Lost complete interest using my iPhone now!

I had eighty thousand $ invested in Sony equipment and when the Topaz filters and other software made it possible to turn crap into sharp stunning images I am sorry but I completely lost interest about two years ago and this is my first post or log in that time.

Shooting air shows from a premium vantage point with my Sony A1 and 400 2.8 GM was so easy to obtain fabulous shots it made me feel guilty where is the challenge and pride in that.

I will keep my A1 and some of the GM II zooms and a couple other lenses but I’m done for good!

terryreid said:

I had eighty thousand $ invested in Sony equipment and when the Topaz filters and other software made it possible to turn crap into sharp stunning images I am sorry but I completely lost interest about two years ago and this is my first post or log in that time.

Shooting air shows from a premium vantage point with my Sony A1 and 400 2.8 GM was so easy to obtain fabulous shots it made me feel guilty where is the challenge and pride in that.

I will keep my A1 and some of the GM II zooms and a couple other lenses but I’m done for good!

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A Freudian Slip?

Was that intentional? If not, what are you trying to communicate here as this is a kind of a discussion and debate forum and mostly not a forum to post a "bye for good" piece and then have the thread locked by an admin and then leave.

Me personally I had a look at your portfolios and maybe there is a certain saturation point when shooting cars? Dunno, your screen name rings a smallish bell but since all history has been deleted, I wouldn't know where to put you.

Good luck with your iPhone. Those devices wouldn't be my choice in 2025, it feels too much like technology has stopped in 2013, still having to swipe every app to close it? ;-)

Or, alternatively: why not sell some stuff and then get a Q3 43?? For some high quality intimacy?

Deed

Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but I really don't care for the Topaz process. I had high hopes for the occasional face recovery or upscaling. But I found the workflow to be awkward – and for all that time & energy I haven't managed to really rescue one single image from my "reject" pile.

I also "retreated" to my phone for a couple of years, and now regret that. There's something about the MILC captures that gives me a deeper sense of satisfaction. (Though I must admit, the phone does have its moments.)

Oh well, to each their own. As long as you're enjoying yourself!

terryreid said:

I had eighty thousand $ invested in Sony equipment and when the Topaz filters and other software made it possible to turn crap into sharp stunning images I am sorry but I completely lost interest about two years ago and this is my first post or log in that time.

Shooting air shows from a premium vantage point with my Sony A1 and 400 2.8 GM was so easy to obtain fabulous shots it made me feel guilty where is the challenge and pride in that.

I will keep my A1 and some of the GM II zooms and a couple other lenses but I’m done for good!

Click to expand...

With an a1/400-f/2.8 rig, no one is feeling sorry for you. You've also got some of that OM-II stuff. You've certainly covered the waterfront of possibilities. Not sure why you needed Topaz to rescue anything.



Anyway, take care of your batteries and pull out the heavy artillary when you need it. I've got LOTS invested in Sony equipment, but still take shots with my iPhone 16 several times per week, process them lightly on my phone and send them out immediately to friends and family. I'd never attempt hummingbirds in flight with the iPhone, but ti's a tool that serves a need, but the a9III with the 600mm GM serves another need.

The old saying “shop until you drop” is that you? Regards….

I wanted to know what the fuss was about, so I went and bought one of these phones with the amazing cameras. Quite impressive but I just don't get much joy from using it.

They will bring you back to life!

Each to their own. I think there’s still some skill to getting decent shots at an air show, even with decent kit.

I went through a phase a few years back of just using my phone. Ultimately I found it very unsatisfying as I felt it was dong too much for me and I didn’t have enough control of the image. I also don’t really care for the over processed hdr look that smart phones go for. It’s true that some things will be very hard on your phone (the sorts of shots you’re getting with your 400), but if you think your kit is making things too easy, not sure smartphone photography is the answer.

But maybe there’s a simpler explanation, that GAS and spending on kit isn’t the path to happiness.

vett93 said:

They will bring you back to life!

