What Is the smartphone doing to the future of photography?

" I'm allergic to Raw formats and I expect a good camera to properly do its job, which is to take a photograph and properly process it into a usable file, instead of subcontracting this task to the photographer. " -- Gianni Galassi

First things first: no, I am not advocating that anyone abandon using Raw ( digital negative ) image files. If you need Raw, shoot Raw. Simple as that. That said, however, the fact is that the majority of my own images remain rather close to their original capture state. The native resolution is nearly always adequate for even larger prints seen on many walls.

Why should I not be taking advantage of the substantial storage and processing economies of using pre-cooked camera JPEG files as my new "standard"? Why should I not be taking advantage of the enormous strides that camera manufacturers have made in in-camera image processing?

To answer this, I have started a new photography gallery of images direct from my Pentax camera, and the keywords will tell you which model. You see, some images are not meant for post processing software. Despite using Apple Aperture editing software for most of my image post-processing I can still get results in-camera that I haven't been able to completely duplicate yet. In fact, I usually create pictures by looking through the viewfinder using the camera as my tool, as I learnt how to do this shooting film. This to me is true Fine Art Photography in it's purest form. Those images which are technically excellent virtually straight from the camera with minimal post processing.

According to Apple, and Flickr continues to back this up: the iPhone has officially been the most popular camera brand on Flickr since the launch of the iPhone 4. Right behind it is the Samsung and Nokia smartphone. The major camera manufacturers invest substantial sums toward refining their image processing technologies. It's what they're most proud of as the hearts of their cameras and a key part of their proprietary competitive weaponry. Processing systems integrate the operation of the camera with the lens and sensor in an attempt to optimize the recorded image.

Are the days of Point & Shoot cameras over? It is hard to imagine most consumers will be able to justify a small pocket camera when they are able to just use their phone. What about larger format digital SLR cameras? I think it may be some time before the large sensor DSLRs and high-end video cameras are replaced by iPhones and other cellular cameras but I do think we will be seeing more and more high-quality productions and in-camera processing done with this seemingly simple tool. I am looking forward to seeing the results of the iPhone 6 Plus, so far on Flickr it is an amazing sight!

Visit my "Developed In-Camera" gallery!

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