World's best camera?

......from Ken Rockwell.

World's best camera? I'm still working with it, but for over a week, all I've been shooting with is an iPhone 5. It's brilliant: sharp, colorful shots in any light, and it handles faster and better than any DSLR or compact (sample iPhone 5 image file - 4 MB). All this, and better color rendition than the NEX I reviewed last week. Hah!


iPhone 5


I don't take Ken too seriously, but he's a good read!

yawnnnnnnnnnn

Doug, Where's your sense of humor?

Got to admit it...that iphone 5 pic looks great

Hmmm. Guess some people will say anything when they get paid/sponsored

Let's see you use this world's best camera to photograph grizzly bears or osprey in flight. In fact how does it handle running kids indoors?

... is why Ken is basically a complete laughing stock. However, that said, the iPhone 5 is without question the best smartphone camera I've ever used. The differences between that it the previous one I owned (iPhone 4) are night and day and for the first time, when I'm stuck without a DSLR somewhere, I'm actually able to get some passable P&S style pictures -- even reasonable HDRs.

Best camera ever? Riiiiiight. However, pretty passable for a smartphone. Meanwhile, I'll continue ignoring Ken like most folks here, I suspect.

Guess what you have posted is world's best image...

Jerry, I trust your review of the iphone 5.

Ken knows exactly what he is doing. Most of his stuff is tongue-in-cheek. He's making money with his schtick and I bet that's all he really cares about.

Ken is a little bit of a ****** ...

Well, arguably the best camera for the job is the one you have with you. Most of us now have phones with us practically all the time and if this is better than other phone cameras then in a way I can follow what he's saying.

By the way before I get tagged as an Apple loyalist, I've never purchased an apple product and never plan to!

mailman88 said:

mailman88 wrote:

......from Ken Rockwell.

World's best camera? I'm still working with it, but for over a week, all I've been shooting with is an iPhone 5. It's brilliant: sharp, colorful shots in any light, and it handles faster and better than any DSLR or compact (sample iPhone 5 image file - 4 MB). All this, and better color rendition than the NEX I reviewed last week. HahI don't take Ken too seriously, but he's a good read!

Click to expand...

This is taken out of context. He is just saying the Iphone forces you to consider what you are focusing on and composition. It is lightweight and portable and easy to handle

At the end he says

Most people will make better shots on an iPhone 5 because it forces you to just shoot; to concentrate on your subject and your shot instead of swapping lenses, fiddling with menus, or changing cards.

Then he says...

I printed them for her, and she glued them to the poster. They were shot with everything from my iPhone 3GS to my D800E to my Canon 5D Mark III with 24-70/2.8 L II.

Know what?

When they're all together on the poster, they all look the same!

As an artist, I make all my cameras give me the images I demand. That's why I whine when some cameras make it tougher than others, but ultimately even if images might look slightly different at a ridiculous 100% on a monitor, all the pictures look the same when printed.

Don't worry: just shoot.

I agree with that, in the end if you are not printing larger than 8x10 the cameras all look the same.

People beat on Ken but a lot of what he says holds true. Some of his stuff is meant to be funny and you have to look for that, some people just don't get his style of humor and take is works out of context. IMHO

TDR1 said:

TDR1 wrote:

By the way before I get tagged as an Apple loyalist, I've never purchased an apple product and never plan to!

Click to expand...

That's definitely your loss. They make some awesome products.

And next week he'll have a new camera to play with and a completely different opinion.

The best camera is the one that's with you
- Chase Jarvis

Hyperbole and tongue in cheek but isn't the point just that his site is worth visiting? Some of you guys just might be hatin' since it's clear the guy likes cameras and photography and it's an enthusiast's site with some commercial interests. If I'm not mistaken he actually likes the 5D Mark III the "best" if anyone can really get behind the idea of the "best" in the first place. Yes I'm amused more than anything when I visit and I expect to be at this point

Nobody needs more than an iPhone in my opinion. I'm excluding pro's and people obsessed with gear and IQ (nobody cares but them). I shoot with lot of gear, from pro gear to iPhone, and when I look at them from a normal people point of view (memories, subjects) it really doesn't matter what camera took the photos. They are all the same.