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I am not going to sell everything I need a good camera for things and when we travel I may use it some. I had every GM made and voitlanders etc just thinning the heard a lot.

I will keep my 24GM, 16-35GM II, 12-24 GM II, 24-70 GM II, 90 Macro and CV110, 135 GM 70-200 GM II and 200-600 G and ditch the A7RC I never got the hang of the menus on that camera which is a shame. It could be nice with a smallish prime walk around. I need to work on that I guess. It is just that for the last two and a half years I have not had the desire to take pictures of anything other than documenting things or things I need for work.

terryreid said:

vett93 said:

They will bring you back to life!

Click to expand...

I am not going to sell everything I need a good camera for things and when we travel I may use it some. I had every GM made and voitlanders etc just thinning the heard a lot.

I will keep my 24GM, 16-35GM II, 12-24 GM II, 24-70 GM II, 90 Macro and CV110, 135 GM 70-200 GM II and 200-600 G and ditch the A7RC I never got the hang of the menus on that camera which is a shame. It could be nice with a smallish prime walk around. I need to work on that I guess. It is just that for the last two and a half years I have not had the desire to take pictures of anything other than documenting things or things I need for work.

Click to expand...

I stopped taking photos for 2-3 years too. Then I bought a A7Cii and 2 Sigma compact zooms a couple months ago. They reignited my interest! Guess my point is that one may need something a little different at times to bring back one's enthusiasm.

terryreid said:

I will keep my 24GM, 16-35GM II, 12-24 GM II, 24-70 GM II, 90 Macro and CV110, 135 GM 70-200 GM II and 200-600 G

Click to expand...

That is a very impressive kit. Far, far more than many of us have, and certainly more in value. Doesn't look like a total loss of interest!

Ditch Topaz and install darktable. Even that will produce a pretty good pic from the off, but enhancing it beyond that is entirely your choices and skills. No AI-polished-gizmo results that may, or may not, accurately represent what you saw/visualized when you took the shot. Bring the feeling of creativity back into the process.

Just my humble thoughts and suggestion. Personally I just don't like taking pics with a phone, so for me it is a useful but simply utilitarian record maker.

Okay? Bye now!

Personally I've never understood why anything should be harder than it has to be, if a camera can take care of tracking and AF for me so I can focus on framing and other creative tasks why would I frown upon that or think that it makes the process too easy? I dunno, give me all the aids, I sure need em. When I wanna slow things down I'll do it on my own terms (mount a manual lens or bust out the tripod, etc.).

Regarding smartphones, I still find they have one narrow lane they excel at, shots at ~24mm with their main module of relatively static scenes (though the best ones can do some magic in being able to capture enough frames to still apply some computational tricks around of or on a moving subject).

The UWA modules tend to be less impressive and these days way too wide (most are hovering around 11-12mm, that's really niche without some cropping), and although I bought a Pixel 9 Pro for the tele and I'm still glad to have it at times I do think it's the least impressive part of the package. It's where processing artifacts and the small sensor disadvantage become most obvious. Computational DoF tricks also remain unconvincing vs even the cheapest ILC short tele.

It's nice to have options tho, I'm happy you're happy with your phone, I'll keep shooting mine too but the ILCs aren't going anywhere and for me it's not even about the process (tho it's part of it) but about the results. If it wasn't as old as it is and prices hadn't shot up I'd probably own an RX100 VII too, I've rented it 3x and it wipes the floor with phones at concerts, it's obvious even on stuff posted to social media.

Well I ordered a Sony RX1 III and cannot wait this is more my speed. Something small light and very capable.

As I said in my post I have lost interest in what I used to shoot and pursue and now I want a much higher quality camera to use when the iPhone is not ideal.

The autofocus is as good as it gets as well as the sensor and it has a superb lens I had a RX1 I & II but they were so outdated I tired of it.

