These incredible images of Earth were captured with an iPhone 12 by an Inspiration4 commander

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqPOeC-tnKI

Oct 7, 2021permalink

Zymurgist

For God’s sake, at least upload it in landscape format.

Oct 7, 2021permalink

All that money, & the best view anyone can imagine - but absolutely zero ability to take decent footage....

Oct 7, 2021permalink

Mk82

In space there is no landscape....

Oct 10, 2021permalink

snegron22

Any image taken of the earth looks spectacular no matter what cheap camera or image camera device you use. Please tell me how well I can capture good action images of an indoor basketball game with an iPhone. Go ahead iPhone fanatics.....I'm waiting......

Oct 7, 2021permalink

Chewjfsh69

Consider in the early days of space travel, they used expensive modified Hasselblads and Nikon F’s and you have to wait until the film is processed… if they are not damaged by possible UV radiation….and the iPhone 13s are supposedly even better with larger sensors…. maybe William Shatner(a.k.a. Captain Kirk) can use that soon, he can sure afford the best Pro- model, no?

Oct 7, 2021permalink

The blads were special built cameras, that you easily could operate with a clumsy space suite. They had added handles etc. Now, try to use a mobile phone actually floating in space.

Oct 7, 2021permalink

Imager of

Another clear example of why we don’t need these expensive “pro cameras”. Jus sayin.

Oct 7, 2021permalink

Funny, but wrong. It shows exactly what everyone knows. If you have something pretty to take a photo off and is in a comfortable situation. And not in a hurry. And it is not dark. And the things you want to photo is not moving. And you do not plan to make huge prints or crops, then a mobile phone takes just fine pictures.

Oct 7, 2021permalink

ottonis

If you were to go to space and if you had a chance to get a medium format 100 MP camera with you: would you really pick a phone instead of a camera for this once-in-a-lifetime event photographing planet earth?

The billionaire who took these photos probably doesn't care about imaging parameters etc but wants something to brag about: "look, I have been in space!" 99% of people will watch these photos in low resolution and small size on Instagram and be like "wow, he was in space".

Oct 9, 2021permalink

Perrrson

If I took a photo of space with my Panasonic Lumix ZS-25, which is a cheap, garbage point-and-shoot camera from 2013, it would look just as good as the iPhone one. The thing is, any camera image looks good when you are recording space or some other incredible thing.

Oct 11, 2021permalink

bluevellet

Looks like the photo was taken from the deflector dish of the USS Voyager.

Oct 7, 2021permalink

saiko

It's not the camera - it's the location.

Oct 7, 2021permalink

Karroly

So this guy was rich enough to pay for the flight but, after that, he had no money left to buy a high-end camera ?
I pity him...

Oct 6, 2021permalink

ybizzle

Pretty good! Now imagine how much better they would have looked if taken with GFX100...

Oct 6, 2021permalink

Full size on a 4K monitor? You wouldn't spot the difference...

Oct 6, 2021permalink

Oh yes, you would. The image shown here was rather bland. Of course, you will not need GFX100. But what about a good APS-C camera?

Oct 6, 2021permalink

"Bland" is entirely a result of how the file was processed. And, I guess, highly subjective because not that many people would agree.

Oct 7, 2021permalink

The video is definitely not good.

The image? It is a bit flat.

Oct 7, 2021permalink

All Bushs Fault

deep7, you might want to consider a new hobby.

Oct 8, 2021permalink

Why?

Oct 8, 2021permalink

So whose an astronaut.

"In the U.S., the FAA and the U.S. military awards astronaut wings to those who fly above 50 miles (80 km). However, NASA astronauts don't receive wings to qualify their astronaut status. Since the dawn of human spaceflight, "wings" have not been a necessary requirement to achieve astronaut status.Jul 27, 2021"

New FAA rules change who qualifies for commercial astronaut ...https://www.space.com › faa-commercial-astronaut-wings-...

Oct 6, 2021permalink

Richmondthefish

someone get this man a gfx100s!

Oct 6, 2021permalink

saudidave

What's that flying left to right across the video at about 14 seconds?

Oct 6, 2021permalink

Vik2012

An Unidentified Flying Reflection on the glass.

Oct 6, 2021permalink

falconeyes

Still pretty low, not that different from a plane.

Oct 6, 2021permalink

Francis85

Sometimes it doesn't take much to take nice images back home.

