And The Best Camera Currently Available Is…
Posted on 12 September 2009, at 8:14 pm, by Dan Cohen
What is the best camera currently on the market? Gear Diary knows and we’re willing to let you in on the secret… The best camera currently available is… the iPhone 3GS.
“Huh?” You say, “It is just 3MP, doesn’t have a flash. Isn’t the fastest sensor around. And the list goes on and on and on. The iPhone 3GS is the best camera… you’ve got to be kidding.”
No we’re not and here’s why.
This is how Larry is spending his Saturday. (That’s a 3Alarm barn fire for those of you wondering.)
Larry was able to share the image with us when he took a break from battling the fire. While he would not likely have a Casio or Lumix camera with him on a day like today (and if he did tansferring them would have to wait until he got home) he DOES have his iPhone. That means he could snap the shot and immediately share it over the data connection.
So why is the relatively weak iPhone 3GS the best camera around?
Because it is there when you want to grab and share the shot in a way that was previously unknown to the 30 million iPhone users.
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September 12th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
I have to admit. I have a Canon Xsi DSLR and since getting my 3GS, I rarely use it. The saying always goes, “the best camera is the one you have with you.” My 3GS is always with me and easily shares images and videos. When MMS works to be able to send to people without email on their phones, it will be even better.
September 12th, 2009 at 11:03 pm
Actually you should just say cell phone cameras. There are even better cell phone cameras than the iPhone.
Having a cell phone camera with me has enabled me to take some cool candid shots. The point is: you always have a camera with you because you always have your cell phone.
I have taken to carrying my regular camera to work for just this kind of reason. However, most times it stays in the bag. I can’t take it out fast enough sometimes though and so the cell camera gets used.
September 12th, 2009 at 11:24 pm
I’ll buy your criteria but not your answer. The Samsung Memoir (SGH-T929) with an 8-megapixel camera, auto-focus, xenon flash, smile detection, and advanced video capture would seem to be the best.
September 12th, 2009 at 11:30 pm
Dave P… Fair enough. Do you have one??
September 13th, 2009 at 12:28 am
Joel-
Yes… but… a cellphone camera takes pictures. Period. The Samsung DaveP mentions, the iPhone and Android phones do more. The Samsung sounds like a camera that also has a phone and the iPhone has a host of trimming, effects etc tricks up its sleeve that makr it far more than just a “camera phone”.
September 13th, 2009 at 2:43 am
I understand that iPhone is hugely popular in US and yes it’s a really nice device, but really it’s just a smartphone with mediocre (by phone camera standards) camera.
There are phones out there with far superior cameras, like the mentioned Samsung and many others. Just for instance the 3.2MP camera was state of the art in Nokia N93 that was released in July 2006 (and it had optical zoom too). Now (at least in Europe) good camera, pretty much standard on a phone has 5MP.
September 13th, 2009 at 3:06 am
After I first read this post I decided to hold my tongue and let this go.
I see others have taken up the cause to respond in my ’stead.
After finding a neat app online that will remotely fire DSLR cameras from the iPhone, I might have to agree with the author that this iPhone gadget might just be a MOST USEFUL best camera available.
I think the app is from OnOne software and compatible with a host of Canon and Nikon DSLRs.
Dang, one more dadburned reason to get me a iPhone.
September 13th, 2009 at 3:11 am
Wait, there’s more. This software also has live view function so you can see your DSLRs viewfinder image on the iPhone screen. Arrrhhhgggg. One can also adjust aperture and shutter manually from the iPhone with the full version software app. Arrrrhhhhggggg!
Alright, I’ve convinced myself.
Drinking the kool-aid tomorrow.
Shoot…
September 13th, 2009 at 6:27 am
One thing here which some of you are missing.
Are there other cell phone cameras which might take better pictures than the iPhone does?
Sure.
But the iPhone is still the better choice for #1, and here’s why.
The iPhone is more than just a cell phone camera.
Lost in Dan’s article is the fact that I took the picture, then went back to my very own photography studio (okay it was the cab on one of our engines) and using Photogene, cropped and resized the image before I sent it off.
I was rather far away when I took it. I debated using Camera Zoom to zoom in.
See, the iPhone isn’t just a camera. Along with the camera comes hundred of add-on apps, like the one David also mentioned, that when combined with the traditional camera do make it the best choice for shooting and more importantly sharing on the go.
September 13th, 2009 at 8:16 am
Larry, I can’t see what you’ve done that I couldn’t on my Nokia N95 from mid 2007?
September 13th, 2009 at 10:27 am
dammit dave you have done it again ,,, i hate the fact that you and my wife are always right … proximity is the goddess always
wally
September 13th, 2009 at 10:45 am
@thenikjones – I didn’t realize other cell phone cameras supported editing software that allowed you to do all the editing (crop, levels, sharpness etc.) on the phone itself.
September 13th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
Based on your criteria the iPhone may be one of the best cameras, but I don’t agree with your criteria. That is like saying that McDonalds is the best restaurant because there is always one close by.
I use an iPhone 3Gs and have taken about a dozen test pics with it. That’s all because even with the add-ons available it doesn’t take a good enough picture to be worth my time. Convenience doesn’t matter if the quality isn’t acceptable.
To take decent pictures, I carry a Canon 5D Mark II about 95 percent of the time. Does that mean that it is the best camera because it is always with me, or does that actual output matter?
September 13th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
As I told Dan last night when we were talking about this post: the best camera is the one you have with you, period. So that could be said of *any* mobile phone with a built-in camera, because you will just about always have your mobile phone along.
It doesn’t matter what you have in your gear arsenal, if the “better” camera is sitting at home when you see “the shot”, then it is not the best.
For that reason, the iPhone is invaluable to me – I may not have my G9 or 5D along, but I always have my phone.
However, I can tell you that there are times the iPhone is definitely not the best camera – even if you are carrying it.
Last night Kevin and I went out, and my iPhone could not capture a single picture at the dark club. His Nokia N82 not only has a flash, it took gorgeous pictures of us and our friends in poor light. In order to post pictures to Facebook, I had to email the photos to my iPhone from Kev’s Nokia, then upload. It was a clumsy work-around, but it did work.
Last night, I couldn’t help but think how much better the iPhone would be if it just had a simple LED flash, never mind the N82’s better lens.
Because in the end, it doesn’t matter how good the editing software is that you can load on the iPhone if you can’t get an editable shot in the first place. :-/
September 14th, 2009 at 6:22 am
Hi Larry,
Yes, on the N95 you can crop, resize, sharpness/brightness – and when you save, it automatically gives it a new filename [from XYZ to XYZ-001] so the original is always there if you go wrong. This is built-in software, not 3rd party.
I’m not anti-iPhone – doing this on the iPhone will be a lot easier I imagine due to the touch screen – but like I say, Nokia came up with this at least 2 years ago.