Everything I edit is for online so the lens will get me from 35mm to 100mm or even 130mm and I can pop a small flash on for fill if needed I could not be more excited. This lens is one of the best rendering lenses there is. Something about being able to place the shutter closer to the element in a fixed camera but it does render very well. I just with it was a 30mm which is better for a point and shoot type camera.

Selling a basically unused A7cr I never figured out the menus lol I know the A1 like the back of my hand but never could figure this one out so I didn't use it.

Very good. Post some photos too!

terryreid said:

Shooting air shows from a premium vantage point with my Sony A1 and 400 2.8 GM was so easy to obtain fabulous shots it made me feel guilty where is the challenge and pride in that.

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1st of all good to see you here again!

2ndly - I can fully understand your sentiment about high speed AF spray and pray style of shooting - that's why I never wanted any sujet that requires an A1 or A9 type of camera.

I could easily afford these cameras but it makes it easy for even the most uninspired and untrained photographer to get good shots provided you're at the right time and spot shooting action - very good for photo journalists but also too easy to stand out with your ( limited ) craftsmanship which means no-one stands out. And I mean that in a positive way - sometimes getting a shot for professional usage is all it takes to earn one's income.

Yet this is not my style - I am more about deliberate shooting and getting the utmost composition and image quality. That's why I started this thread recently.

We're getting to a point where SmartPhones used by occasional photographers rival average shooters with highly sophisticated gear.

On the other hand side there is deliberate photography I like to do that lives from composition and light or from shallow DOF done properly.

For me the A1 and A9 type of cameras are perfect examples of making things boring and dull over time - good for people earring money with it - policemen would like boring guns that just do their job - in case of sports shooting you like guns that need precision handling and then you're a master or you are a sports archer - you never intend to hit someone but you aim for highest precision in hitting the target.

That's the craftsmanship I am aiming for and it makes much more fun doing that for me.

Wide angles plus composition is more my goal.

Photography is for me a means of concentration and a purpose without a real purpose - simply getting slightly better over time is already reward enough for me.

The iPhone really comes in handy more often than you’d expect. During my recent Tanzania safari trip , even though I carried three Sony FE camera sets, I still took many shots and videos with my iPhone.

For example, one morning during sunrise, I had already captured many photos with the 20–70G + A7 IV. But later, when our truck was crossing a narrow, single-lane short bridge, I asked the driver to stop just for a moment. Since there were trucks waiting from both directions, I didn’t have time to dig a camera out of the bag so I quickly used my iPhone to capture the scene with the beautiful water reflection.

Sometimes the best camera is simply the one that’s already in your hand



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https://www.flickr.com/photos/55485085@N04/albums

If I had the budget for the RX1rIII, I would be very tempted indeed.

I might eventually have to try the Ricoh GR III. For me that would be a return to the pocketable P&S experience I used to enjoy in the '00s.

It would also be the next closest thing to a phone – but with the IQ I have become accustomed to.

Kinda like that old curse, "may you get what you wish for". You acquired all the gear and capabilities you could ever want, but now find it all "too easy" (paraphrased for brevity).

I suggest the root problem might be having nothing left to strive for.

Cheers

Beatsy said:

Kinda like that old curse, "may you get what you wish for". You acquired all the gear and capabilities you could ever want, but now find it all "too easy" (paraphrased for brevity).

I suggest the root problem might be having nothing left to strive for.

Cheers

Click to expand...

applies mainly for sujets that heavily rely on technology rather than composition and inspiration - a foreseeable effect IMHO

AI will do a similar thing and people replacing image areas with artificial content or enhance with AI will loose their interest similarly.

The way out is human intervention and creativity - AI and technology may help for certain Sujets but should not be the only effect.

Just my 2 ct

Photography isn’t all about the final image imo. I also enjoy the process. Even when smartphones can produce images on par with cameras I will still want more engagement than the feeling I get when paying for shopping because that’s what photography feels like on a phone.