Photo: Can you really take great photos with a phone?

Photo: Can you really take great photos with a phone?

They have tiny lenses, the electronics are cheap and cheerful, the onboard post processing is a bit of a joke. All of this is true, for practically all camera phones, so why use them for photos at all? Good question, and one which I’ve asked myself many times.

There are only two reason that I can think of;

1. Convenience. I have my phone with me at all times, hence of have my camera (and video recorder) with me at all times. Honestly, I can remember many, many occasions in the last year, where others have missed a good photo opportunity because their camera is in a drawer at home.

2. Underdog Syndrome. I love the idea that I can still surprise people with photos taken from a phone! I enjoy watching each successive generation of phone gradually close the gap - SLR owners can sometimes get so caught up in the purity of the light captured by their massive lenses and expensive electronics, that they sometimes fail to see the point of simply taking a picture.

This ZIP file contain six full resolution photos all taken with the Nokia N93. Each photo contains flaws, which probably would not be present if I had used a cheap dedicated digital camera.

Sunday, 18 February 2007