You’ve no-doubt read about accessories that claim to ”turn your phone into a DSLR,” but let’s face it—nothing can do that. However, we recently tested the well-made ShiftCam ProGrip that does provide a more camera-like experience and offers mobile photographers an array of convenient features for added functionality.
How much do I hate smartphones? Let me count the ways. But seriously, they aren’t going away anytime soon and many photographers, although not moi, have found clever ways to harness the power of these mobile devices. That said, I do own a smartphone albeit an older model and am on many social media platforms.
We make a lot of selfie stick-related jokes here at Shutterbug but we’ve never seen anything as hilariously depressing as the Selfie Arm. The invention, which we hope is meant as a satirical joke, is a fake arm that you can attach a smartphone or camera to take a self-portrait.
Mobile is an adjective often used to describe photography made with smartphones but I can put a tiny Panasonic Lumix GM1 in my pocket and take a walk—mobilize, if you will—as easily as my iPhone and shoot some nice photos. Instead, let’s call it what it really is: Smartphone Photography.
This morning Adobe announced an update to their popular Lightroom Mobile app that lets your smartphone do things previously possible only with a true digital camera. Key to the update is a new HDR Raw capture mode enabling mobile photographers to achieve dynamic range on their mobile device rivaling that of a DSLR or mirrorless camera.
The free Snapseed app for iOS and Android phones and tablets has long been a favorite among “serious” mobile photographers who want powerful image-editing tools without a lot of superfluous gimmickry. And now the app has been updated to include features some of us found missing.
Sony just expanded its lens-style camera line with the new 30x zooming DSC-QX30 and the E-mount interchangeable lens ILCE-QX1 models. The odd-looking devices combine compact lenses and image sensors into one hybrid unit and are designed to be clipped over your smart phone for better image quality when snapping mobile photos.
In 2013, Sony introduced two extraordinary cameras – the QX10 and the QX100. Both were based on compact cameras (WX100 and RX100 II), but didn't have “camera bodies” and LCD screens. Instead, they consisted of a lens, image sensor, image processor and a storage media system and both needed either a smartphone or tablet computer to serve as the “external camera.” The newest in the QX line is the QX1. The main camera concept is similar to the 2013 models, but the QX1 offers a large APS-C sensor with 20MP resolution and an E mount for interchangeable lenses.
Sony offered to loan me an Xperia 1 mobile phone for 30 days. I thought it was a mistake at first. My (first) name is pretty common; I’m not a phone guy. My last cell phone had a rotary dial and a whip antenna. But I heard that the Sony Xperia 1 had some of the most sophisticated camera features around, so I cautiously accepted and approached the product the same way I approach cameras. Here is what I found.
Last week Apple introduced the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus that boast a robust new camera system, and yesterday Sports Illustrated photographer David E. Klutho shot some impressive images with the iPhone 7 Plus while covering an NFL game for SI between the Tennessee Titans and Minnesota Vikings in Nashville.
If you’re like many photographers who travel with a laptop and often wish you had a larger monitor for working on your images, look no further: SPUD is an innovative 24-inch projection screen that weighs less than two pounds and collapses down to the size of a book in under 10 seconds.
Google has unveiled their next-generation smartphone, the Google “Pixel,” and early test results indicate the camera on this sophisticated new wonder may be the best smartphone camera ever. According to a comprehensive review by DxOMark Mobile, the Pixel earned a score of 89—three points higher than highly acclaimed Apple iPhone 7 Plus, and the highest DXO rating ever given to a smartphone.
Selfie Sticks predate the smartphone by several years. But it wasn’t until all mobile telephones adopted the (more or less) same thin, flat, rectangular shape that universal selfie holders could flourish. Here we look at five great ways to hold your phone in the best position for self-portraits, steady video clips, vlogging or Zoom.