Who needs a video or still camera these days.

[Chato]

Other than the fact that I hate wide angle lenses

I used to hate wide angle, as well, until I began to understand what they were valuable for and used them accordingly...

My AT&T Trimline has worked flawlessly for me for many years, and it sits on my desk at home where it belongs. And speaking of throwing money away, current list price on that phone is $14.99 (though you can get it for less); the N8 you mention has a list price of $549 (though you can get it for less). And while it's been a while since I've checked service charges, mobile phone costs have been quite a bit higher than using a landline.

It depends on how you use them. With all due respect, I detect some stuck-in-old-ways thinking, which I myself am sometimes guilty of. I am one of the last people in my circle of friends and family who still has a landline. The pricing structure I am more unhappy with is the landline. The basic cost of the landline is not so bad, but when I add the features I find useful, it's over $40 a month. And the problem is that the features I added (caller ID etc) are all included for free in a cell phone plan. My last voice-only cell plan was about $40. The only reason I pay more now is that I have a smartphone with an mandatory, though unlimited, data plan.

When I talked about stuck-in-old-ways thinking, what I means is that you are talking about a phone as something you only talk on. That is the 20th century view. That is how I use my landline. That is not how I use my cell phone. My cell phone is a portable computer that can assist me at all times. This is very powerful. It helps me shop (by telling me if there are better prices for the item I just scanned with the phone camera), it helps me find unfamiliar places in cities I've never been to before (with its GPS map), shows me where the traffic jam is so I can avoid it, it helps me communicate with people on multiple levels without having to open my mouth and bother other people (via typing a text message, Facebook, etc), and functions as a photographic portfolio book I always have on me, which has come in very handy. I used it to watch an Internet video that taught me how to upgrade my laptop's hard drive; of course I could not view it on my laptop because I was disassembling it! And that wasn't the first time I called up a video or online reference to guide me in something I was doing at any location and time. Or looked up some information we needed now, without having to go home first.

I am a strong believer in phone etiquette and will never interrupt a face-to-face conversation just because my phone silently vibrates. That is an issue of personal responsibility, not a property of the technology itself. But I appreciate very much the flexibility of being able to communicate without waiting to get home to check the answering machine, which is what I used to do until the last year of the previous century and seems so archaic now. Maybe your life isn't intertwined with others so much, and so all you need is a voice phone tethered to home. That's OK. But others benefit greatly from having a very capable, globally networked mini-computer in their hand. My friends and I are very socially active and mobile technology helps us get together face to face more often, not isolating us in tech bubbles like some think. Businesspeople obviously benefit, but I also see families using cell phones in much more meaningful and bonding ways than just me and my individual social life.

You can get an iPhone 3GS for $49. The camera is not great, but again, when used properly it can be useful, though no substitute for even my point-and-shoot. But countless people have demonstrated how it can be used to produce real art.

This is all well and good. One has to ask the question how we survived before smart phones?

I will not criticise individuals and what use they make of these machines.

But I will say that increasingly the world looks like it's composed of Zombies, walking and talking, walking and texting, totally oblivious to the world around them.

I've seen people walk into trees, walk into my dog, (no easy feat, at 120 pounds) walk into traffic. If I videoed this I could easly make a horror movie; it would be about Alien slave masters who have "tethered" the human race to a control machine which guides and directs their every step.

I like meeting my friends not texting them.

Like I said above, for about six months of the year I have such a phone. I rarely make use of the features you point out. I simply don't need them. I didn't need them thirty years agao, and I still don't need them. I don't feel this need to be connected. No offense, you make a good case for joining the Zombie generation.

Dave
--
"Everyone who has ever lived, has lived in Modern Times"

 

[jrtrent]

I appreciate your thoughtful and informative reply. I do understand that mobile phones can be so much more than just a talking device, and the examples you gave well illustrate its versatility and handiness. I think I embrace new technology: it was hard to do, but I retired a phone I had used for decades to get one that had the touch-tone feature (there was a time when the only way to navigate the phone menus of many businesses was to use a touch-tone phone; now, you can usually use voice commands to get what you need); I purchased an answering machine so people could leave a message when I'm not home or not answering the phone; I still shoot slide film, but the majority of my picture-taking is now done digitally; I actually have a computer at home, and a high-speed internet connection, and regularly communicate via e-mail and forums such as this, as well as looking up all kinds of useful information; I've gone wireless in the sense of obtaining soundlink adapters for my Bose table radios, and now enjoy listening to baseball games via MLB.com's Gameday Audio (as well as other online content); I do an increasing amount of reading via a Kindle rather than bound, paper books.

