In praise of the iPhone camera.
This is not a review of the latest iPhone 7/8/X camera specs, nor the phenomenon of the selfie. Instead, a musing on the best camera I own, the humble iPhone 5s.
There’s no doubt that photography is a tech company’s wet dream; with 40+ megapixels is becoming more commonplace & in-camera stabilisation allowing photographers to shoot handheld at 1 second, the industry has turned into a dirty game of ‘mine’s bigger than yours’. But what I care about the most is the accessibility that the iPhone has given me, and other photographers in daily life. I know If I carry around my oversized Fuji 6x7 camera, I will not make any frames on a whim. The camera is glorious with outstanding optics, but I just won’t consider using it for simple photographic studies of banal life - nor am I able to quickly set the aperture and focus in 5 seconds, capturing a bizarre scene on the street.
With the iPhone It is everywhere in my pocket, allowing me to keep my eye on the ball when I’m not making project work or making images with purpose. It is a great way to process life photographically without feeling guilty of wasting film. Not only is it always in my pocket, but it is also in everyone else pockets too. The taboo of having a DSLR with a giant phallic lens has been eradicated, instead, I’m left with an everyday object that can make photographs unnoticed - I look like the general public with my iPhone. With a camera, I don’t.
We all know that real photographers shoot 8x10, but my humble 5s can go in situations that the large format can’t. And that’s why it’s the favourite camera I own.
This is not a review of the latest iPhone 7/8/X camera specs, nor the phenomenon of the selfie. Instead, a musing on the best camera I own, the humble iPhone 5s.
There’s no doubt that photography is a tech company’s wet dream; with 40+ megapixels is becoming more commonplace & in-camera stabilisation allowing photographers to shoot handheld at 1 second, the industry has turned into a dirty game of ‘mine’s bigger than yours’. But what I care about the most is the accessibility that the iPhone has given me, and other photographers in daily life. I know If I carry around my oversized Fuji 6x7 camera, I will not make any frames on a whim. The camera is glorious with outstanding optics, but I just won’t consider using it for simple photographic studies of banal life - nor am I able to quickly set the aperture and focus in 5 seconds, capturing a bizarre scene on the street.
With the iPhone It is everywhere in my pocket, allowing me to keep my eye on the ball when I’m not making project work or making images with purpose. It is a great way to process life photographically without feeling guilty of wasting film. Not only is it always in my pocket, but it is also in everyone else pockets too. The taboo of having a DSLR with a giant phallic lens has been eradicated, instead, I’m left with an everyday object that can make photographs unnoticed - I look like the general public with my iPhone. With a camera, I don’t.
We all know that real photographers shoot 8x10, but my humble 5s can go in situations that the large format can’t. And that’s why it’s the favourite camera I own.
23/11/2017