OT: Cameras

[MikeD]

So much for the Sony RX-100 being so great as compared to a good cell phone camera https://www.androidauthority.com/com...phone-1068461/

Unless you want a zoom lens or are a professional photographer, why carry an expensive, heavy, bulky, camera when your cell phone camera is just as good?

[jamesdak]

Well......for a few reasons.

My compact Canon weighs the same as my cellphone and is actually smaller in length and width and not very much thicker. So it fits in a pocket (especially bike jersey) better.

And the camera DOES easily outperform my smartphone's camera. I just browsed the article but they clearly didn't even try to use the camera with any real thought.

I got my compact to use on bike rides over my smartphone because I knew in the hands of a competent shooter the compact will always be better. Now if you just want to push a button and don't care about optimum results than by all means just use your smart phone.

[joosttx]

I find a camera easier to hold. I have a iPhone 11 Pro and the quality is excellent but for me not quite as good as my RX1r. However, the argument for carrying a camera is getting weaker and weaker.

I’ll probably be one of the last who do carry a camera though.

[tuscanyswe]

Originally Posted by joosttx

I find a camera easier to hold. I have a iPhone 11 Pro and the quality is excellent but for me not quite as good as my RX1r. However, the argument for carrying a camera is getting weaker and weaker.

I’ll probably be one of the last who do carry a camera though.

We are happy for it as your pics are always super. Would have been surprised if they came of a phone but yeah these days phone cameras are pretty amazing.

[colker]

If you need accuracy shoot fast and catch a moment then a cell phone is terrible.

[nalax]

If your example of image quality is a picture of a guy with a basket over his head, it says it all right there.

[unterhausen]

Originally Posted by joosttx

I’ll probably be one of the last who do carry a camera though.

What camera do you carry?

My cellphone is a bit of a pain to take pictures with on a ride, but I am generally happy with the pictures I take. I'm a little concerned I'm going to drop it though.

[pinoymamba]

Digital is old news- it’s all about analog shooting on bike rides #fortheculture /s/

[Tony T]

I still use an old iPhone SE (perfect size for me), so I don't know the newer smartphone cameras, but has the Flash in the new smartphones gotten any better? (in the SE, its more of a light than a flash)

[joosttx]

Originally Posted by unterhausen

What camera do you carry?

My cellphone is a bit of a pain to take pictures with on a ride, but I am generally happy with the pictures I take. I'm a little concerned I'm going to drop it though.

I carry a Sony RX1r Mark 2. I did drop my RX1 mark 1 going about15mph on the trail. It broke.

[ScottW]

Originally Posted by MikeD

Unless you want a zoom lens or are a professional photographer, why carry an expensive, heavy, bulky, camera when your cell phone camera is just as good?

Even my lowly Nikon D600 with halfway decent lenses will **** all over anything coming out of the current best cell phone cameras. No professional credentials needed. Cell phones suck for anything in dim light, anything moving (like my kids who can't sit still), and especially the combination of anything moving in less than ideal lighting.
Just like hot rod engines where there's no replacement for displacement, in photography there's no replacement for big glass to grab a ton of photons. Although sensors and software continue to improve, our ability to defy physics remains limited. Software effects in iPhones or whatnot that attempt to replicate the shallow DOF & bokeh of a wide aperture lens still produce laughably bad images with artificial blurring in the wrong places.

Of course, I'm not carrying a few pounds of camera gear while riding my bicycle. The cell phone camera's best quality is that it is with me all the time. I do use it for occasional cycling pics, which for me are landscape photos in daytime lighting, generally not challenging conditions for a camera. I don't use it while moving though... too fiddly to fetch from my jersey pocket, remove from the ziploc bag I use to keep the sweat off it, the hold is awkward while shooting pics, plus I don't want to risk dropping & damaging a device that's fairly expensive to replace and also a lifeline of sorts when out riding alone.

[colker]

A smallish fuji camera is half the price and many times better as a camera than an Iphone.

[merlinmurph]

A lot of times, I find taking a picture with a phone and using the screen to compose the shot is very hard. Give me a viewfinder any day.

[choke]

Originally Posted by joosttx

I’ll probably be one of the last who do carry a camera though.

And the last one will be me. I can tell you exactly how many pictures I've taken with a cell phone while riding.....zero.

[pbarry]

Originally Posted by colker

A smallish fuji camera is half the price and many times better as a camera than an Iphone.

^^This. Weighs about the same as a full small water bottle. Easily worth the weight in superior images.