But I still don't feel a need to do these things on the go. I like the full-size screen and keyboard of my desktop computer; I like the large, comfortable handset and superior sound quality of my home phone (at least compared to those cell phones that I have, at times, talked on); and I'm parsimonious enough not to want to duplicate services just to gain portability. I have to admit that there's also a somewhat curmudgeonly reaction when it comes to the idea of "needing" all these new-fangled gadgets, as if it wasn't possible to have a social life, deal with emergencies, shop wisely, find your way in a strange town, etc., without them. I know that wasn't your point, that you were just highlighting how useful you and others find such capability when you're out and about, but my preference is to enjoy this technology at home.

As an aside, my landline service plan is $13.75; taxes and other fees expand that to $23.12, plus I usually have about $2.00 in long distance charges. I've seen cell phone plans starting at $15 per month, and wondered what fees and taxes would add to the total monthly cost.

Upon further reflection, with so many people opting not to use a landline at all, there may come a day when that option no longer exists. The secretary at my school is fond of pointing out that I'm the only staff member without a cell phone number, and that one could be useful this coming year as I will be providing special ed services at two schools, one of which is often surrounded by icy conditions in the winter, and that it might be nice to be able to let people know if I've skidded into a ditch or been hit by an out-of-control vehicle and will therefore be late or absent. So I have at least looked at cell phones lately, and it probably wouldn't surprise you to hear that I find the Jitterbug the most appealing one out there.

Addendum: I took a break from writing this response to contact the Jitterbug folks. They were able to test service at the addresses of the two schools, and it looks like I will lose service somewhere between the two buildings, though they can't pinpoint exactly where that will happen. He said they use Verizon's network of cell phone coverage, and apparently it's considered fairly extensive, but perhaps another provider will suit my particular location better.

 

[beshannon]

Who needs a video or still camera these days.

Only those that want one?



Now it seems to me that those who cannot live without their electronic pacifiers would be hard pressed to take this photo or tell time while on vacation.

--
My Smugmug photos http://www.brianshannonphotography.com/
My photo blog http://brianshannonphotography.blogspot.com/
My 500px photos http://500px.com/brianshannonphotography/

 

[Chato]

jrtrent wrote:
Good post. I have one small critic, and it's strictly a personal opinion...

The secretary at my school is fond of pointing out that I'm the only staff member without a cell phone number, and that one could be useful this coming year as I will be providing special ed services at two schools, one of which is often surrounded by icy conditions in the winter, and that it might be nice to be able to let people know if I've skidded into a ditch or been hit by an out-of-control vehicle and will therefore be late or absent.

If that should occur to me, the last thing on my mind is reporting that I'm going to be late for work...

In fact, I don't give a Blankity blank... As long as no one is going to die over this - who cares?

Addendum: I took a break from writing this response to contact the Jitterbug folks. They were able to test service at the addresses of the two schools, and it looks like I will lose service somewhere between the two buildings, though they can't pinpoint exactly where that will happen.

Probably right about where that ditch is....

Dave
--
"Everyone who has ever lived, has lived in Modern Times"

 

[graybalanced]

This is all well and good. One has to ask the question how we survived before smart phones?

The same way we survived as photographers before digital. We did it...but in a lot of ways it was a pain in the butt that we would not choose to go back to given what we can do now. Think about the involvement of the networked computer in photography: Is it bad that photographers sit in front of a computer for so many hours? Some would crankily complain about this like they do phone zombies. But...you are sitting in front of your computer right now reading this! Why? Because you have discovered great value in the new interactions and rapid, interactive learning opportunities for photography that are available over online forums that you did not have in the days when you only had film, a landline, a physical mailbox for photo magazines, and the occasional workshop.

You are here and posting and interacting on your computer to boost your photography, using new technology for exactly the same reasons that people use mobile technology to boost the enjoyment of their lives.

I've seen people walk into trees, walk into my dog, (no easy feat, at 120 pounds) walk into traffic. If I videoed this I could easly make a horror movie; it would be about Alien slave masters who have "tethered" the human race to a control machine which guides and directs their every step.

YouTube is full of horror videos about people injuring and even killing themselves driving cars, working on their houses, operating construction equipment, and riding in airplanes. Yet I don't hear more than a few people saying the world is a more pathetic place because of those technologies.

I like meeting my friends not texting them.

