[buntee90]

Iphones are good & even great in all lighting conditions, but in my opinion the Pixels beat them every time in artificial light/ low light in terms of details.
My current phone is Iphone 11, previous phone was Pixel 2 XL.

The first two images are from Iphone 11 with a little editing in Google photos, next two are from Pixel 2XL(Unedited), and the last one is from Nexus 6P(unedited).

Further I believe for professional photography DSLRs and Latest Mirrorless Cameras from Sony are best suited. For all other purposes mobile cameras serve very well, after all good photos are all about capturing that special moment!

From my morning Run last week!





Overcast sky on outskirts of Delhi; August 2019


Drink sitting on flashlight


Goa 2016

[ASDT]

Had taken this on a Google Nexus 4 back in 2013 at this place called the Osterly Park in London.

[dipdawiz]

Nice thread, surprised that it was not already there in forum. That I am here now, let me start from beginning of it. Since last couple of years I am more of a mobile photography guy than a DSLR guy. Though using mobile for photography since 2009 with HTC touch 3G, but initial days took mobile photos as token of memory of a place or a thing, not serious. Now, many times its my only equipment for photography, specially for landscape and micro. Never been to iPhone, initially due to the price, and later due to all the time already invested on Android ecosystem (and still does not make sense to me to get iPhone). Keeping aside iPhone vs android, here are some of my photos chronologically

2009, HTC Touch 3G - couple of SD photos stitched together, touched up and enhanced as much possible, only photo I could find taken from this mobile


2010 started using Xperia X10, could not find a single photo from there, but found a photo from my wife's camera Xperia X10 mini


Then moved to Xperia Sola, most useless smartphone I bought, used hardly a year, it was slow and camera was pathetic in most of the lighting conditions


Briefly used (borrowed) Huawei P6, decent photos from P6


Then enters Xiaomi with their flagship MI3, it was quite good with camera. And can say that first time started taking landscapes with it


MI3 was replaced by Nexus 5x, google always shines with their camera software and post processing, In some cases I found that old nexus 5x could take better photo than my current one (or even some of the other heavy weights of recent times). In post processing, only Google can beat Google. Look at the low light photos and panorama taken with Nexus 5x

Namdorling Monastry


Durga puja in Kolkata


Pano from my apartment balcony


Had to give away my Nexus 5x to my wife, briefly used a old LG phone, but no photo from that. Then bought Oneplus 3T, decent camera with quite good low light performance

Some art installation at Durga puja in Kolkata


A Durga puja mandap


Than came Samsung Galaxy S9, one of the best smart phone I used so far, balanced price, performance, form factor, screen size and with a one of the better cameras (but post processing, still Google is king, saying from other pixel camera photos). Samsung also has decent low light performance, but not the best (Pixel or iPhone)

Hawa mahal


Hangseswari temple


Palolem, Goa. A panorama, from photos taken from S9 but stitched using Hugin


Being one of the main equipment beside my Nikon D7000, I take a large number of photos on my mobile now, recent days ultra wide lenses (specially from Samsung) are absolute delight to use and takes very nice photos. Expecting to upgrade my mobile next year, till then, would post photos from my current Galaxy S9.

[JJ1991]

Night shots with my humble realme3 pro

[Steppenwolf1978]

A great thread here are some of my shots from my humble Galaxy On6

I found this gun hanging over my head, Believe me i finished all me work that day.


There was silver lining around the corner.


Who put the cotton outside my plane window.


Twilight


Gurudwara Bangla Sahib Ji


Dodge Charger , Shot by my son


Friendly visitors at my window


Solar Eclipse from my balcony


A random cloud

[Leem]

Originally Posted by mobike008

..eliminated the need to carry/own a DSLR from a hobbyist perspective

Rightly stated.

A DSLR/Professional Camera will never be equated to a smartphone camera by sheer primary functionality. In petrol-head terms smartphone camera is a Luxury SUV with AWD while DSLR is a KAMAZ 4X4

Photography to me falls in to two main streams
1. Capturing of special moment
2. Capturing of a special composition of Photons (hence the name)

You need to be very quick with your gears at 1, and i think no one can beat smartphones at this.
True that smartphones have taken away the holistic approach to photography (since 2005 i think).
For the second stream of photography you need the right amount of light to enter your films/sensor and results are the proof.

Great Photographs are where you managed both together.

[Turbojc]

Hi everyone! Here are a few images that I shot on my phone . I use a Samsung Galaxy Note9 and a Note 5.

[Kosfactor]

Some of you may remember the Maggi noodles of cameras, Kodak KB10. Having had one of those and then a few equally rudimentary Kodak digital cameras, the first touch screen phone that I bought for myself felt very high tech

Presenting (The now Extinct) LeEco Le whatever. (2016)

[ashwin1224]

I absolutely loved every post on this thread! It is amazing how far camera tech has come inside smartphones. What's even better is, as it is with automobiles, the flagships of yesteryears lend their amazing specs to the budget and mid-tier phones of today. What we find extra-ordinary in the iPhones of today will be ordinary in a couple of years.

I relate to a school of people who do not wish to spend a lot on phones. Its mostly because we're broke, but we shroud it under a cloak of "ethics". These budget phones up until a year or two back were strictly OKAY in their picture quality. Of late that has changed significantly. For 15k you get a fairly competent shooter.

