iPhone Photography: A huge opportunity for the camera industry

There is no doubt in my mind that the latest smartphone cameras allow inexperienced users to produce flattering pictures which, in many cases, lead to a new-found interest in photography and a desire to own a more traditional camera.

My iPhone 7 Plus has one of the best sensor/lens implementations with its two lenses and faux bokeh-effect subject isolation in portrait mode. I’ve made the point many times that this flattery can also deceive. There is no getting away from the small sensor in the iPhone 7 Plus and its obvious limitations for any serious work that is intended to be viewed larger than a phone or tablet screen. But, the encouraging thing is that it appears that smartphone photography is brining in new converts and encouraging them to consider buying a better camera.

The 2017 iPhone Photography Awards demonstrate the scope for creating impressive work on a smartphone. There are some great shots here. I suspect many of the photographers are experienced and are using their iPhones as an additional tool rather than as a sole photo-taking device. But the message is there. You can take brilliant photographs using the iPhone. Above all, a smartphone is the epitome of the “best camera” in the sense that it is the camera you always have in your pocket.

 Overall winner: Sebastiano Tomada of New York City took the grand prize and was photographer of the year for a shot of children in Qayyarah, Iraq, near fire and smoke billowing from oil wells set ablaze by Islamic State militants
Overall winner: Sebastiano Tomada of New York City took the grand prize and was photographer of the year for a shot of children in Qayyarah, Iraq, near fire and smoke billowing from oil wells set ablaze by Islamic State militants

Last week we learned that sales of cameras are again on the rise after over five years of decline. While it’s too early to proclaim a trend, I think this is an encouraging sign that the effect of the iPhone (and other smartphones, of course) is positive rather than negative. Instead of killing the camera industry, the overt excellence of iPhone photograph is introducing a whole new generation to the pleasures of using a real camera. 

[Via: The Guardian]

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2 COMMENTS

  1. Really interested to read this, Mike, and to see the stunning picture.
    Just this week I had the amazing experience of downloading my nine-years old granddaughter’s first mobile phone pictures and then looking at them on the computer screen together with her while she shared her experience of taking them. She was remarkably clear about what she had seen and held in her images (and they were remarkably good and unusual), so she may well turn out to be one of those who move into photography via the simplicity of the mobile phone.

    • Sounds like you have a budding photographer on your hands, John. Over the past few years there has been a pervading sense of doom about the camera industry. I’ve even heard people who believe all camera production will cease in the face of competition from Smartphones. I tend to be more optimistic and anyone interested in photography should be delighted that so many more people are taking photographs, whatever the device. Before the smartphone photography needed a conscious decision to buy and use a camera, however humble. Now billions of people have a very good camera in their pockets and the more photographs they take the more hope there is for the camera industry as a whole.

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