Talking with NBC’s Brian Williams, famed photographer Annie Leibovitz tells people who want to know which camera they should buy, Apple’s iPhone:
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Hogwash. I’m not a professional photographer, but like to take pictures, and even I’m not satisfied with the iPhone camera. I’ll use it in a pinch (if I don’t have a real camera in my pocket or can’t find one quickly), but to me the images appear flat and noisy.
I AM a professional photographer, own my own fully equipped studio building, have worked in a half dozen countries, own dozens of cameras of all sizes, both film and digital, produce work for advertising, magazines, catalogs, web sites, etc, shot celebrities and CEOs, and I am continually amazed by the quality of images I get out of my iPhones. I had an exhibition of iPhone shots, and even used a few in projects. Maybe I coax more out of them than most people, but my wife and my in-laws are doing great pictures for the first time in their lives using their iPhones. My six year old gets great stuff out of his hand-me-down iPhone. There are a stunning array of photo apps for the iPh. Get to know the device, what it can do, and keep the lens clean.
Zing! 😀
I’m like you, I take lots of amateur photos, but my 4S takes far better low-light (flashless) pictures than my Canon A570. Of course camera tech has advanced in the 4 years since it came out, and I almost bought a new camera this year, but for 80% of my picture needs the 4S will do just fine. I’ll bring the camera when I travel, or need optical zoom/image stabilization, or long-exposure shutter control.
If that’s the case, you are a crap photographer. I’m not a professional by any means, but I’ve been taking photos since 1979, and my first camera was a Contax 139 Quartz. I’ve worked in print for over thirty years, and for ten was a scanner operator using a Crosfield 6250 drum scanner and doing Photoshop work on the scans for the likes of Titleist and Castrol, so I think I might actually have a clue as to what a good image is. You, equally obviously, have no frakkin’ clue. Especially as you have the audacity to question someone like Annie Leibovitz, one of the world’s greatest photographers. Ignorant troll.
In would have to agree him, if he’s talking about the 4 and not the 4S. The 4 is crap for anything low light.
And really ? Its an iPhone, I don’t believe a professional, an amateur, or a monkey would make much difference in quality when shooting with an iPhone, unless they have sunlight beaming out of their foreheads to provide adequate light.
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“The bad workman quarrels with his tools, not because his tools are poor, but because he himself is off-balance inside, and has become quarrelsome by nature. It is seldom the case that shoddy workmanship is due to inadequate equipment or difficult working conditions. It results, for the most part, from the fact that the workman himself is shoddy and indifferent in his attitude. Have we not observed that complaints usually come from individuals who are accustomed to complaining, who have acquired the habit through the years of whining and remonstrating on every slight occasion? The constant complainer needs no particular tragedy about which to be upset. He creates his own tragedies out of the illusionary imaginings of lower mind. Why is it that so few individuals have the courage to look within themselves for the source of their complaints? Why is it that so few are willing to admit that perhaps the real demon of discontent is some secret ambition or personal desire rooted in their own hearts, and that the cause of their unhappiness, and even their lack of skill, is an unbalanced attitude of mind? Perhaps because it is easier to blame something outside. Perhaps because it is the custom nowadays to cast the onus of responsibility upon externals – upon tools, circumstances, people – anywhere except where it belongs – that is, upon ourselves. Suppose conditions are bad and tools inadequate – does constant complaining help the situation?”
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– Quote from THEOSOPHY, Vol. 38, No. 11, September, 1950, KERNELS OF WISDOM
Annie is a great photographer though she didn’t mention why the iPhone would be the preferred camera phone over others. I am not eligible for an iPhone 4S upgrade until Feb. 12th but can’t wait. I happen to really like the current solid feeling design in the iPhone 4 so it’s a no brainer for me. It’s always “the guts” that matter anyway and Siri, the 8 mpx camera, updated video are a dream. I’m sure though the iPhone 5, when it arrives, will be a thing to behold but I don’t live or die based on my phones looks.
Tip:
If you are on AT&T, call them on Feb. 1 and they will let you upgrade.
Quite right, most people buy cameras and then barely use them because they rarely have them on them when they need them. The important thing is that because you have your iPhone on you all the time you’re more likely to use it. I go walking at the weekends and I’ve been taking photos and panoramic shots which I never did before because I wasn’t keen enough to take a separate device with me.
The iPhone camera obviously isn’t as good as the majority of standalone models, but it’s capable of taking perfectly decent images. Factor in that people don’t print photos as much and they become more disposable.
For me, the convenience of being able to take pictures wherever I am outweighs the lower image quality.
right on. Its a really good camera, its there, it sends the images right to your computer. And its built in and basically free. My wife and I both have stand alone cameras, pretty good electronic ones…..
We do not use them anymore. They are 4 years old technology wise and we do not have them with us.
When you add up all the things that an iPhone does, and what it replaces in everyday life (phone, video and still camera, music player, video player, game player, mobile computer, personal “organizer and assistant,” book, magazine, newspaper, flashlight, etc.), the upfront cost and monthly fee don’t seem quite so high.
I can imagine a parent seeing that interview and thinking they’d get their kid an iPhone just for that. They’d have a super useful device, and save the cost of buying their budding photographer a stand-alone camera they may only use occasionally.
