GET THE BEST OUT OF YOUR SMARTPHONE CAMERA
In 2009,
award-winning American photographer Chase Jarvis released a book of his
photos—clicked with a two-megapixel iPhone camera—titled ‘The best camera is
the one that’s with you’. And it’s true. If you’re all about capturing candid
moments, there’s nothing better, more accessible and ready-to-shoot than your
smartphone snapper. Now, it wouldn’t be fair to compare the quality of pictures
that you’d get from a DSLR with a smartphone shooter, but then, special moments
wait for no one and no camera.
WHICH ONE TO
BUY…
More marketing and advertising campaigns are based around
a smartphone’s snappers than any other single feature. Indeed, cameras are the
most used feature on a handset, next to calling and messaging. At the very
basic level, almost all current smartphone models include shooting modes like
panorama, portrait (or bokeh), continuous capture and manual for greater
control over aperture, shutter speed and exposure. They are also complemented
with editing tools to crop, rotate, flip; adjust brightness, contrast and
colour saturation, and apply photo filters. Selfie cameras are assisted with a
beautification mode, which ignore blemishes, smoothen complexion and even
“apply” makeup, whiten teeth and chisel your face. So regardless of your
budget, there’s a camera phone that’s right for you…
₹10,000 – ₹20,000: The smartphone
cameras in this price bracket perform best in well-lit environs, with enough
details for sharing online. There is, however, a discernible drop in picture
quality while shooting in low light. Here, consider the Honor 9 Lite(₹10,999) that is equipped with
four shooters – 13MP+2MP rear- and 13MP+2MP front cameras. If you’re a selfie
addict, then this handset should be in your wishlist. You can also consider
the Redmi Note 5 Pro (₹14,999) for its 12MP+5MP rear cameras, and 20MP front shooter,
which performs just as well.
₹20,000 – ₹30,000: Cameras
in this price bracket are generally more responsive: they focus on objects
faster and may also come with specialised lens and optical image stabilisation
(OIS) for better shots. Plus, you get extra editing options to add effects,
create animations and more.
Here, consider the Samsung Galaxy A6+ (₹23,990) which comes with 16MP +
5MP rear cameras, a live focus mode to adjust depth of field and a 24MP selfie
camera with a front-facing flash. Then, there’s the Nokia 8 (₹28,000): It has dual 13MP rear
cameras (with OIS) and a 13MP front shooter, all with Zeiss lens.
Also worth considering is the Asus ZenFone 5Z (₹29,999) for its 12MP + 8MP (with
OIS) rear-, and 8MP front cameras.
₹30,000 – ₹40,000: Camera
sensors in this price range fare a lot better in low light and are fast enough
to be used for rapid action photography. The Honor 10 (₹32,999) includes an AI mode that
works with its 24MP + 16MP rear cameras to pick a scene preset automatically.
Its high-megapixel 24MP front camera is also capable of taking quality selfies
with high colour saturation.
For action photography, look at the OnePlus 6 (₹34,999), which is boasts of 16MP
+ 20MP rear cameras (with OIS), 2x optical zoom, and a 16MP front camera.
You can also consider the Vivo X21 (₹35,999) for its spiffy 12MP +
5MP rear, and 12MP front cameras.
₹40,000 onward: The
cameras on these high-end flagship phones click photos with lots of detail and
colour accuracy. They are well-equipped for low-light scenes and may also
include special options to create a more professional-looking output. The Google
Pixel 2 XL (₹62,999) comes
with a single 12MP rear shooter (with OIS) and an 8MP front camera, yet it is
capable of capturing excellent photographs in low light, and portraits with
bokeh. The Samsung Galaxy S9+ (₹64,900) has dual 12MP (OIS) rear cameras and an 8MP front
camera. One rear snapper takes wide-angle shots while the other shoots at 2x
optical zoom.
The Huawei P20 Pro (₹64,999)—with its tri-lens 40MP +
20MP + 8MP (3x optical zoom) rear cameras—can shoot low-light landscapes with
very high dynamic range without the need for a tripod. It boasts of Leica
optics, and you even get a 24MP front shooter for clear and crisp selfies.
And finally, there’s the Apple iPhone X (₹89,000), which has dual 12MP
rear cameras (with 2x optical zoom and OIS) and a 7MP selfie shooter to capture
colours that are true to life and with even exposure. You also get a ‘Portrait
Lighting’ feature that simulates studio illumination in your captures.
