Getting a new phone - what's the best camera phone out there?

[sharona]

I'll be upgrading in a month or so to a new smartphone. Looking for one of the plus size phones with a good/great camera for stills - I don't really care about video. Suggestions?

 

[ymn]

I would go with the latest iPhone.

 

[havoc315]

http://connect.dpreview.com/post/7285707615/dpreview-recommends-best-smartphone-cameras

 

[klmall]

If you're not an iPhone fan Samsung Galaxy phones usually rate highly for camera capability. My Samsung Galaxy 5s takes good pics but after using a dslr for years I find it hard to position my hands on any phone for equivalent pictures.

 

[mom2rtk]

If you're not an iPhone fan Samsung Galaxy phones usually rate highly for camera capability. My Samsung Galaxy 5s takes good pics but after using a dslr for years I find it hard to position my hands on any phone for equivalent pictures.

I think that's my problem too. I hear people say their Galaxy s5 takes great photos, but honestly, I think it's awful.

 

[havoc315]

I think that's my problem too. I hear people say their Galaxy s5 takes great photos, but honestly, I think it's awful.

My wife takes great pics with her iPhone. Most of my shots come out horribly. She just has steadier hands. Between the awkward angle at which you have to hold a smart phone (can't put a viewfinder to your eye), combined with my generally unsteady hands, and not being able to just easily boost the shutter speed to negate camera shake, I introduce a lot of camera shake into smart phone pics, with blurry results.

Ironically, I think camera shake is ruining photos for lots of photographers who simply use their regular cameras on auto settings. Going back a few years when cameras had very limited ISO range, "auto" settings put a priority on low ISO.. Shoot at 1/focal length approximately, as being "fast enough." But for many people with imperfect technique or simply unsteady hands, it would benefit to go to 1/2xfocal length... With the improved ISO range of cameras, such a person would be far better off shooting at 1/125 and ISO 800, compared to 1/60 and ISO 400.

I was hired recently for some photography tutoring... A woman wanted me to teach her husband to get sharper shots. She was asking me to show him how to hold the camera steadier, etc. Now, while that's all important... This camera was the RX100. So you can't steady it by holding it to your eye with a viewfinder. You can't bring your elbows all the way in.. you need to extend to see the LCD. So my advice was simply, "switch to shutter priority and increase the shutter speed a bit.. your images will suddenly all be sharper." He tried it, and was amazed at the difference. Sorry for getting off topic. But I just think tons of people are getting their photos ruined simply because they are using shutter speeds a bit too low. And this is plaguing some people with their smart phone cameras too.

 

[mom2rtk]

My wife takes great pics with her iPhone. Most of my shots come out horribly. She just has steadier hands. Between the awkward angle at which you have to hold a smart phone (can't put a viewfinder to your eye), combined with my generally unsteady hands, and not being able to just easily boost the shutter speed to negate camera shake, I introduce a lot of camera shake into smart phone pics, with blurry results.

Ironically, I think camera shake is ruining photos for lots of photographers who simply use their regular cameras on auto settings. Going back a few years when cameras had very limited ISO range, "auto" settings put a priority on low ISO.. Shoot at 1/focal length approximately, as being "fast enough." But for many people with imperfect technique or simply unsteady hands, it would benefit to go to 1/2xfocal length... With the improved ISO range of cameras, such a person would be far better off shooting at 1/125 and ISO 800, compared to 1/60 and ISO 400.

I was hired recently for some photography tutoring... A woman wanted me to teach her husband to get sharper shots. She was asking me to show him how to hold the camera steadier, etc. Now, while that's all important... This camera was the RX100. So you can't steady it by holding it to your eye with a viewfinder. You can't bring your elbows all the way in.. you need to extend to see the LCD. So my advice was simply, "switch to shutter priority and increase the shutter speed a bit.. your images will suddenly all be sharper." He tried it, and was amazed at the difference. Sorry for getting off topic. But I just think tons of people are getting their photos ruined simply because they are using shutter speeds a bit too low. And this is plaguing some people with their smart phone cameras too.

No doubt that's my problem. I have terribly unsteady hands.

People see me in the parks with my DSLR and ask me to take their photo for them. Then they hand me a phone and I immediately hand it off to my 15 year old daughter. Now THERE is a camera phone savant. I'm like "Trust me, you'll be much happier if she does it. "

I think mostly I'm just spoiled by the low light capability of my 6D. I need to quit trying to take low light shots on my camera.

 

[11290]

Wife and I both had Galaxy S5's and really liked the camera. I switched to an iPhone 6s+ in November. Camera is really good in "good light" conditions both indoors and out. We were at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville Jan. 2 to see the Christmas lights and frankly, her indoor Conservatory "low light" pics are "generally" much better than my iPhone pics of the same areas. Color rendition was more spot on with the Galaxy. I was really not happy with a lot of mine. Still working with it some though, but we took some closeup ornament pics of one of our Christmas trees at home and the Galaxy did better there also.

Just my observation.

 

[11290]

No doubt that's my problem. I have terribly unsteady hands.

People see me in the parks with my DSLR and ask me to take their photo for them. Then they hand me a phone and I immediately hand it off to my 15 year old daughter................

I can sympathize. I have "familial hand tremors" (not real bad but enough it is sometimes embarassing) and have a hard time holding a phone out in front of me for pictures. I work Main St. at MK, mostly Parade Audience Control or FP+ for parades and we get asked A LOT to take pics for guests. When they hand me a phone I just cringe a bit, especially after dark, daytime in bight sun shutter speed will be high enough that it is not an issue. I usually try to hand off to one of our other CM's if they are close by.

 

[bob100]

Wife and I both had Galaxy S5's and really liked the camera. I switched to an iPhone 6s+ in November. Camera is really good in "good light" conditions both indoors and out. We were at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville Jan. 2 to see the Christmas lights and frankly, her indoor Conservatory "low light" pics are "generally" much better than my iPhone pics of the same areas. Color rendition was more spot on with the Galaxy. I was really not happy with a lot of mine. Still working with it some though, but we took some closeup ornament pics of one of our Christmas trees at home and the Galaxy did better there also.

Just my observation.

I think Consumer Reports has rated the Galaxy S5 and S6 cameras better than the iphone but it takes steady hands for a good indoor pic from any cell phone. I'm waiting for the mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras to converge with smart phones and e-readers so I can just carry one thing that does it all.

www.flickr.com/photos/mmirrorless