Oct 6, 2021permalink

Dreamscape Photo

Where are the flat earthers? LOL

Oct 6, 2021*permalink

bluevellet

Beautiful flat disk

Oct 7, 2021permalink

My feet are flat on the ground - ergo the earth is flat. Any trickery by sending rich people into space & taking pics on their iphone doesn't change the facts !

Oct 7, 2021permalink

DrHook59

The earth is indeed flat. In this photo we have a classic case of lens distortion.

Oct 10, 2021permalink

speculatrix

I came here @DrHook59 to make the same joke about the terrible lens distortion causing the earth to look curved, but you beat me to it :-(

Oct 20, 2021permalink

DrHook59

Haha - I could not resist.

Oct 21, 2021permalink

Nice view, of course. But, what is so special about that they are taken by a phone? It is not in particular technically good pictures.

Oct 6, 2021permalink

Pseu_Pseu_Pseudonym

How's the 5G reception up there?

Oct 6, 2021permalink

hammarbytp

pretty much the same as here

Oct 6, 2021permalink

Pseu_Pseu_Pseudonym

Ah, cool, nice to see someone who's tested it giving feedback, thanks 👍

Oct 7, 2021permalink

What amazes me is that someone from GB calls himself Hammarby.

Oct 11, 2021permalink

hammarbytp

People from Sweden support UK teams, so there is no reason the traffic cannot go the other way....

(I worked in Sweden for a while and I got converted)

Oct 12, 2021permalink

jpm31

The twitter legend comment about "taking better care of our planet" is ridiculous given how much CO2 was emited for such a useless trip...

Oct 6, 2021permalink

Francis85

"SpaceX Carbon Footprint
The Falcon 9 rocket runs on fossil fuels, namely Rocket Propellant 1 or RP-1, which is highly refined kerosene.

Each launch burns 29,600 gallons or 112,184 Kilograms, with each Kg of fuel releasing 3 Kg of CO2, so each launch releases 336,552 Kg of CO2.

A flight from London to New York City has a carbon footprint of 986 Kg, so a SpaceX launch is the equivalent of flying 341 people across the Atlantic.

It sounds terrible, until you realize that that is about the number of people that fit into one 777-300, which can carry 45,220 gallons of fuel.

So overall, one transatlantic flight of a 777 is considerably worse than a flight of the Falcon, ,and they do this hundreds of times a day."

Oct 6, 2021*permalink

Vik2012

@Francis85, bad doesn't become good because you think you found something worse.

Oct 6, 2021permalink

arniebook

Wow! That will be great when the Falcon 9 can carry 341 people!
What is your apples to oranges point Francis?

Oct 6, 2021permalink

Gmon750

The point being is that the actions of a few are a blip compared to humanity as a whole.

It's easier for you to blame some rich guy riding in a rocket, than it is for the billions of people on this planet to change their lifestyles that helps the environment and climate.

At least the money this guy paid for his ride will continue to advance science which benefits society in the long run.

What have you done?

Oct 6, 2021permalink

arniebook

"What have you done?"
Hate to repeat myself ... but ... Wow ...

Oct 6, 2021permalink

Pseu_Pseu_Pseudonym

How many useless trips have you taken on a plane for holidays etc.

Flying useless people around the country or planet is a waste compared to science that may save us one day.

Oct 7, 2021permalink

ottonis

Infinity focus, extremely well lit scene.... and the resulting picture being watched on a tiny phone screen.
Well, it's not a far stretch to assume that ANY phone of the last 5 years would be able to take photos of similar or better IQ.

Oct 6, 2021permalink

(unknown member)

Nice shots. It's a beautiful and somewhat fragile blue bubble.

Oct 6, 2021permalink

TheLinguist

Android users on suicide watch

Oct 6, 2021permalink

themountainphotographer

Just read their comments.

Oct 6, 2021permalink

Vincent O'Sullivan

Why?

Oct 6, 2021permalink

joger

.. reading through the comments makes me really sad. Not only the comments to this article but to most articles here.

Either there is lots of hype for close to nothing or there is bashing and hating and rather pointless nonsense from 'photographers'?

To all which would want to take a ( place you favorite camera are ) into orbit - there is probably a weight limitation => a smartphone will fit the requirements potentially best.

Furthermore not everyone is a MILC or DSLR fan - recent smartphones have become that good that it's almost pointless to use in many situations something else.