Plus half the fun of shooting is sharing. iPhone + Instagram is a great way to get, and stay, interested in photography.
In sunlight the iPhone 4(s) takes beautiful pictures.
If you add a slave flash unit (they are pretty cheap) you can take great night pictures too. Its just thinking ahead.
The best camera for you is the camera you have at hand.
The “best” camera is the one you have with you…I always have my phone with me, my Nikon 5100…not when I need it.
I’m a professional photographer shooting with high end Canon equipment. On a recent vacation to NYC with the family I was shooting with both an SLR and my 4S.
Loved the iPhone for a few reasons: weight (big camera wears on you while walking around all day), attracts less attention from potential thieves (although this could be argued), great pictures (quality on the 8 MP f/2.8 is wonderful), kids could use it to take great pics themselves, easy to switch to video when needed, instant editing with some awesome 3rd party apps, automatic GPS metadata tagging, AND most important to me was the ability to instantly share my experiences with friends and extended family through social media. The quick responses back to our pics was very gratifying, as compared to waiting until I return home, upload to the computer, edit in Lightroom and then upload to Facebook, Flickr, blog, etc. The delay seems so long! Plus, I got to visit and take pics of the newly renovated Apple Store on 5th Av with my 4S (and get a special badge for doing so when checking in via Foursquare)!
Professional.. really? A defining difference between the iP 4 and the iP 4S is that the camera aperture increased from f2.8 to f2.4. And the breathless geekery of the rest… Seems every other poster is either bagging about being a pro or about being a proud non-pro who knows more about photo-taking than dumb-ol’ Annie Liebovitz . I smell a big load of baloney.
She’s right: “the snapshot camera”.
Because it’s always in my pocket, rather than the super-duper ultra-performer DLSR that stays at home.
Plus all those iPhone apps – such as Photoshop – I can use to ramp up the pix.
MDN, how come there are blank spots on my iPhone and iPad where the Leibovitz clip is supposed to be?
Could it be because Adobe was never able to write workable code for mobile devices and MSNBC isn’t smart enough to realize that they are riding the wrong horse?
All of my professional photographer friends use their iPhones for most personal use. In fact, a tech friend of mine was lamenting the lack of a 5MP camera in the iPhone 3G when it was released, while a photographer friends snapped a fantastic picture in Scotland and enlarged it to 24″x36″ print.
Great photos are in the eye of the photographer not in the tech in the camera.
The problem with the big bulky DSLR cameras is that just because you can afford one, doesn’t mean you should use one. Do you really need it? Or do you just want people to think you are cooler than you are?
Indeed, MDN, this is another glaring faux-pas no different from your misspelling of “injunction” (you elected to use “injection”). Had this come from Apple, you would have already Ben I their case. As usual.
It’s gotten to the point (like the processor speed of computers) that every unit on the market is so good that for most people, most of the time, it just doesn’t matter.
Having it on you (and out of your bag/pocket) is the most important thing.
I’ve taken some stunning photos in my life with a handful of beautiful lenses and my DSLR (and before that a film body). But I can only imaging all the great shots I never took because the thing wasn’t at hand.
The other thing to remember is that most photos people take, even with a great camera are not ones they want to keep, or are to be viewed for how good they look. They’re for memories, or showing things off to other people and then moving on. A photo of any quality is better than no photo at all.
I have 6 cameras that I use:
1) Canon 5D
2) Canon 7D
3) Sony P&S with extreme telephoto
4) Canon P&S with extreme wide angle and low light
5) iPhone 4S
6) iPad 2
I use the iPad 2 camera for FaceTime and that’s it.
I use the Sony P&S for concerts where I need a pocketable camera but want closeup shots…or when I need a wide shots with low light, I go with the Canon P&S.
I know almost always use my iPhone in addition to any other camera where I can get the right framing that I want with the iPhone. I’ve gotten some pretty spectacular shots with it. The HDR can be, in some situations, absolutely amazing. And the results can be instantly shared.
This is what Leibovitz was talking about. The best camera has always been the one you have on you. However now, the iPhone 4S, is capable of giving some people much better shots than they could get if they were messing around with a camera far above their skill level.
People can argue all day about the image quality of the iPhone camera compared to other cameras, but the fact is that the iPhone is by far the most-used camera by those who upload photos to Flickr. For better or worse, a great many would-be photographers are satisfied with the quality of iPhone pics for uploading to the web. It’s a new day whether the nay-sayers like it or not.
For what 90% of the population uses a camera for … pictures of friends, family, pets, etc. the iPhone probably is a fairly good camera. You would always have it with you for that time Johnnie or Janie did something cute, and for when you see just a PERFECT sunset while you’re going for a walk. She’s NOT talking about working professionals here.
stevie is smiling at this. he created products to make humans more human by making technology work for them. annie drops a free ad for him because she gets it. sony has to be loving apple. first they out walk the walk/discman, now they are decimating the P&S market. TV looming on the horizon. this was a company that steve admired at one time. my how things can change (they still make great pro stuff, tho).
was thinking that apple is the world’s first consumer technology company. not the first company using technology in products, but the first defining it. back in the day when selling products helped keep them alive and garnered the support of many creative people, they were competing with other companies exploiting technology, but not defining it. now they are who they are and have won the consumer over. another example of sailing to clean air. bravissimo steve, i still shed a tear when i think of you being gone.