I think what I use my iPhone for more than just about anything else is as a camera. It’s not that bad, not that I am anywhere near an expert at photography. Actually, in some situations, it does better than my “real” camera, an 8.0 megapixel Canon Powershot. I’m not sure why that is, and the Powershot definitely beats it out in most situations. But if I’m trying to get low-light stuff, like holiday lights, the iPhone wins, even though the Powershot has canned settings for night scenes and “fireworks.” I *think* it’s because the iPhone has a *huge* view screen and I am able to see what I’m shooting at a little better. I’m sure if I got to know the internal settings of the Powershot, it would win. But why bother? Another thing the iPhone has done for me is push me out of the framework of always pointing the camera straight at something and taking a picture with an exactly, well, horizontal horizon. Even if the horizon has nothing to do with the picture. Within 24 hours of using the iPhone, I was taking pictures at all angles. It’s something about how I can just hold the thing in my hand, look at it, and click. This can be a mixed bag. I’ve taken a few off-angle pictures that I thought fit the situation at hand. Others just look stupid or make me dizzy. A particularly unsuccessful one with tall red pines on a slant was just plain ugly. Might work in a nightmare film sequence. Hmmm.

Another thing the iPhone camera has done is inspire me to learn how to use my “real” camera more effectively. Hey, there are probably millions and millions of people that, like me, use their Powershots as point and shoots. But like most computers these days, that thing will do so many more interesting things if you delve into the settings a bit. Being a photoshop whiz also helps. Sam the Archaeologist is another inspiration. She calls herself an amateur but she has a pretty fancy digital camera and she will be modest but she *does* know how to use her cam!

One of my favorite things about the iPhone camera has to be Accidental Photos! The first picture my phone took was at Barry Bagels. MMCB was checking out my phone and she accidentally hit the shutter button (or whatever you call it) and there was a bag of bagels and some salt and pepper shakers and whatever else is on a table at Barry Bagels, my laptop for one thing. She wanted me to delete it but I posted it! What a riot! It is so easy to hit the shutter button instead of the button that takes you back to the main phone menu! Sometimes you just get a totally black picture because it’s in your pocket or you get a sort of glowing red thing, meaning you have the shutter loosely covered with your hand. But other times? Someday I’ll have to make a slide show out of all my more interesting accidents!

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 18th, 2007 at 6:55 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.