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External Camera Shutter Release for iOS

Mike0001 said:
Phone cameras are the nadir of mediocrity
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I think you're behind the curve on that one. The camera on my old Sony Ericsson was passable (ten years ago, or however long it was) and crap at video, but if you chose your phone specifically for its photographic capability there are some pretty neat models out there. OK, maybe not quite as good as a dedicated DSLR, but a damn sight less cumbersome and much more likely to be available at the spur of the moment. I recently updated to a smart phone for exactly that reason: to get a better camera in my pocket. I could have done better from the camera point of view, but it was a compromise between camera quality, cost, overall size, and FM radio capability. I went for the 2016 version of the Samsung Galaxy A3.

People should stop focusing (pun intended) on raw specs, and think about what's "good enough for requirements".
 
Ah yes, of course, but what about Roll Over Beethoven by Chuck Berry or the Electric Light Orchestra (for the classical connoisseur's version)?
 
Black Hole said:
OK, maybe not quite as good as a dedicated DSLR, but a damn sight less cumbersome and much more likely to be available at the spur of the moment.
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Nothing anywhere near as good as a DSLR, nowhere even near a mirrorless camera. What makes you think they come even close? Marketing hype?

I agree on the second point, though by the time I have unlocked my phone and clicked the camera app the opportunity has passed. If I am hovering there with the phone ready, I can do that with my camera too.

Yes, my phone has an fm radio and plays music, but there are better horses for courses there too. Try this one.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01LY0DVPB

It takes a 128Gb microSD card too and like an Android phone, plays all the usual formats, but is tiny and light, and lasts forever and doesn't run your phone down. Or, if you want Bluetooth, there is this one.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01M0XBSB4

Nothing like the same battery life but then your Bluetooth headphones need a charge frequently anyway. Same 128Gb expandability, ignore the spec, you just need a free program to format fat32 on large capacity drives. It also had a tough metal case.

These are things I like.
 
So now we are carrying our DSLR, our phone and a glorified MP3 player are we. Call that progress? Bur I admit it covers most bases.:D
 
About 12 years ago I was travelling quite a bit and carrying a phone, mp3 player and camera around, as well as a sat nav in the car. I actually said to people "I'll be glad when phones can do all this in one device" and about 5 years later they could. I've not carried a camera or music player with me since, though I still have my little Canon at home to do the odd macro photo that the phone can't manage. In the car I use the 'free' sat nav from Google.
Are any of those functions as good as a dedicated device could be? Not in most cases. But as BH says, they are good enough for my needs (they were 5 years ago - they are even better now), so why would I even think about paying extra for another lump to cart around?
 
MikeSh said:
Are any of those functions as good as a dedicated device could be? Not in most cases. But as BH says, they are good enough for my needs (they were 5 years ago - they are even better now), so why would I even think about paying extra for another lump to cart around?
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Mediocrity always wins. Fact!

I am not so obsessional about carrying my phone everywhere as some, and certainly don't want anything that big when listening to music. The little music player is maybe an eighth the volume. One car has a satnav built in, and I have a phone sized satnav in the other with lifetime map updates.

As for cameras, one thing phones did was introduce everyone to photography. Good, but imagine everyone being encouraged to write poetry or a novel. Not so good!

Phones have a pinhole camera with everything in focus, then the latest ones post process to blur parts of the image. They have no zoom, just cropping, or else a second pinhole with a very modest zoom. They have a sensor the size of a microSD card and totally exaggerate the number of pixels it is capable of, because you can always interpolate as many pixels as you like without improving the image one iota. Some phones don't even include a radio.

As far as phone vs satnav goes, apart from screen size, I agree, the phone can do it. TomTom even ported their software to phones, with lifetime updates, but then went back on that by stopping updates unless you "upgraded" to their yearly subscription model. Google wins that battle!

So the only extra weight I need carry is a modestly sized camera. I don't even notice the weight of such a small music player, it is negligible, and in the car I can listen to the radio or play files from a USB drive.
 
Mike0001 said:
As for cameras, one thing phones did was introduce everyone to photography.
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...but somehow they fail to realise you can take landscape format with it. I've even seen somebody viewing a landscape photo holding the phone in portrait!
 
Black Hole said:
...but somehow they fail to realise you can take landscape format with it. I've even seen somebody viewing a landscape photo holding the phone in portrait!
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I am sure I have seen people being encouraged to send videos in to TV programs, but told not to use landscape, only portrait.
 
Mike0001 said:
I am sure I have seen people being encouraged to send videos in to TV programs, but told not to use landscape, only portrait.
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Is that why this current fashion to have a narrow vertical in focus video with a larger defocused version of the same video each side. In a lot of cases the braodcast staff would be better trimming the video at top and/or bottom so you can get a better view of the relevant bit of the subject matter.
 
Would be even better if the photographer would hold his bloody phone in landscape. The picture would then fit a TV screen.
 
Mike0001 said:
I am sure I have seen people being encouraged to send videos in to TV programs, but told not to use landscape, only portrait.
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What's the bloody point of that?

A friend was live streaming to Facebook and holding the phone landscape, but the footage on Facebook came out portrait (ie on its side)!
 
Mike0001 said:
Mediocrity always wins. Fact!
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If you consider "Good enough" = "Mediocre", then yes. I don't feel that is true though.

Mike0001 said:
I am not so obsessional about carrying my phone everywhere as some, and certainly don't want anything that big when listening to music. The little music player is maybe an eighth the volume. One car has a satnav built in, and I have a phone sized satnav in the other with lifetime map updates.
....
So the only extra weight I need carry is a modestly sized camera. I don't even notice the weight of such a small music player, it is negligible, and in the car I can listen to the radio or play files from a USB drive.
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I'm not obsessional (I agree that many people are) but there's not much point in having a mobile phone if you don't take it with you when you are out and about. The main point is that I have my wallet in my left trouser pocket, my keys and tissues in the right, and my phone in a holster on my belt. In the summer I won't have a jacket, so even a tiny music player would be excess baggage - the weight isn't the problem - never mind a 'modest' camera.
Satnav goes beyond cars too, so that's useful on foot too at times. (It has truly changed SWMBOs ability to go for walks in the forest.)

We really need to stop calling these devices phones actually - they are so much more.
 
MikeSh said:
I'm not obsessional (I agree that many people are) but there's not much point in having a mobile phone if you don't take it with you when you are out and about. The main point is that I have my wallet in my left trouser pocket, my keys and tissues in the right, and my phone in a holster on my belt. In the summer I won't have a jacket, so even a tiny music player would be excess baggage - the weight isn't the problem - never mind a 'modest' camera.
Satnav goes beyond cars too, so that's useful on foot too at times. (It has truly changed SWMBOs ability to go for walks in the forest.)
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The camera hangs round your neck.

We should stop calling that thing in a phone a camera. Maybe a snapper? A selfier?

Actually, I have a confession to make. I was carrying a Garmin GPS around long before satnav became fashionable. I endured endless jeers about pointless technology and walking round holding a screen in front of me!
 
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