iPhone vs. RX100 V at the arboretum

[Jim Dockery]

My wife and I had a pleasant walk at the Washington Park Arboretum in Seattle yesterday. I brought my Sony RX100 V in my pocket, but didn't think I'd take many pictures on this cloudy summer day. Debbie had her iPhone 7 as usual.

I got this in the garden just outside the visiter center waiting for Debbie.

Debbie got this shot of me at one of the ponds.

This is my favorite shot of the day. Debbie was attracted to the patterns in the bark on this tree I had walked right by. I came back to try my hand, but the small sensor on the iPhone beat the RX100 for depth of field.

My cropped bark shot (most of the edges were out of focus in my f 5.6 shot).

 

[AlanLichty]

I used to carry a small Canon point and shoot camera for casual photos and stuff that just happens in front of you but the phone camera technology has come so far I simply bailed and use an iPhone instead. The massive upside - I always have the iPhone in my pocket so I can almost always shoot whatever I see.

 

[JimFox]

Really cool Jim! Your wife Debbie has a great eye!

That arboretum looks like a fun place to explore, and that tree bark sure is amazing.

The iPhone 7 does capture photos really well. The great DOF of it sure can be handy at times. Where any of the smart phones seem to fall short is in printing large. At a photolab I use, they laugh all the time at people who come in with their iPhone shots and want a 20x30 print from them. They don't recommend anything larger then a 4x6 print, though sometimes a decent 8x10 can be made.

The thing is, it seems today we view our photos much more on a digital display of some type rather then printing. So in that regards a smartphone photo can look very nice still when seen on a larger monitor.

I don't have any small P&S type cameras like your RX100, so for me it's my D850 or the iPhone with the iPhone being what I capture most family type stuff with anymore. And if I am someplace where I don't have my DSLR, the iPhone definitely works well to capture whatever is attracting my attention.

 

[Douglas Sherman]

Lots of nice images here, Jim. I especially like that pink Astilbe in the first image. That one is a real winner and has a perfect composition.

 

[Jim Dockery]

Thanks for all the comments. I'm with you guys on using the phone to grab family snaps these days - so much easier to share (and no processing) especially with airdrop on the iPhone we can instantly share back and forth after a party or trip and they look great on the phone or pad, which is where everyone looks at them anyway.