As I said...I and many people text their friends to facilitate meeting sooner and more often (ask any politician with a mistress, they do not text to stay isolated from them ) Technology to bring people more together, not more apart.

I won't criticize anyone who refuses to use a cell phone. In a way that is virtuous in the way it may be virtuous to only print photos in chemicals you mixed yourself. But there is a reasonable case to be made for them, and the arguments against are not always airtight when considered with other technologies also used by us.

 

[jrtrent]

Probably right about where that ditch is....

Good one!

 

[Chato]

This is all well and good. One has to ask the question how we survived before smart phones?

The same way we survived as photographers before digital. We did it...but in a lot of ways it was a pain in the butt that we would not choose to go back to given what we can do now. Think about the involvement of the networked computer in photography: Is it bad that photographers sit in front of a computer for so many hours? Some would crankily complain about this like they do phone zombies. But...you are sitting in front of your computer right now reading this! Why? Because you have discovered great value in the new interactions and rapid, interactive learning opportunities for photography that are available over online forums that you did not have in the days when you only had film, a landline, a physical mailbox for photo magazines, and the occasional workshop.

You are here and posting and interacting on your computer to boost your photography, using new technology for exactly the same reasons that people use mobile technology to boost the enjoyment of their lives.

I've seen people walk into trees, walk into my dog, (no easy feat, at 120 pounds) walk into traffic. If I videoed this I could easly make a horror movie; it would be about Alien slave masters who have "tethered" the human race to a control machine which guides and directs their every step.

YouTube is full of horror videos about people injuring and even killing themselves driving cars, working on their houses, operating construction equipment, and riding in airplanes. Yet I don't hear more than a few people saying the world is a more pathetic place because of those technologies.

I like meeting my friends not texting them.

As I said...I and many people text their friends to facilitate meeting sooner and more often (ask any politician with a mistress, they do not text to stay isolated from them ) Technology to bring people more together, not more apart.

I won't criticize anyone who refuses to use a cell phone. In a way that is virtuous in the way it may be virtuous to only print photos in chemicals you mixed yourself. But there is a reasonable case to be made for them, and the arguments against are not always airtight when considered with other technologies also used by us.

The bottom line here is that you benefit from a smart phone/ while I do not benefit from a cell phone. None of the virtues you posted mean anything to me.

Yet, I do not consider myself opposed to technological advance; indeed you named some of the technology that I use. But if you want to call, text or contact me when I'm out on the beach, out on a hot date with a Hot Babe (Very unlikely, but you never know) no can do. And that's the way I like it.

But look, you appear to have a "grip on this." Might I point out that there are people now who literally would go stark raving mad without being plugged in 365/24/7?

I would say they are cases for the Betty Ford clinic, and they seem to be becoming the norm and no longer the exception. I find that scary. I really do. As you point out, I use my computer but strange as it may sound, I can leave that mutha. These people?

Dave

--
"Everyone who has ever lived, has lived in Modern Times"

 

[T3]

I know all the purists will say, there is no zoom, etc etc but it really does make me think about having a pocket camera or just a Nokia N8.

How much money to you have to throw around. If you have the money to indulge your hobby go for it. If your Mr or Mrs average the new crop of mobile phones are in picture quality ahead of even some early DSLRs of 10 years ago.

Other than the fact that I hate wide angle lenses, I have no qualms about the picture quality of the camera phone--the information I've read and the sample pictures I've seen at the Nokia Conversations site are impressive--but I don't want to have a telephone with me all the time. My AT&T Trimline has worked flawlessly for me for many years, and it sits on my desk at home where it belongs. And speaking of throwing money away, current list price on that phone is $14.99 (though you can get it for less); the N8 you mention has a list price of $549 (though you can get it for less). And while it's been a while since I've checked service charges, mobile phone costs have been quite a bit higher than using a landline.

I have no complaints about my salary, but being a public school teacher means I don't have the sort of disposable income that lets me throw big bucks at a lot of different hobbies, and I'd rather spend my money on cameras than telephones.

Geez, I don't even use a landline anymore! Plus, you can't take a landline with you when you leave the house. This allows you to communicate with anyone, anywhere, any time...not just when you're at home tide to your landline. Communicate via voice, txt, email, etc. Do it when, where, and how you want to.

Secondly, you have to realize that today's "smart phones" aren't just phones, as you seem to still think they are. They are mini computers in our pockets that serve an enormous range of functions. Not only is my phone a phone, it's an internet device that allows me to web surf, I can listen to internet radio, I can get the news, I have Google Music's cloud drive that has my collection of 14,000 songs on it that I can stream to my phone just as if these 14,000 songs were on my phone's mp3 player. My phone is also a GPS navigation device that is superior to the stand-alone GPS nav I got as a gift just last year.

