If I didn't already own thousands of pounds' worth of full frame camera gear and lenses and I'd never shot a photo in my life, I would find it very hard to justify spending said thousands on camera gear when I can shoot 95% of what I do with a camera phone. I've had a few iPhones over the years and the camera upgrades have been incremental, nudging every year what can and can't be achieved with computational photography.
I've recently considered buying a small compact "everyday carry" compact camera. Something like the Fuji X100V or similar. Or maybe one that isn't as rare as rocking horse poo as is the Fuji. But with this evening's images shot around Sheffield's Christmas Markets, I'm no longer convinced a compact camera is such a good idea, even if the Fuji is such a desirable camera.
I recently upgraded my iPhone to the 15 Pro Max and tonight was a chance to test it out in the dark. I went with the full knowledge that every single image could be noisy or just plain unusable. To my surprise, I came home with a bunch of half decent images.
The Throng of Humans
I'm not a huge fan of crowds and even less so of rain but tonight I decided to brave the rain for the wet goodness on the floors. For this shot I used a black based Photoshop Preset which appears to unify the tones rather than the random jumble of colour in the original.
I think maybe we're in Sheffield, I can't imagine how I know this
For this shot, I had to reduce the resolution to get it to load to Hive's limit of 25mb. The original image was shot using the iPhone 15 Pro Max's 24mm main camera with it's 48 mp resolution of 8000 x 4000 pixels. I've also applied a teal and orange Preset for effect.
Did someone say noodles?
You can't beat a bit of street food and I'm particularly fond of teriyaki noodles. Before I was parted with my £10 I grabbed this.
I would have gone for a second helping but at £10 a time, I can't afford it!
The Crucible
This is where the noise starts to become noticeable. If I was viewing this on a smartphone or a small screen, this would look great. On my 32" 4k monitor, not so much.
The LS Lowry Effect
Here I used the black preset I made and shot the passers by spilling out of a theatre nearby.
Shooting through the bus stop
I noticed droplets of water on the perspex of the bus shelter and aimed my iPhone through the screen. The iPhone kept trying to focus on the screen and not the intended subject but it was easy to adjust the focus.
Another with a Photoshop preset added, this time a teal and orange set at around 40% strength.
Dark and moody
I spent ages stood in this position waiting for someone to walk through my frame. I reckon I must look scary stood in the dark holding a phone, so much so everyone was walking around and out of frame.
For this one I used my black preset but amplified the effect to 170%
120mm focal length
This was shot at the iPhone 15 Pro Max's 120mm focal length camera. It's only 12 mp resolution but being a longer focal length I expected it to be a little wobbly. I'm impressed.
In conclusion, the iPhone 15 Pro Max has a very competent camera and I'm going to keep my money and not spend it on a compact camera. There is no need....
About me:
I usually specialise in shooting lightpainting images but occasionally dabble in urbex, landscape and artistic model photography. I'm always on the lookout for someone to collaborate with; the social side of photography is always good!
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