Switzerland

Saturday 21 May 2016

Sadly we needed to go to a family funeral in Switzerland, where some of my wife's family lives. In between visiting family we managed to see quite a bit of this beautiful country.

These photos are all taken on my phone (a budget Microsoft 640), so the quality isn't as high as I'd like. But contrary to what some people think, photography isn't all about the camera. Picking what to shoot and composing the image are all about the photographer. Even on my phone I was using all the controls I had available to get the best image I could and I've post-processed the images to get the best out of them. So what do you give up using a phone compared with a camera?

Sharpness and detail - although just about passable at these small sizes on the web, the photos are sorely lacking in detail compared by my usual standards.
Dynamic range - my Nikon DSLRs have remarkable dynamic range, which is the ability to capture both the brightest highlights and deepest shadows. Due to the much small sensor, phones are much worse at this, which is particularly obvious on sunny days. On dull overcast days this is much less of a problem.
Low light performance - I've become used to take photos in near darkness, beyond the capabilities of my phone.
Different lenses - with a phone you are stuck with a fixed wide lens. If I was to choose one lens, I'd prefer a 85mm telephoto. Also with the phone almost all of the image is in focus, so it's not possible to draw attention to certain parts of the images using focus - instead we must think about other ways, like shape, light and colour.
Interface and speed - although the Lumia camera app gives some control over ISO and focus, it's nowhere near as fast to operate as my DSLRs.

On the other hand, the best camera is the one you have with you - and a phone is a lot more convenient than a bulky DSLR. Many phones have cameras better than mine which will reduce the disadvantages I've outlined above. Anyway, that's enough about the camera - here are the photos of beautiful Switzerland.