And with the practically infinite number of apps you can get for your smart phone, it does so many other things, too. For example, I have apps that allow my phone to be a metronome, a bubble level, a barcode scanner to compare prices, a multifunction stop watch, a language translator, a depth of field calculator, a scientific calculator, a pedometer, it takes voice dictation, etc...you name it, there's an app for it that turns a smart into a device that serves so many other functions..all in your pocket or the palm of your hand. It replaces multiple devices that would otherwise fill up a duffle bag! Heck, there's even an iPhone app that allows you to deposit checks by phone, just by taking a photo of the check!

When I think of all the things my smart phone can do, it's nothing short of amazing. In fact, talking on the phone is actually one of the least things I do with it! Amazingly, even if my phone didn't have voice calling, it'd still be an incredibly useful, indispensable and worthwhile device to have. Doing voice calls is just an added bonus! So to hear you say of your phone: "it sits on my desk at home where it belongs", is just sad.

And as the OP points out, some phones take excellent video and photos, too.

 

[T3]

But I still don't feel a need to do these things on the go.

It actually saves you from having to do things later, when you can do it right then and there from your phone. If, for example, I'm at a store and I have a question about a particular product that I see on sale, rather than going home and looking it up later on the internet, I can just go to my phone and find out about it right then and there. Or if I want to find a good restaurant nearby, I can find out right then and there on my phone. And you don't even need to type anything if you don't want to. My phone takes excellent voice dictation, so I can just talk into it. No need to wait till you get home, no need to power up your computer, etc. Get all these things done when you are "on the go" so that when you get home you can just relax!

I like the full-size screen and keyboard of my desktop computer; I like the large, comfortable handset and superior sound quality of my home phone (at least compared to those cell phones that I have, at times, talked on); and I'm parsimonious enough not to want to duplicate services just to gain portability. I have to admit that there's also a somewhat curmudgeonly reaction when it comes to the idea of "needing" all these new-fangled gadgets, as if it wasn't possible to have a social life, deal with emergencies, shop wisely, find your way in a strange town, etc., without them. I know that wasn't your point, that you were just highlighting how useful you and others find such capability when you're out and about, but my preference is to enjoy this technology at home.

No one really "needs" any of this stuff. But it does make my life better. For example, if I'm in line at the DMV or wherever, I'm never board anymore. I can do crossword puzzles on my phone, I can listen to music on my phone, I can listen to an audiobook on my phone, I can listen to the radio on my phone, I can answer my emails on my phone, etc. Or maybe I'm just taking a break in the park. I can do a sudoku puzzle or read the latest news while enjoying a sunny day with birds singing in the background.

These devices just make life easier. For example, if someone wants me to meet them at a particular place of business I've never been to, I just say that location into my phone, the phone's GPS finds my current location, finds the destination location, maps the quickest route to that new location, gives me visual and verbal turn-by-turn directions to that new location as I am driving, and when I get to that location it even displays a street-view photo of that location! Amazing! No more wasting time asking for directions or getting lost. I can just relax and drive. Heck, the screen map will even show color-coded real-time traffic conditions on the roads ahead of me, and an estimate of how long it will take for me to get to my destination! Amazing plus! Could I have gotten to the new location before I had my smart phone? Sure. But it would have been more troublesome and taken more time and effort. I remember the old days when I had a thick Thomas Guide Maps book in my car (sometimes even two or more, for various counties and regions!). Not anymore!

 

[Chato]

When I think of all the things my smart phone can do, it's nothing short of amazing. In fact, talking on the phone is actually one of the least things I do with it!

Why is it that I don't doubt the above for a second?

Amazingly, even if my phone didn't have voice calling, it'd still be an incredibly useful, indispensable and worthwhile device to have. Doing voice calls is just an added bonus! So to hear you say of your phone: "it sits on my desk at home where it belongs", is just sad.

This all must explain the fact that people who presumably "went out" to do something, actually spend all their time on the phone. Occasionally walking into animate or innanimate objects, or even worse doing the same while driving.

May I make a humourous suggestion? Sit where you can comfortably observe a constant mass of people walking by. If you do this, you will find that those who are "connected" are NOT connected to the world they happen to be traveling through. After a while, it begins to look like a scene from some Sci Fi movie. Truly hilarious. Of course you have to put away your phone to actually watch this; although many unfortunately can only watch this on their phones via U-tube, while multi-tasking of course, and twittering away about the U-tube movie...

