want advice

[andalus]

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I sold my Type 240 and a single 50mm lens a year ago. Since then, would you believe, I've been using the Lightroom app to shoot DNG's on my iPhone. And I have to say, the result, given that I can edit the files, is NOT that bad. Low light performance is not good, and of course nothing like a full frame camera. So now I can buy a Q2 if I want and get it in short order. I am going to Syria in October with a delegation and wold love to have the Q2 then. On the other hand, carrying around an iPhone and shooting DNG files sure is easy and handy. Tell me what I ought to do?

Edited August 12, 2019 by andalus
mispelling

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[ralphh]

Every camera is a compromise of some sort and really only you can decide what the best compromise for you is.

The Q2 is an amazing camera but if your happy with your iPhone then that is the ultimate in convenience.

I am personally not happy with a phone camera in exchange for the convenience but very happy with the Q2. Many people would not be happy with the limitations of a Q (fixed, non interchangeable lens). Many people would not be happy with the limitations of an M and 50.

[Viv]

It depends.

Do you make large prints?

What kinds of subjects do you photograph?

[bullmoon]

iPhone pictures look pretty good on an iPhone screen - and if lighting is VERY good, then maybe they are OK viewed larger.  Otherwise in what would be perfectly good light for most cameras, when viewed on a computer monitor, iPhone photos show considerable noise and compromised IQ that cannot be fixed.  One day they will be good - getting better year by year.

[Guest]

so @andalus, you should ask yourselftoo , what will you do with the Picture you take? Print? Exhibition? or just Instagram, Social media? . 

[marchyman]

On 8/12/2019 at 2:59 PM, andalus said:

Tell me what I ought to do?

Buy the Q. I find it quite easy to tell other people to spend money    

On a serious note, I find the ergonomic of shooting pictures with a phone to work against me.  I use my phone for quick snapshots.  And video.  For everything else I use a camera.   As for Lightroom DNGs taken on the phone... After some quick tests I found I was getting better results using the stock iPhone app and importing the HEIC files into lightroom.  Again, my phone use case is point-and-shoot snapshots.   If I were using it as a 100% camera replacement I might be better off using one of the many iPhone camera apps I've tried that output a raw file.

[andalus]

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thanks everyone!

[Jared]

On 8/12/2019 at 2:59 PM, andalus said:

I sold my Type 240 and a single 50mm lens a year ago. Since then, would you believe, I've been using the Lightroom app to shoot DNG's on my iPhone. And I have to say, the result, given that I can edit the files, is NOT that bad. Low light performance is not good, and of course nothing like a full frame camera. So now I can buy a Q2 if I want and get it in short order. I am going to Syria in October with a delegation and wold love to have the Q2 then. On the other hand, carrying around an iPhone and shooting DNG files sure is easy and handy. Tell me what I ought to do?

It really depends on your style of photography, your intended use, and your budget.  Under good lighting, the DNG’s (or even the JPG’s) are actually quite good out of a current generation iPhone.  Easily good enough for a high quality 8”x10” print.  Under low light, with static subjects, you can also stack a few images together in Photoshop (or Affinity Photo if working on an iPad) to tame the noise significantly.  Still, it’s no Q2 in terms of its capabilities. But if you need to be unobtrusive or put people at ease or capture un-posed, uninhibited, natural facial expressions even the relatively small, unthreatening Q won’t compare to a camera phone.  And, seriously, the image quality is good enough that for a lot of uses it is just fine.  Even with a 4K monitor.  Seriously.

So, it’s up to you.  Have you missed the M? Is the low light performance of the phone a problem?  Do you shoot indoors much?  Ever need a strobe?  For more than fill flash?  Do you care about depth of field control?