Google Pixel vs iPhone 7 (vs Leica Q)

[jrp]

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Workflow and image processing capacity suggest that technical progress will render conventional digital cameras obsolete for non-specialist uses, particularly fixed-focus length ones:

 

http://blog.photoshelter.com/2016/11/google-pixel-vs-iphone-7-vs-leica-q/

 

 

[SonomaBear]

Interesting take on modern photography -- and I agree that most individuals are more than happy with their phone cameras.  Heck, I love always having my iPhone 6+ in my pocket.  OIS and great software make it the most practical point & shoot... and there's the rub!  Phones are great Point & Shoot cameras that satisfy most people.

 

Phones have/will decimate the demand for P&S until better abilities and zoom lenses are needed.

 

Folks like us want to compose in three dimensions.  Impossible with phones, nearly impossible with most P&S offerings.  Depth of Field differentiates photos.  It is the 3rd dimension of the composition.  

 

Leica has almost always had the aperture ring exactly under your hand.  Lenses have DoF scales, hard to read but invaluable!  Shutter dial where it belongs.  ISO on a button.

 

I noticed that the Leica shots in the article were shot as if the Q was a P&S whereas most of us shoot Av/Tv/M rather than auto everything.

 

And then there is focus.  Very little to no focus control on phones.  Likewise impossible on most P&S boxes.  I often shoot the Q in manual focus (amazing EVF!) but even in auto, selecting the focus point is simple, easy and instantly verified.

 

And then there is exposure compensation.  The Q is the most brilliant solution yet... my thumb wheel controls ExpComp and the EVF instantly verifies my choices.  Try that on phones or most P&S cameras.

 

And then there is ability to crop the image.  Having 24 Mpixels means that there is abundant detail in severely cropped images.  If a phone has Zoom, it is not an optical zoom when cropping in camera.  As good as my iPhone is, it is horrible when zoomed or cropped in post.  I have had some good Canon P&S with optical zooms (that precluded wide apertures)

 

And then there is exposure latitude, image quality, editability...  editing DNG images in any post program gives the artist wide expressions of taste and wide abilities to recapture lost shadow detail and overall sharpness.

 

I carry my iPhone 24/7.  I carry my Q almost that much.  At the end of the day images from both cameras (and maybe a Canon 6D) come together in Lightroom so that I can tell the entire story. I make a "Collection" of each outing.  I certainly don't need captions, I can feel each camera's personality just looking at the Smart Preview.

 

Nope, I will not ever sell my Q.  No phone or other P&S will ever eclipse it.  

 

But...  Maybe  i'll buy the rumored M10 if it gets the Q's EVF and M lenses while keeping the size of the M rather than a bulky SL.

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[marchyman]

 

And then there is focus.  Very little to no focus control on phones.  Likewise impossible on most P&S boxes.  I often shoot the Q in manual focus (amazing EVF!) but even in auto, selecting the focus point is simple, easy and instantly verified.

 

 

Yes.  Manual focus on the Q is orders of magnitude better than any of the many photo apps I've tried on my phone.  I've never been able to take a shot like this on my phone:

 

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[jrp]

OK, but the 7+ uses two lenses to help identify the background so that it can be blurred out. The multi-lens approach combined with better software will erode the existing camera market from the bottom. Moreover, no matter how good your camera, the workflow solutions for sharing are burdensome compared with using a phone.

[jlindstrom]

for most folks the phone cameras are enough. In this forum, we're not "most folk" but demand more. Thus the article doesn't 100% resonate here, though some points are very much valid.

 

For me personally iphone 7 camera is ok, when nothing else is around. But if I know in advance I'm going to take photos, I'd never go out with iphone alone.. just doesn't work for me ergonomically, pictures fall part outside small screen viewing and creative controls suck..

 

iPhone 7+ dual lens in basically a beta in many ways. For example Apple touts OIS on the camera. Yea, it's there but _ONLY_ on the wide angle lens and not tele, where it would be more necessary.

 

Also when using zoom on ip7, it doesn't always use the 2nd lens even on the 2x mode. Someone tested this covering the 2nd cam with tape and the 2x image was still intact with no hint something was missing..

 

iPhone 7 would be much better with a dedicated shutter button in the correct place, center mounted camera modules (less fingers on shots) and maybe a camera grip case. But then it would be more like the size of a p&s already..

 

I don't want to dismiss the article still, as some of the points are very real - for average consumer.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

Edited November 13, 2016 by jlindstrom

[Voxen]

Smartphone shooting experience is not photography to me, whatever the IQ is. Looking through a viewfinder is as important to me than image quality.