Being a quality fetishist I'd of course use at least my standard equipment - in case the extra weight would be allowed - we don't know how much personal belongings are allowed - I guess it's far less than the 5..8 kg in commercial planes and there is probably no overhead bin for the usual trolley 🤣

I am amazed by the photos taken by a modern smartphone - the brand is irrelevant IMHO

Oct 6, 2021permalink

Trued1

Agree with Your comments. I am using my 12 ProMax more and more even got the fantastic Sirui Anamorphic lens attachment for stunning Cinemascope/Panavision style films. I would have tried to sneak a Sony RX1r II inboard the spaceship.......

Oct 6, 2021permalink

(unknown member)

"Furthermore not everyone is a MILC or DSLR fan - recent smartphones have become that good that it's almost pointless to use in many situations something else." - not for a milc or dslr fan - the physical controls are arguably superior and the resulting raw files have much more leeway for postprocessing.

For someone who has never been much interested in milcs or dslrs or postprocessing however phones make perfect sense and your sentence is true.

Oct 6, 2021permalink

Restio

Very well said.

Oct 6, 2021permalink

badi

They did have a Nikon Z7 II with them.
But totally agree on the rest. And actually the fact that they used the phone to capture some quick photos/videos despite having such a camera with them, further support mostly what you said :)

Oct 6, 2021permalink

JT26

I agree. Extremely sad to be honest. People reading an article about a space mission and all they see is an opportunity to comment on the brand of phone. Imbeciles.

Oct 6, 2021permalink

Strangefinder

An actor and director are aboard the International Space Station right now filming parts of a feature film: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/russian-crew-reaches-international-space-station-to-make-first-film-in-space-1.4692182

Oct 6, 2021permalink

Sounds like the opening line of a joke - why did the actor, fim director & monkey go into space ? - the monkey went to get away from smoking cigarettes in a laboratory. The actor went to try & re-kindle their career, but the film director went to film Armageddon..

Oct 7, 2021*permalink

astroste

For an important personal moment like this, I would rather take a picture using color slides.
(You can always scan it for fb/instagram afterwards..)

Oct 6, 2021permalink

(unknown member)

Haha, I was thinking the globe would be even bluer in a Canon 7's blue-tinted viewfinder

Oct 6, 2021permalink

adengappasami

Apple ad for the week. No surprises

Oct 6, 2021permalink

bizi clop

Seriously, are they being paid by Apple to emphasize the iPhone iPhone iPhone in the title? :(

Oct 6, 2021permalink

David610

Was Huawei providing the 5G coverage?

Oct 6, 2021permalink

Biowizard

SERIOUSLY rather BOTHERED - that if you got the AMAZING chance to blast into SPACE with a zillionnaire on his private rocket, your camera of choice would be ... a freakin' PHONE? Even an Apple iPhone?!

Like, JEEZ - if there EVER was a reason to own (and take) ...

... a ...

m4/3 camera, such as the Olympus OM-D E-M1 mk III !!!

[At this point, hiding under my desk - let me know when it's safe to come back out!]

Oct 6, 2021permalink

badi

they did have a Nikon Z7 II
now the fact that they also used a phone to shoot proves what the rest of the world (beside DPR commenters and few reviewers) thinks about IQ on latest generations phones :))

Oct 6, 2021permalink

Judy Stone

I prefer the Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch to honor space conquest. And for pictures, I prefer my D850. For phone calls, any AT&T public phone is good for me.

Oct 5, 2021permalink

Trued1

Almost all 1955 technology besides the camera...... Get a Kodal Retina 2 camera to make up for a tech trio.

Oct 6, 2021permalink

(unknown member)

Speaking of inspirational commanders, I saw where Commander Cody (George Frayne) passed away just last month. He and his band "Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen" sang the 1971 release of the hit song "Hot Rod Lincoln". RIP Commander!

Oct 5, 2021permalink

zakk9

So some billionaire dude took photos with his phone through a plane window 10 months ago, and now that's considered news? No, dpreview, photos don't become "incredible" just because they were taken from high up.

Oct 5, 2021permalink

Don Kiyoti

Plane window? 10 months ago? Are you drunk?

Oct 5, 2021permalink

zakk9

Apparently.

Oct 6, 2021permalink

geirole

Not everybody has heard about the Inspiration4 mission and Jared Isaacman, obviously. And sure, the sky is black when you look out the aircraft window at 10 km altitude. ;-)

Oct 6, 2021permalink

I find that photo amusing. Due to the small sensor, the earth and vessel are both perfectly in focus at decently useable aperture. You'd be tripping over yourself to reproduce that on the DSLR and maintain a fast enough shutter speed!

