Apple Have you seen the camera on that iPhone 7?

I like the 7 plus with two lenses, one a 28mm equivalent, the other a 60mm. And they seem to be able to combine exposures from both to create pretty seriously OOF backgrounds. My 6+ is going strong and I'm probably another generation or two away from any sort of upgrade. And I don't use the camera on my phone for more than quick little documentary stuff anyway (like what kind of soup my wife wants me to buy or photos of a funny bumper sticker or something). So I don't care that much about cell phone camera quality, but for those who rely on their phones for photography, it seems like a notable advance.

-Ray
 
I like the 7 plus with two lenses, one a 28mm equivalent, the other a 60mm. And they seem to be able to combine exposures from both to create pretty seriously OOF backgrounds.

Yes, that's the one I meant. I completely understand you with regard to the usage and I'm not sure I'd buy one, but as I'm likely to get a new one from my employer with the phone contract at work now being up for renewal, it should serve as an interesting toy at the very least.
 
When phones cost more than cameras I wonder how far this trend has to go?
High end smart-phones cost more than some low to mid-range cameras (but most enthusiast and pro cameras cost far more than any phone), but they do a LOT more than those cameras, even if they're not as good at the photography thing. But they do well enough at that for the vast majority of people who used to shoot with tiny sensor point and shoot cameras. I love my nice cameras and I'd overwhelmingly rather shoot with them than with my phone, but if I had to give up either my cameras or my phone, I'd have to keep the phone and lose the cameras. It's of FAR more use in my day to day life than my cameras. And it does have a camera in it, while my cameras do not have phones or powerful computers useful for far more than photography. I think for what they are, today's smart-phones are an incredible bargain. They're overwhelmingly more powerful and useful than even the highest end desktop computers from about 20 years ago and are all a lot of people need for their computing needs. Pretty impressive I'd say...

-Ray
 
Point taken Ray. I do own a Galaxy S2 but rarely carry it with me. For that matter I don't carry a camera everywhere. My own kids and their kids have embraced the technology. I'm a slightly bemused bystander who still reads and follows the advances in these fields and I just wonder what the future holds. At the moment it does not include a $1000 phone for me. :2thumbs:
 
My personal phone is a Sony Xperia Z Ultra, a "phablet" with a 6.4" screen. It looks like the obelisk in 2001. It has an HD screen, 128gb of storage on a removable Micro SD, does everything this new apple does and is over three years old. It was cheaper on release than all but the most basic iPhone 7. It's waterproof too. I was recently lying on a Greek beach. It was in use as my Kindle, my word processor (three chapters of my next book completed) and my music centre. I listened to it on a pair of wireless bluetooth earbuds - seven quid from Amazon - although of course I could have plugged in a set of wired earphones instead. I could leave it on the sun lounger, wade out waist-deep and still listen, change volume, change track, start and stop the music, hear if texts or emails came in, and receive calls. If I wanted, I could use it to take the odd snap. At the end of a hard day on the beach I still had 60% of my battery left. Why on earth would I give this a second glance...?
 
Disagree on major points. Camera stores in most of the smaller markets were shutting down long before smartphones. Smartphones have created photographic awareness to some degree, which increases the market for dedicated cameras that offer a better combination of features than smartphones, to interested buyers: Zoom, big sensor, flexibility, size, pocketability, optical viewfinders, etc.

The sensor on the best phone is pitiful AFAIK, and while the processing engines are excellent, there's only so much you can do in the tradeoff between reach, sensor size, and overall size. Thinness is the word for smartphones, which is a killer for photographers. Maybe someday we will have a foldout camera phone with some kind of high-tech bellows to increase the reach and/or allow a larger sensor.

Those people who are not inclined to advance beyond the fixed-lens smartphone never were candidates for more than a $100 camera.
 
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