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Re: [OM] New Yorker article--Goodbye, Cameras

Subject: Re: [OM] New Yorker article--Goodbye, Cameras
From: Chuck Norcutt <chucknorcutt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 08 Jan 2014 07:48:19 -0500
An interesting article. Much of it expected: the camera performs well in 
decent light and if you're content with a fixed field of view or small 
size images if you want to use digital zoom.

But there is one (limited) result that caught me totally by surprise. 
The test shot is done of a dinosaur skeleton "in the dim EV4 light of 
the Queensland Museum in Brisbane."  The requirements imposed on the 
image are great depth of field (to encompass the entire length of a 
brontosaurus-like animal and camera to be handheld.  In this specialized 
case the iPhone5 camera totally blows away the Nikon D3 with 17-35/2.8 
lens.  The iPhone is able to shoot at 1/15 second at f/2.4 (its only 
aperture) at ISO 640.  The Nikon had to be rested on a surface to get a 
reasonably sharp shot at 1/15 second and needed f/16 and ISO 25,600 to 
match the depth of field.  Actually, it needed f/19 for a true DOF and 
exposure match but couldn't get there at 1/15 second.  At ISO 25,600 the 
D3 produces a truly soft and noisy and a bit underexposed JPEG that 
suffers in comparison with the iPhone image.  Give the D3 a tripod, low 
ISO, f/19 and a slow shutter speed and the equation changes 
dramatically.  The lesson is take the right tool for the job and the 
limitations imposed by the environment.

Chuck Norcutt


On 1/7/2014 7:47 PM, usher99@xxxxxxx wrote:
> I.Q. Moose writes:
>
>>> If one is happy with a fixed, WA view of the world, doesn't want to
> shoot when
>>> it's very dark other than close stuff
>>> with flash and isn't interested in much cropping, I can see it
> working.
>
> Yes,  under limited  contrived circumstances the i-thingies can hold
> their own.  --Still  it says something.
>
> http://www.takebetterphotos.com.au/iphone5-camera-review.html
>
> Quote from the review:
>
> "To put these differences into perspective, before the release of the
> iPhone 5, we asked 50 non-photographers to compare 15" prints of a
> similar image from each of these cameras, to work out which were the
> cheap ones and which the expensive ones and which was the iPhone 4s.
> 15" prints aren't a stringent photographic test, but they're bigger
> than most iPhone photos will ever be printed. Over half of people
> placed the iPhone 4s above the Nikon D3. The picture quality from the
> iPhones is 'good enough' for most people.
>
> All of these pictures were taken without using the zoom on the iPhones,
> as their picture quality plummets if you use the digital zoom, so you
> have to be comfortable with the fixed 33mm-equivalent focal length of
> the lens."
>
>
> Not good 'nough for me except when nothing else is available, Mike
>
> PS  Oh, the GX-7 wifi is said to be fussy to get configured and you
> confirmed that.
>
-- 
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