Dave

And as the OP points out, some phones take excellent video and photos, too.

--
"Everyone who has ever lived, has lived in Modern Times"

 

[Ergo607]

I may have overstated it when I said it was better than 10 year old DSLR's but I would say equal.

Not that I believe those official Nokia photos are air brushed, I don't think Nokia would risk the backlash of false advertising.

Here is a photo specifically marked untouched.

If a camera I own would make a photo like that I would throw it out of the window... It's all smudged and you can't make an expectable (to my standards anyway) print of it larger than 10x15cm.

--
http://www.pbase.com/reelate2
http://www.pbase.com/relate2
What flying means to me.
http://vimeo.com/2598837
Flying highlights
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lRu3P15BaY
My Youtube Channel http://www.youtube.com/user/relate2#p/u

--
Cheers,
Marc

http://www.digifotofreak.nl

 

[T3]

When I think of all the things my smart phone can do, it's nothing short of amazing. In fact, talking on the phone is actually one of the least things I do with it!

Why is it that I don't doubt the above for a second?

Amazingly, even if my phone didn't have voice calling, it'd still be an incredibly useful, indispensable and worthwhile device to have. Doing voice calls is just an added bonus! So to hear you say of your phone: "it sits on my desk at home where it belongs", is just sad.

This all must explain the fact that people who presumably "went out" to do something, actually spend all their time on the phone. Occasionally walking into animate or innanimate objects, or even worse doing the same while driving.

May I make a humourous suggestion? Sit where you can comfortably observe a constant mass of people walking by. If you do this, you will find that those who are "connected" are NOT connected to the world they happen to be traveling through. After a while, it begins to look like a scene from some Sci Fi movie. Truly hilarious. Of course you have to put away your phone to actually watch this; although many unfortunately can only watch this on their phones via U-tube, while multi-tasking of course, and twittering away about the U-tube movie...

I don't know what world you live in, but everywhere I look, people are connected with the world around them. And occasionally, they pull out a smart phone to text someone, look something up, find a direction, look up a restaurant, etc. It's typical of a luddite to make such an over-exagerated generalization to vilify technology.

Just check out the Times Square web cam. Plenty of people walking around (ie. a "mass of people walking by"). Most of these people have smart phones on them. Nope, no "truly hilarious...scene from some Sci Fi movie" here:

http://www.earthcam.com/usa/newyork/timessquare/

Same with all these others places where "a constant mass of people" are walking by:

http://www.earthcam.com/usa/nevada/lasvegas/index.php?cam=montecarlo
http://www.earthcam.com/usa/illinois/chicago/wrigleyfield/?cam=wrigleyfield_hd
http://www.earthcam.com/cams/brazil/saopaulo/?cam=saopaulo
http://www.earthcam.com/usa/california/losangeles/hollywoodblvd/
http://www.earthcam.com/usa/california/sandiego/
http://www.earthcam.com/usa/florida/miami/?cam=miami

Basically, your comment about masses of unconnected people walking around like zombies in a Sci Fi film is just an idiotic generalization made by a fear mongering luddite. Are there people out there who occasionally have mishaps associated with cell phones? Yes. But there are also people who have mishaps with chairs, bicycles, ladders, tools, animals, etc, too!

 

[graybalanced]

Basically, your comment about masses of unconnected people walking around like zombies in a Sci Fi film is just an idiotic generalization made by a fear mongering luddite.

Well, that's going a bit far. If someone doesn't want to participate, that's fine, no one should be forced. I almost feel sorry for kids today that if they want to be "in" the social scene they are almost compelled to keep their gadgets up to date. I don't know if our family could have afforded that.

Personally I love my smartphone because it's what we all wanted when we were kids and went to the movies. The things my iPhone can do are right out of Star Trek. Absolutely amazing.

 

[Joe Ogiba]

"I am very excited about this compact. The HX9v's video mode is to compacts what the 5D Mark II was to DSLRs.

It's way beyond what we've seen from crappy compacts so far. It does 1080/60p 28Mbit AVCHD and out resolves a Canon DSLR in video mode. The high bitrate keeps compression artefacts down.

Detail is cleanly resolved, and the lens is also a cut above the usual compact optics with nice flare and an amazing 24-385mm range. I love the look of 24mm wide angle so much more than 28mm.