Oct 5, 2021permalink

randfee2

hm... I wouldn't think so. The phone camera is fixed aperture and you can obviously go much smaller that the equivalent aperture of maybe 10... resulting in smaller circles of confusion (unsharpness/blur) in relation to the image/frame. Also it is super bright up there, IF you're on the sunny side that is.

Oct 5, 2021permalink

Don Kiyoti

Have you never seen the photos from space taken with a DSLR?

Oct 5, 2021permalink

You know lenses can stop down right?

Oct 6, 2021permalink

Dareshooter

Lenses can indeed stop down allowing you focus to infinity and beyond.

Oct 6, 2021permalink

hfolkertsma

No, it’s perfectly doable on larger sensor cameras. The earth reflects a tremendous amount of light.

Oct 6, 2021permalink

Haha, such predictable responses! I haven't bothered doing the maths but what ISO would your DSLR need to match that and how would the noise work out compared to the alchemy Apple put into their phones?

Obviously, my post was a dig at the obsession with fairly large sensors on this particular website. In that situation, it's all pretty irrelevant!

Oct 6, 2021permalink

brn

Nothing I couldn't do with my 80 dollar LG K51. Can we get a shout out for LG?

Oct 5, 2021permalink

Strangefinder

This is a good point. It’s one thing to acknowledge that a phone can take photographs suitable for screens under good conditions, but it then calls into question two things:

1) Why does it have to be an expensive brand?
2) If it’s sufficient this year, then why ever upgrade?

Most phone reviews are primarily concerned with cameras, yet never advise moving beyond phones altogether, nor request a plethora of GR-like power-compacts.

It’s a bit like spending thousands of dollars on socks or underwear, whilst wearing ill-fitting rags, and marvelling at how these special hidden garments give you confidence and keep you warm compared with being completely naked. Then somehow justifying an upgrade to underwear rather than fashionable or functional outer clothing.

At this point, there may be more people spending thousands of dollars on iPhones every few years than the SAME AMOUNT on Leica cameras and lenses.

Oct 6, 2021*permalink

steve247

An iphone 12?? Ha, some "billionaire". Doesn't even have a 13 to take on his big adventure into space.

Oct 5, 2021permalink

He was a space traveller, not a time-traveller...

Oct 5, 2021permalink

Z-mounter

Nothing special here other than advertising
I could have done that with other smartphones.

Oct 5, 2021permalink

Daneland

OK , I will buy an iPhone next time. But please enough of iPhone I have seen here

Oct 5, 2021permalink

Camillo

Apple says thank you for helping them sell more phones!

Oct 5, 2021permalink

Haim Hadar

If I had a penny for each "amazing photos shot with iPhone" article on DPReview...

[I'd probably be Richer by a whopping $10]

Oct 5, 2021permalink

higheronymous

The first time, a single iPhone spied on every human at once, including the guy holding it (front facing cam)... amazing technolydfoygy.

Oct 5, 2021permalink

Cheapo Marx

Mush is mush. Is Apple happy about publicizing this?

Oct 5, 2021permalink

G Dickson

I don't mind the billionaire spaceship rental story. But I do mind "an inspiration 4 commander". I mean it's not that hard to figure out there was one commander. As for the iphone, whatever.... If I had his cash and was in his position then a Leica ET llimited edition would have been about the minimum. The iphone would have been strictly for selfies on the apparently malfunctioning toilet.

Oct 5, 2021*permalink

Leonp

So even this is newsworthy?

Oct 5, 2021permalink

mxx

As usual, DPR trip over themselves to give Apple free publicity. Same as Adobe.

Oct 5, 2021*permalink

Archirum

Apple needs this kind of advertising , sure.

Oct 5, 2021permalink

teletorn

Why not? As well as Hasselblad is still running around with Moon program. I’m not against it but modern Hassy is so far from the original one.

Oct 5, 2021permalink

Sylverphoto

It is a disappointment of humanity.

Nothing new, nothing gained to serve us humans on our planet and as if real astronauts would not have taken similar pictures.

Oct 5, 2021permalink

They flew into space an back, therefore they are real astronauts.

Oct 5, 2021permalink

Sylverphoto

Were they? Then I am a pilot because I was on the backseat in an airplane.

Oct 5, 2021permalink

hfolkertsma

No, you were an air-traveler. Not the pilot. Just like not every astronaut is the pilot of their ship.

