I will be the first to admit, I am not a tech saavy guy.
But when it comes to cell phones, there are a few things I do look for. At the top of that list is the camera. Over the last couple of years, I have been a huge fan of the OnePlus 9 Pro with a camera that was co designed with Hasselblad, yes that Hasselblad and I have to admit that is why I first picked it up. With a 48 MP main camera, 50 MP Ultrawide camera 8 MP Telephoto camer and a Mono camera that all range f1.8 to f2.4. It definitely had more power then what I am used to with my usual photography rig, the Olympus OMD E-M1 MKll. I definitely got some great shots while using it. I was even lucky enough to become a North American Photography Ambassador for awhile because of some of the shots I took with it and my past work with my pro rig.
I figured I would put the cell phone thru the same paces as I would My usual rig. Do you know how hard it is to find nuetral density filters for a cell phone or even some way to use them with a cell phone? I managed tho. I posted a few of the pics I have taken with it over in the gallery OnePlus Cell Phone Photography
One thing that is a constant tho, you still need a good tripod to keep getting good shots. Especially long exposure photography.
Unfortunately, I broke the screen on the OnePlus 9 I was using and T Mobile no longer carries OnePlus phones other then the Nord series and I would rather not go with the Nord. I wouldve loved to have gotten the current model…. the 12 Pro. Alas, I ended up getting the Samsung S24 Ultra….
At the very least, I am going to miss the X Pan mode of the OnePlus/Hasselblad.
I ended up getting the latest from Samsung, the S24 Ultra
The camera has some interesting numbers, f1.7 200MP Wide Angle, f2.2 12MP Ultra Wide, f3.4 50MP Tele 5x Optical Zoom, f2.4 10MP Tele 3x Optical Zoom and some really cool settings and filters and stuff for the camera. in Pro Mode, there is one setting I can not wait to work with….. Astrophotography. Cmon Astrophotography with a cell phone?? I have to try. Just wish I was able to use my tablet to control all of this…… who knows maybe there is a way.
Isn’t this cool???? Now if only the weather will co operate lol
I have had the cell phone for just over a week now and I took it out for a bit of a test drive yesterday morning. One of my favorite places to experiment with Waterfalls and long exposure photography is a place the next town over called Knife Shop Falls. It is a very very short walk from where I park to the upper part of the falls. Compared to places I have been to, like Falls Brook Falls, where it is at least 3/4 of a mile hike from the parking lot to the falls, it is just a step out of the car. I put to use a cheap Walmart tripod and one of many cell phone holders for a tripod that I have. Cant seem to buy a tripod or stand of any type these days without there being one in the box lol.
Walking into Knife Shop Falls……
One of the cool features of the camera on the S24 Ultra is the Expert Raw Mode. That is where the Astrophotography and ND Filters features are put. Yes, you read that right ND Filters. In Expert Raw Mode there is a built in ND Filter. I had to try this. In Expert Raw Mode, you can also adjust ISO and Shutter Speed. This is where I wished I could remotely use my tablet to work these settings. Hard to see and adjust those while in the wild. On the side is a slide that you adjust to set how strong you want your nuetral Density Filter to be.
Overall, I had fun playing with the settings, I was adjusting the ISO and the Shutter speed while increasing the ND strength. They came out great but I have to admit…. My Pro Rig definitely does better….
Well Maybe it is because I am more familiar with that set up.
There is no dedicated Macro mode to this camera and that is kinda of bummer, but I had to try something. Unfortunately it was a bit breezy I couldnt pull off a better shot of that white feathery stuff on the rock but the pictures of the tulip didnt come out to bad. Panorama is cool and I will try a bit more as time goes on. As I search thru Amazon for more stuff to use with this camera who knows what I will come up with next.
Definitely going to try the Astrophotography Mode as soon as the Weather Co operates!!