One thing that hasn't changed as much ever since the start is that phone cameras are strictly mediocre at wildlife photography. There just isn't enough zoom and digital zoom is just a "jugaad". There are some phones out there with an optical zoom but even they are old point-and-shoot level at best. I do happen to frequent a national park and I frequently face this issue.

This is what I saw. A lone male Hardgroud Barasingha, critically endangered and now endemic to just small swaths of forest in MP. This is shot on a Redmi Note 7 Pro.


This is as much as it would zoom:


The zoomed-in image looks like a painting or something you'd get out of Google's Deep Dream. However, with just a simple binocular I was able to capture this video(Do watch in 60FPS!):

https://youtu.be/DGqCFurJvaE

It did need some trimming and stabilizing but I am super happy with the result! Of course, it's not as clear as it can be and the colours are way off, but it is good enough to share on social media and the picture is clear enough that it brings me back to the experience every time I see it.

That brings me to another question: Are clip-on smartphones lenses worth their price? Especially the zoom lenses. There are a lot of them on amazon and all of them seem to look the same but have wildly different reviews. Any first-hand experiences on the forum?

[deepak_bajaj]

I love photography and am a hobbyist. The thread touches my heart and I thought to express my views. The views are entirely my own and are not meant to undermine any photographer or enthusiasts nor they are targeted to anyone.

The age of digital media and social networking has made everybody a photographer. It's a good development. But it has a major side effect. The photos, which we click today are only aimed at social media networks such as FB, INSTA or TWTR or what not else. The smartphone does the hard work for us and the photo editing software, with their AI engines, take the photos into another realm. The actual photographer is nowhere in picture. The final photo is many times nowhere close to what our eyes saw. The aim has shifted from a memory / emotion to INSTA worthy photo. Likes and hearts.

Let me ask, how many of us print the photos and create albums? How many of us click photos to hang on our walls? The percentage is miniscule and I'm part of that minority group. I shoot with a DSLR, carry out basic editing and preserve memories in the form of albums or wall hangings. Remember the days when we used to purchase a blank album, develop the roll and then fill that album with photos. Those albums were opened on most of the gatherings to relive the memories.

Smartphone photography has killed it (again I'm not against any one and I'm not disrespecting any individual or group). We are living in a virtual world and smartphone photography is just an extension of it. Technically, a smartphone camera sensor cannot compete with a full frame or even 1" sensor. It cannot match the clarity of optical glasses and prime lenses. What we see, is the software, that produces the results and takes away the joy of photography. We now don't have to wait for the light, scenery, sky and other elements. Just, point, shoot, edit, post and forget.

IMHO, smartphone photography can never replace camera photography as long as there is life outside social media. As long as there are diehard fans, like me, who love to wait for the right light, sky and emotion.

[ts1506]

Lovely to see this thread and all the wonderful pictures.

I have been smartphone only for the last 4-5 years now. Currently, I am using an iPhone 12 Pro Max for all my still photography needs (both daily and for trips). I do use a GoPro Hero 7 Black for travel videos, but that’s more of a niche and not daily usage.

Unfortunately, I haven’t had a lot of chances to shoot with the 12 Pro Max, due to travel restrictions, but here’s a selection of my old photos. Most are lightly edited with Lightroom / Snapseed with small perspective/rotation adjustments.

Chinatown, Kuala Lumpur - 2018 - Shot on iPhone 7


Sultanahmet, Istanbul - 2019 - Shot on iPhone XR


Los Angeles Arts District - 2019 - Shot on iPhone XR


Cappadocia - 2019 - Shot on iPhone XR


Santa Monica, Los Angeles - 2019 - Shot on iPhone XR


Galata, Istanbul - 2019 - Shot on iPhone XR


Hagia Sofia, Istanbul - 2019 - Shot on iPhone XR


Dante’s View , Death Valley - 2019 - Shot on iPhone XR


Dubai Marina - 2020 - Shot on iPhone 11 Pro


Cafe Gratitude, Los Angeles - 2019 - Shot on iPhone XR

[BhaskarG]

I have an old, budget smartphone. Attaching a picture that I took recently on a random roadtrip. Please do not go for the quality. Smartphones are great to capture the moment.

[HMV]

Great Thread! I have been learning to take nice shots, just by using a smartphone for a while now. Well, am still learning and below are some photos taken on some of my smartphones.

Shot on iPhone XS (Telephoto Lens and Unedited):


Shot on iPhone XS (Wide Lens and Edited using Snapseed):


Shot on Samsung Galaxy Note 9 (Telephoto Lens and Unedited):

[2himanshu]

Nice thread and shots guys

Here are some of the shots I have made with phones, enjoy!

Sunrise through car window, iPhone 11



Bougainvillea, iPhone 11



Reflection, iPhone 7



Winter Sunrise, iPhone 7

[PaddleShifter]

Some amazing photos shared by members. I will be back here after a month hopefully.

I have never taken time to click good photos while traveling. I just point and shoot for the sake of it. Is there any post processing involved to improved the photo quality in the posted photos by the way?

Perhaps members can add this information as well. I will help us regular people learn and understand.