantity.

Maybe I need to get a backpack…