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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To consider buying a good iphone over a proper camera to capture LO?

8 replies

Mummyofmay2020 · 22/10/2020 21:51

I love documenting everything for bubba but a few friends have told me not to bother spending so much on a camera because they're too bulky to lug around every day and something like the iphone 11/pro would provide great photos, portability and is multifunctional...

Any thoughts? My plan is to build a collection then use a photo book building service online to compile them.

P.s would an iphone be good for videos too or do I need to think think about purchasing an additional video camera?

Ty!!

OP posts:
babygroups · 22/10/2020 21:52

The camera on my iPhone is brilliant. I don't see the need for a proper camera nowadays unless it's a big hobby of yours or you're a professional

Abouttimemum · 22/10/2020 22:00

My sister just got an iPhone 11 and the portrait function is spectacular. There are other phones that take wonderful photos too.

I have an older iPhone and it does for day to day, but I do have an SLR camera and nothing really compares to this for portraits. That said, I actually mainly use the zoom lenses for travel and landscapes. I probably use it once a month for DS photos.

I think if all you wanted to capture was DS and you weren’t interested in photography generally then a good quality phone would do.

Make sure you have somewhere suitable to store you phone images though as well as the cloud. Mine are saved on to a separate hard drive.

CasperGutman · 22/10/2020 22:02

I have an Android phone with a reasonable camera (well, three cameras actually), and a good quality separate zoom compact camera. I only ever use the smartphone in practice, because it's in my pocket all the time and it automatically uploads all the photos to Google photos, allowing me to actually look back at them and share them with others when I want to.

Findahouse21 · 22/10/2020 22:04

DH got a huwaaii phone. We were a bit disappointed with some photos that an estate agent took, and retook them ourselves on the phone. The EA was so impressed, he called to get the details as he thought that they were better quality than his massive digital camera

PurpleFlower1983 · 22/10/2020 22:07

The IPhone 11 camera is great, the pro is even better and he 12 is out now too.

RaininSummer · 22/10/2020 22:14

Seconding huiwei and other android phones. You really don't need to spend a fortune on an apple phone.

bravotango · 22/10/2020 22:17

Would recommend a Google Pixel phone over an iPhone if (like me) all you need is the basic functions of a smart phone but a fantastic camera as it's much more affordable (and one of the best cameras on the phone market)

tommika · 22/10/2020 22:30

Use the camera you want to use, I have the iPhone 11 Pro as my normal phone and is my carry around camera and a Nikon full frame DSLR for my ‘proper’ camera which I used for event photography and if I was going ‘photographing’

If you want / need a good sized sensor and the ability to use ‘real’ lenses then you should get a ‘real’ camera
Many smartphones have really improved the sensors and have good lenses, my iPhone has 3 distinct lenses. Previously if you changed settings for landscapes, people etc the software just changed some settings, with the 3 lenses what really happens is it switches to a totally different lens (and then changes some settings too)

If you’re documenting things then you can just flip out your phone, don’t even need to unlock it and snap away.

My iPhone is great for various types of photos, videos and I also like filming in SloMo
The advantage of using SloMotion mode is I can play about with the finished video, the ‘disadvantages’ are bigger file sizes and if it can’t cope with the lighting.

Advantages of a real camera are that they are easier to hold properly and keep steady and I prefer to look through a view finder rather than at a screen.
Hold a camera up to my eye, using one hand on the camera and one on the lens is a steady set up.
Holding a phone up in one or two hands is less natural and can be unsteady.
However - grab a real camera and people notice, grab your phone camera and you are more likely to get natural results

For quality anything in the last couple of decades can easily get good pictures for on screens or printing.
When you next pass an advertising hoarding with pictures take a closer look - that giant picture is just meant to be viewed from further away, any professional photographers high quality image has been printed at a relatively low quality on big poster paper

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