The ACT stabiliser is another strong point, it is the most effective I've ever used whether that be a professional video camera, a DSLR or a compact.

The creative possibilities of this camera are fantastic. But bare in mind it is still a compact and has it's limitations versus a DSLR in low light and for shallow DOF of course. Although surprisingly dynamic range isn't bad! You can actually get shallow depth of field as well with the HX9v just not in as many kind of shot setup. More on my blog below!

eoshd.com/content/2930/canon-600d-dslr-beaten-by-compact

Since it's 1080/60p I recommend downloading this video and viewing it full, screen since Vimeo only streams playback on this page at 720p and in full-screen mode scales the image, losing detail. "

http://vimeo.com/24747873

 

[Chato]

Basically, your comment about masses of unconnected people walking around like zombies in a Sci Fi film is just an idiotic generalization made by a fear mongering luddite.

Well, that's going a bit far. If someone doesn't want to participate, that's fine, no one should be forced. I almost feel sorry for kids today that if they want to be "in" the social scene they are almost compelled to keep their gadgets up to date. I don't know if our family could have afforded that.

Personally I love my smartphone because it's what we all wanted when we were kids and went to the movies. The things my iPhone can do are right out of Star Trek. Absolutely amazing.

T3 demands that I not watch these people in person. Rather I should watch them on a Web Cam. From a distance, where humnan emotion and expression is simply not there. Where in fact there is no human connection. His refusal to even consider my suggestion speaks for itself.

Are Smart Phones "tools" or a life style? You seem to realise that they are tools. T3 is advocating a life style. One in which, even when you have to opportunity to live in the real world, it's best to watch a Web Cam...

Dave
--
"Everyone who has ever lived, has lived in Modern Times"

 

[goetz48]

[n/t]

 

[joelafrite]

My brother lent me his old Nikon D50 for the holidays. I'm a noob with DSLR and cameras in general so I'm sticking to auto mode for the moment. I guess I'll only have a glimpse of its capacities anyway so I wanted to see how the N8 would compare with auto settings for casual shooting. Below is a couple of cropped pictures. The D50 is in 6 MP and the N8 in 3MP only (oddly 12MP pictures are somewhat blurred in comparison). I had to resize the D50 picture to 75%.





I slightly prefer the colors and the texture of the D50 but I think the N8 holds its own pretty well in auto mode (especially in terms of detail). I assume the D50 can do much better of course.

 

[graybalanced]

I slightly prefer the colors and the texture of the D50 but I think the N8 holds its own pretty well in auto mode (especially in terms of detail). I assume the D50 can do much better of course.

Of course. Both cameras, like a point-and-shoot, will do very well when there's lots of light, you need a wide-angle view, and you want deep focus. The SLR will win in the specialized cases like low light, fast action, telephoto, and narrow DOF where its extra ability will let you get the short where the phone would not.

Which is not to be against the phone camera at all really. With all the recent announcements about new sensors and cameras that can focus or adjust DOF after the shot, the question for a luddite is this: If they came up with a camera that overcame all your technical objections and the fit it inside a phone, why wouldn't you want to carry it around with you all the time?

(I understand any objections based on social or other grounds like "I don't need a communications device on me at all times." I'm just saying, once the camera gets good enough, it's a good camera.)

 

[joelafrite]

Of course. Both cameras, like a point-and-shoot, will do very well when there's lots of light, you need a wide-angle view, and you want deep focus. The SLR will win in the specialized cases like low light, fast action, telephoto, and narrow DOF where its extra ability will let you get the short where the phone would not.

Yes the N8 is not so good in low light environments. However it's most convenient to have it in the pocket during the evening when you go out. I was thinking about keeping the SLR during the day for shooting landscapes but I'm not so sure anymore because the N8 seems really close...

Which is not to be against the phone camera at all really. With all the recent announcements about new sensors and cameras that can focus or adjust DOF after the shot, the question for a luddite is this: If they came up with a camera that overcame all your technical objections and the fit it inside a phone, why wouldn't you want to carry it around with you all the time?

There are similar discussions about hi-fi. Some people will never accept to use digital players with high-end headphones or speakers because of their beliefs.

 

[RedFox88]

I agree. I don't own a cell phone and don't want a cell phone. When I'm working, the company gives me one, and it's certainly useful for that scenario.

I consider those that don't have a cell phone to be those that aren't using facebook. They get left out a lot and miss out on a lot. People will call you less because they know they won't get a hold of you much of the time so they'll call someone else first. Be anti-social if you wish. Good luck.