A rainy day, a parking stripe, a clover plant, and the best pocket camera I've ever owned, the iPhone 4S, combine to make an image of urban beauty.
The Best Pocket Camera for 2012 is arguably the iPhone 4S and I’m not the only one who thinks so. As a professional photographer, one of the most common questions that I get is about what kind of camera to buy. For years the answer was easy, the Olympus Stylus. It was truly THE choice for an easy to use, high quality, low cost pocket camera. Then when digital pocket cameras started to hit the shelves the question became much tougher to answer. In fact for a number of years there, I would refuse to answer it. There were just way too many choices, and cameras were coming out so fast that it made my head swim! When I got my iPhone 1, the second day they were on the market, I was amazed at how good a photo it would take. I could actually make a 4X6 print from it that was plenty good enough for vacation photos and sharing ideas, and information with others. Fast forward to fall of 2011 and the release of iPhone 4S, with enhanced low light capability, great lens, 30% larger chip, etc. If the best camera is the one you have with you, then the iPhone IS the best pocket camera for 2012! When asked how they got the great photographs, the old news photographers used to say, “f8 and be there!” Now you might say, “iPhone and be there!”
A recent study by NPD showed some interesting figures for smartphone photography versus dedicated point and shoot cameras.
“There is no doubt that the smartphone is becoming ‘good enough’ much of the time; but thanks to mobile phones, more pictures are being taken than ever before,” NPD’s Liz Cutting said in a statement. In short, before smartphones hit the scene, most people found themselves without a camera during unexpected photo opportunities. But now smartphones help ensure we always have an image-capture device at hand — and they’ve trained us to take more photos.
What’s more, today’s smartphone cameras actually yield acceptable image quality. That 5MP or even 8MP hardware on the back of your mobile phone now rivals the sensors of larger point-and-shoots, giving us yet another reason to snap an image in the field.
Smartphone camera usage is way up in casual applications. Image: NPD Group
And it’s not just average Joes who think that smartphones make a decent camera. Famed celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz said that the iPhone is “the snapshot camera of today” and that it’s “accessible and easy” during a November appearance on NBC. And how’s this for a telling statistic: In June, the iPhone 4 surpassed the Nikon D90 and Canon EOS 5D Mark II as the top camera on Flickr.
The iPhone has even been used in place of a traditional camera to document war in Afghanistan and to snap memorable photos of the Tour de France. Apple’s decision to choose popular photo-sharing social network Instagram as its 2011 iPhone app of the year is also a nod to the trend and popularity of smartphone photography.
So, if you’re thinking of buying a new camera this year, and or you need to upgrade your phone, you may want to combine the two needs and opt for The Best Pocket Camera of 2012, The iPhone 4S!