I'm sure many will disagree, but my iPhone is becoming my number one camera because in my opinion it produces same photos as my every other gear http://www.flickr.com/photos/d3xmeister/sets/72157629958578204/

There are fewer and fewer situations I need a DSLR.

d3xmeister said:

d3xmeister wrote:

Nobody needs more than an iPhone in my opinion. I'm excluding pro's and people obsessed with gear and IQ (nobody cares but them). I shoot with lot of gear, from pro gear to iPhone, and when I look at them from a normal people point of view (memories, subjects) it really doesn't matter what camera took the photos. They are all the same.

I'm sure many will disagree, but my iPhone is becoming my number one camera because in my opinion it produces same photos as my every other gear http://www.flickr.com/photos/d3xmeister/sets/72157629958578204/

There are fewer and fewer situations I need a DSLR.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I'll disagree. Try taking anything requiring good bokeh and a nicely isolated subject with your iPhone. Good luck with that. Try a fast moving object that might require a bit of reach (say a bird or other animal)... again, good luck. The iPhone (particularly the 5) is a great P&S camera for capturing memories and snapshots. Add any sort of creative element where you need more control over the settings, some reach, or a wide aperture and the iPhone rapidly is out of its element. There's a time and place for everything, and having your camera with you is a big plus for quick captures. But it's also best to understand its limitations.

If it's your "number one camera", then I will have to assume that you're using it for snapshots which don't require much attention to settings. If you're pushing it harder than that, I for one would be very interested in knowing how you manage to make it work for you.

Jerry-astro said:

Jerry-astro wrote:

Jerry-astro said:

d3xmeister wrote:

Nobody needs more than an iPhone in my opinion. I'm excluding pro's and people obsessed with gear and IQ (nobody cares but them). I shoot with lot of gear, from pro gear to iPhone, and when I look at them from a normal people point of view (memories, subjects) it really doesn't matter what camera took the photos. They are all the same.

I'm sure many will disagree, but my iPhone is becoming my number one camera because in my opinion it produces same photos as my every other gear http://www.flickr.com/photos/d3xmeister/sets/72157629958578204/

There are fewer and fewer situations I need a DSLR.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I'll disagree. Try taking anything requiring good bokeh and a nicely isolated subject with your iPhone. Good luck with that. Try a fast moving object that might require a bit of reach (say a bird or other animal)... again, good luck. The iPhone (particularly the 5) is a great P&S camera for capturing memories and snapshots. Add any sort of creative element where you need more control over the settings, some reach, or a wide aperture and the iPhone rapidly is out of its element. There's a time and place for everything, and having your camera with you is a big plus for quick captures. But it's also best to understand its limitations.

If it's your "number one camera", then I will have to assume that you're using it for snapshots which don't require much attention to settings. If you're pushing it harder than that, I for one would be very interested in knowing how you manage to make it work for you.

Click to expand...

Yes, that's exactly the point. Why do you need all that you said ? Are you a profesional photographer ? Who cares about good bokeh or bad bokeh ? Who cares about more or less DOF ? And after you answer that, also answer the question: Why ?

You seem to suffer badly from the syndrome I was referring in my second phrase. That's OK, but remember, most of the people don't give a rats ass about bokeh, noise, color depth, DOF.

You talk about snaps ) like it's a bad thing. That's also a gear head obsession. There is nothing wrong with snaps. Just like nobody have to be a racing driver besides the pros, nobody have to take pro photos, or art photos. For normal people, photography is about the memory, the moment, the ,,pretty thing/color, not the DR, the bokeh, the sharpness.

You say that with the iPhone you cannot possible add any sort of creative element..... well, I feel sorry for you to be honest, but it's you choice.

Jerry-astro said:

Jerry-astro wrote:

Jerry-astro said:

TDR1 wrote:

By the way before I get tagged as an Apple loyalist, I've never purchased an apple product and never plan to!

Click to expand...

That's definitely your loss. They make some awesome products.

Click to expand...

For my day job I'm a Linux engineer so I'm used to the openness and freedom that comes with using Linux. The idea of giving that up and submitting to the whims of Apple doesn't sit right with me.

I certainly agree that they make some impressive kit though.