iPhone 4S camera vs my canon powershot SD1100 IS?

[vital]

they're both 8 megapixels.. which one is better?

 

[vi edit]

The Canon without a doubt.

 

[Ns1]

whichever one you have with you

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

Why carry both if your iPhone 4S already has a good enough camera?

 

[Kaido]

they're both 8 megapixels.. which one is better?

Like Ns1 said - the best camera is the one you have with you.

The iPhone 4S is an amazing camera. But it lacks a lot of features - namely, an optical zoom. But, you get the convenience of on-phone editing, sending directly to Flickr, Facebook, Email, Dropbox, etc., automatic iCloud backup, etc.

I was eyeing the S95's new successor, the S100 - but I already have a Canon T2i dSLR and I wanted something that would ALWAYS be at-hand. The iPhone 4S does pretty good macro, nice wide shots, and allows the use of aftermarket lenses if you're so inclined. Here's some stuff to get you started:

Inspiration:

Framed - an iPhone 4S short story

Apple of my Eye - an iPhone 4 short story

iPhone art


Resources:

iPhoneography - an iPhone photo/video blog

Macworld Photo Apps review - 1700+ reviews

Hardware:

Olloclip 3-in-1 Lens System for iPhone 4S ($70, includes clip with Macro, Wide-Angle, and Fisheye lenses)

The Glif tripod mount for iPhone 4S ($20)

Pico Flex Dolly - tabletop skater dolly (they have the dual-arm model on eBay for $140!)

Gorillapod - mini flexible tripod (I have all of them - they are awesome - I use them for cameras, lights, mics, you name it!)


Software:

Camera+ - my favorite photo app for iPhone

Instagram - instant filters for neato quickie shots

And some other fun ones:

Squaready
Photoshop Express
Bleach Bypass
Squara
Perfectly Clear
Pro Camera
Big Lens
Dynamic Light
PhotoForge 2
6x6
Noir
Pinhole HD
Lo-mob
Photosynth
Lumiere
Snapseed
Photocopier
Spica
Pure Carbon

I use a bunch of film-oriented apps as well, if you're interested I'll post a list of what I use.

 

[Ns1]

^^

whoa, thanks.

 

[vital]

Thanks for the info Kaito! I'm also wondering if it's worth upgrading my point and shoot camera if I get the Olloclip and Camera+? I want photo quality close to dslr camera... so maybe a ~$300 point and shoot? or even an entry level dslr..

Also, what do you think of the flash on the iphone 4S?

 

[Kaido]

^^

whoa, thanks.

Np. I only have a 3GS right now, but it takes great pictures with some tweaking...I'm really looking forward to picking up the 4S this month :biggrin:

You can put out great photos so easily now, right from your iPhone. I mostly just use Camera+, but I like to play with a lot of apps for fun. I probably use Instagram on a daily basis too. Oh, and Camera+ has a GREAT feature called Clarity, which is like a magic auto-levels for different aspects of your photos: (no extra work in Photoshop required!)

http://campl.us/feature/clarity

I take (and actually post) SO many more pictures now (since I have gotten an iPhone) due to the ease of use. It's like fast food - it's so convenient that you use it all the time. Especially now with the upgraded camera in the 4S...yowza!

 

[Kaido]

Thanks for the info Kaito! I'm also wondering if it's worth upgrading my point and shoot camera if I get the Olloclip and Camera+? I want photo quality close to dslr camera... so maybe a ~$300 point and shoot? or even an entry level dslr..

Also, what do you think of the flash on the iphone 4S?

I would go the dSLR route if you are set on an iPhone and want a secondary camera. That way you can get interchangeable lenses, real depth of field, and more manual control. Like I said, I was going to get a Canon PowerShot S100 (the new one) because it had nearly all the features I wanted in a point & shoot, but the quality of the 4S just blew me away, plus the convenience of on-camera editing & posting (and free iCloud backup) is unparalleled - no computer required to do stuff with the photos! And with an Olloclip, you always have a lens system in your pocket to play with, which is really nice.