Oct 5, 2021permalink

W5JCK

It isn’t like the so-called “real astronauts” have done anything constructive the past half century, with the possible exception of maintaining the Hubble Space Telescope. The ISS and the whole Shuttle program were a colossal waste of money, time, and effort. And so was the failed Space Station in the 1970s. The best expenditure of space exploration these days is via robots to other planets, asteroids, comets, etc. Astronuts [sic] are a waste of money, training, and time.

Oct 5, 2021permalink

Mr Bolton

Just like to point out the means by which the Hubble telescope got into space: The Canadian built arm deployed it from the cargo bay of the US built space shuttle. The ISS designers learned a lot from Skylab and from the Soviet station also.

Robots can get the lay of the land, but only real humans can truly explore a place. The current crop of spacefaring billionaires who are LARPing as explorers using money from apartheid and wage slave labor, are standing on the shoulders of all those real astronauts.

Oct 5, 2021*permalink

Where did you think NASA gets its payroll from? Eventually you'd run into exploitation.

Oct 6, 2021*permalink

Mr Bolton

NASA gets it payroll from taxpayers-literally none of which include 80 of the top 100 Fortune 500 companies. The companies whose billionaire robber baron CEOs also pay no taxes while shooting off their toys into space.

It's easier to go into space with 80 years of taxpayer funded research behind you, freely available; and when the would-be space tourists pay no taxes themselves.

Oct 6, 2021permalink

Sylverphoto

BackToNature1, hfolkertsma

What is real astronaut? It is someone who is travelling into space and performing experiments. Therefore Issacman and the others were basically only glorfied p*** in a cargo bay with windows.

Oct 6, 2021*permalink

Konstantin Mineev

There is no exif data in these iphone photos, only there is a mention that they were processed in Adobe Photoshop 22.5 (Macintosh).

Oct 5, 2021permalink

teletorn

So what?

Oct 5, 2021permalink

NDT0001

Nice photos but I don’t see why him using an iPhone is news.
“F8 and be there”

Oct 5, 2021permalink

itaibachar

If I'll go to space, I wont be lazy, and take my FF camera.

Oct 5, 2021permalink

FUJIFILM GFX 100S Medium Format Mirrorless Camera, that's what I would take.

Oct 5, 2021permalink

I also own an APS-C, but unless they let me take unlimited numbers of cameras, I would go with the MF from Fuji. It's an one in an lifetime shot.

Oct 5, 2021permalink

Gesture

Hasselblad.

Oct 5, 2021permalink

I'd rent a medium format for sure...then mount a lensbaby.

Oct 5, 2021*permalink

supersargas

Linhof Technorama.

Oct 5, 2021permalink

AbrasiveReducer

I'd bring an Ilford light tent and shoot 8x10 with a gold dot Dagor.

Oct 5, 2021permalink

hfolkertsma

Mamiya 6 MF, because that’s the most IQ per gram I can think of.

Oct 5, 2021permalink

Digitalis32

Take a Bronica SQ-A up there just to get a rise out of the Hasselblad crowd.

Oct 5, 2021permalink

Albert Valentino

I’m in with my m43 Olympus 😃

Oct 5, 2021permalink

User4286416121

Almost haiku

Oct 6, 2021permalink

JakeB

I don't understand the antipathy expressed above towards those who shoot full frame.

I shoot both APS-C and full frame. In low light there is no competition; FF has a clear advantage. The wider dynamic range is also useful.

If I were a billionaire taking photographs from space -- Yes, medium format would look pretty sweet.

Oct 6, 2021permalink

Rodrigo Pasiani

I found two things incredible: how thin our atmosphere is and the fact that the Earth is not flat.

Oct 5, 2021permalink

HJVN

Im more interesting in hearing them explaining, how they don't fall off when the disk so obviously (from the video clip) is standing vertically.

Oct 5, 2021*permalink

Docno

Nah…. It’s just that the iPhone 12 has really terrible barrel distortion

Oct 5, 2021permalink

panther fan

90% of the earth atmosphere mass is below 16km [10miles]

If you compare that with the 12.742 km earth diameter that is nothing

Oct 5, 2021permalink

Fact that we've never drilled to the mantle before. Pitiful humans, how else are we gonna reach Agartha

Oct 5, 2021permalink

G Dickson

You are so right!

Oct 5, 2021permalink

Not even close, the Nikon, as it should, wins hands down. Next we get to see Captain Kirk taking pictures? Then there's the Russian actor at the International Space Station this Tuesday ... The Russian crew is at the ISS to film portions of a movie called.....

Oct 5, 2021permalink