If you can, I'd save up and get the Canon T3i ($659 body). I have the last-gen model, the T2i (T3i adds a swivel screen) and it's just phenomenal. It's compact for an SLR, it does wonderful low-light, it supports flashes (like multiple remote flashes for Strobist with wireless triggers), it can take crop & full-frame lenses and pretty much any other brand of lens via adapters. Alternatively, the new Canon PowerShot S100 ($429) is the point & shoot I'd recommend if you want something close to a dSLR in a pocket-sized format. Both are a bit higher than your $300 budget, but I think the iPhone 4S would overlap most functions on a cheaper camera, you know?

If you want to get more into photography (not sure where you're at now skill/knowledge-wise), I'd recommend checking out the classic "Understanding Exposure" book by Bryan Peterson. It's fairly short but a bit complex; it's the best introduction to getting into manual photography I've come across:

http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-...dp/0817439390/

Also the Strobist website is an excellent resource to start learning flash photography from: (you can use multiple flashes with Alien Bee or Pocket Wizard-style remote triggers)

http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/02/welcome-to-strobist.html

As far as the flash on the 4S - well, it's better than nothing. I'm not a big fan of on-camera flashes, although it's actually really handy on a phone when you just want to snap a quick pic and it's dark.

 

[Ns1]

Np. I only have a 3GS right now, but it takes great pictures with some tweaking...I'm really looking forward to picking up the 4S this month :biggrin:

I did a side by side with some of my personal 3gs photos and 4s photos...I didn't even want to keep the 3gs photos

 

[bobdole369]

The number of megapixels doesn't indicate if its a "good camera". A photographer makes a picture, the camera is merely one of his tools. If the image sensor is garbage, than it'll make a noisy ass 8 megapixel image. Almost certainly the Canon will make "cleaner" images, but like everyone said too - the best camera is the one you have.

As image sensors go the > megapixel value of the sensor, the more noise you will see as the pixels are packed more tightly and next to each other. The current limit for point and shoots seems to be around 12mp, while APS-C sizes have gone to 18mp and full-frame - 25mp.

Besides once you hit 8 or so as long as its not noisy - the limit then becomes the lens as higher MP not only show noise but illustrate poor focus more.

 

[bearxor]

I find the iPhone camera to be more than sufficient. I have a mid-range 12MP crossover camera that I used to carry around everywhere, but ever since I got the iPhone 4 I've stopped. It's just a sufficient enough camera that carrying around the extra bulk isn't worth it.

 

[Kaido]

I did a side by side with some of my personal 3gs photos and 4s photos...I didn't even want to keep the 3gs photos

The 3GS doesn't replace my P&S, but the 4S does. They said the next shipment goes out tomorrow, so hopefully I'll snag one this month :thumbsup:

 

[vi edit]

It just really depends on what you plan to shoot. While my iPhone4 (or my wife's 4s) are fine for shooting buildings or stationary object in decent lighting, trying to take a picture of an active kid indoors in anything but perfect lighting results in very poor (if not unusable) pictures.

 

[RampantAndroid]

My 4 replaced my Canon point and shoot. Helped that my Canon died. I instead bought a used Nikon D70, and some good lenses...and now I can look at a newer D5000 or better that uses the same lenses. Point and shoots are a dying tech, I think.

That said, a good point and shoot with GOOD OPTICS will beat the 4S. The optics on phone cameras can pretty much focus out to 3 feet, than infinity. A P&S lens will do better.

My 6MP D70 looks better than most 10MP P&S cameras, because I have better optics. Optics make or break a camera. A sensor can break it, but not make it.

 

[Kaido]

The number of megapixels doesn't indicate if its a "good camera". A photographer makes a picture, the camera is merely one of his tools. If the image sensor is garbage, than it'll make a noisy ass 8 megapixel image. Almost certainly the Canon will make "cleaner" images, but like everyone said too - the best camera is the one you have.

As image sensors go the > megapixel value of the sensor, the more noise you will see as the pixels are packed more tightly and next to each other. The current limit for point and shoots seems to be around 12mp, while APS-C sizes have gone to 18mp and full-frame - 25mp.

Besides once you hit 8 or so as long as its not noisy - the limit then becomes the lens as higher MP not only show noise but illustrate poor focus more.

That's what's nice about the new iPhone - it has an f/2.4 lens (pretty decent for a phone!) and 8 megapixels to play with. You can always use NeatImage to clean up any noise in post, or Lightroom's noise reduction tool.

I definitely think it's a dual argument - you need good tools in addition to skill/talent. Sure, there are certain niches (I've seen some awesome lomo & pinhole photos), but to consistently produce what you want, you need tools that give you control you need. If a pinhole camera is it, then there you go. That's what I think is cool about the 4S - the camera is just stellar for a cell phone camera and finally crosses what I consider the line into a "real" camera for a phone.

Now I just need to get one :biggrin:

 

[Kaido]

Picked up my iPhone 4S today. The camera is pretty good, but definitely lacks in low-light handheld situations. But then, so do most point & shoots. The cell phone is obviously worse, but not horribly terrible. Photoshop Express for iOS has a noise reduction tool (sort of a softener) that does okay. Here's one I shot handheld tonight with PS Express noise reduction at 100%:

http://i.imgur.com/4JcQJ.jpg

 

[vital]

Ok took two similar pics to compare. Can you guys tell which one looks better?

iPhone 4S
http://i.imgur.com/EmKJd.jpg

Canon SD1100 IS 8MP point & shoot
http://i.imgur.com/ZUFvg.jpg

 

[Ns1]

Ok took two similar pics to compare. Can you guys tell which one looks better?

iPhone 4S
http://i.imgur.com/EmKJd.jpg

Canon SD1100 IS 8MP point & shoot
http://i.imgur.com/ZUFvg.jpg

pretty noticeable as a side by side in those lighting conditions

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Ok took two similar pics to compare. Can you guys tell which one looks better?

iPhone 4S
http://i.imgur.com/EmKJd.jpg

Canon SD1100 IS 8MP point & shoot
http://i.imgur.com/ZUFvg.jpg

Clearly the Canon. You can see a lot more detail in the plant life, for starters.

 

[vital]

So will buying the Olloclip lense make the photos from the 4S look as good as the Canon?

 

[GoSharks]

So will buying the Olloclip lense make the photos from the 4S look as good as the Canon?

No.

 

[Emulex]

the iphone 4S might have better image stabilization? has more cpu power to apply after affects and ability to rapidly upload without a hotspot (those wifi sdcards are sloooooow).

GPS - nice

Now if they'd just put an APS-C sensor in the iphone 5 we'd be straight

 

[RampantAndroid]

the iphone 4S might have better image stabilization? has more cpu power to apply after affects and ability to rapidly upload without a hotspot (those wifi sdcards are sloooooow).

GPS - nice

Now if they'd just put an APS-C sensor in the iphone 5 we'd be straight

After getting a lens with image stabilization built in, I can't go back to IS that's based on the CPU Even if I do sacrifice a few f stops.

 

[RampantAndroid]

Ok took two similar pics to compare. Can you guys tell which one looks better?

iPhone 4S
http://i.imgur.com/EmKJd.jpg

Canon SD1100 IS 8MP point & shoot
http://i.imgur.com/ZUFvg.jpg

If you would correct the white balance and the exposure, they still are vastly different. The Canon photo has much more detail to it, and is much less grainy in the low light. Like I said before: if you're seriously into photography, carry your camera for a fast "Hey let's get a picture guys!" moment, and a DSLR for "Whoa, that looks awesome!"

If a big DSLR is a deal breaker, a point and shoot, for now, is better. One day phones will shut the point and shoots out and they'll go the way of the Polaroid I think (niche market.)