POST
PROCESSING
In the old days, photographers got the desired
effects in their pictures by using darkroom techniques for post processing.
Nowadays, the studio setup has been replaced by apps that are available for
both Android and iOS…
Snapseed: This
photo-editing app comprises 29 tools and filters each of which can be tweaked
with precise control. You can use this app to adjust exposure, white balance
and colour; crop, rotate and straighten photos; add a vignette, text, frames,
bokeh effect and glamour glow; boost details in the shadows, mid-tones and
highlights; apply HDR effects, and use filters like Drama, Grunge, Grainy Film,
Vintage, Retrolux, Noir, etc. You get a tool to blend two photos to create a
double exposure shot, and you also get a Face Enhance and Face Pose feature
that lets you adjust physical attributes like skin tone and eyes, as well as
correct the position of your face in portraits based on threedimensional
models.
Polarr Photo Editor: To
create a complete photo toolkit, also consider Polarr. It has
almost all the features that you get in Snapseed, plus you can
create, customise and share your own filters with friends. The app allows for
batch exporting, and it is available for all your devices: mobile, desktop and
web-based.
BlackCam: Try this
app if you like black and white photography. You can either shoot a picture
from within the app or import an image stored on your smartphone to process it
in black and white. You can then choose from 25 free B&W filters to enhance
the snapshot. Additional controls, in the form of sliders, let you adjust the
monochrome level, brightness and contrast settings. The app lets you switch to
the front camera, change aspect ratio and enable the photo grid for better
composition.
Hypocam: Alternatively,
give Hypocam a dekko. The app comes with seven free B&W
filters in iOS and nine in Android. It even allows you fine controls over
exposure, contrast, grain, vignette, highlights, shadows, etc to help you get
that perfect black-and-white photograph.
ACCESSORIES
Forget the mere selfie stick. Instead, opt for a
hybrid that doubles up as a tripod. The Mi Selfie Stick Tripod (₹1,100) features an extendable
aluminium rod and a folding stand for when you want to take long exposure
shots. It comes with Bluetooth connectivity, allowing you to trigger the
phone’s camera shutter with the button on its handle. Alternatively, check out
the BlitzWolf Extendable Monopod (₹2,090) with similar features.
Now, if your handset does not have a dual-camera
system, don’t worry. You can still aspire to some creative shots with clip-on
lens. These kits typically comprise a set of 2-3 lens that can be placed on the
front/rear camera with the help of a cushioned clip or a magnetic ring. These
allow you to shoot wideangle panorama photographs, ultra-wide angles with the
peculiar fish-eye effect, or sharp close-ups of objects – like insects, fabric,
fine print – with shallow depth of field.
You can also look at zoom lens for your smartphone.
Prices start at ₹200 and go up
to a couple of thousand rupees.
KNOW YOUR
SMARTPHONE CAMERA
To click good pictures, you will need to know your
phone camera inside out. Here are a few features you might want to
explore…
Geotagging: You will
find the Location mode under the Settings app
in Android and as Location Services under Settings > Privacy on
the iPhone. This feature uses GPS, Bluetooth, mobile towers and public Wi-Fi
hotspots to tag your pictures with location data.
Use geotagging for travel photos especially when you
need to caption the pictures you post onto your social networks. On the other
hand, if you want to maintain location privacy, say, for photos shot at home,
you might want to turn this feature off.
Panorama: Most
smartphones come with a panorama mode that requires you to move your camera
horizontally in an arc around you to capture wide vistas. You will need very
steady hands when using this feature so practice till you get it right.
This is another great option for travel
photographers. It works best to capture wide open sceneries of the outdoors.
But try and limit panoramas to one per location.
Capture as many as you want, but only share the best one.
HDR: High
Dynamic Range is a technique used in photography to reproduce a greater
luminosity in photos to capture greater details in highlights or shadows. This
is a tricky feature to use. Overuse it, and your photos might tend to appear
artificial. If you’re unsure whether HDR is the way to go, then capture a
picture in HDR mode as well as non-HDR mode to compare results.
HDR works well for darkened interiors of a church
with stained glass windows, or with sunsets and clouds. It can create a sense
of drama when done right. HDR does not work well with action photos.
Burst Mode: All
modern handsets come with a burst mode. Just press and hold the shutter release
button and the camera automatically shoots 20 pictures or more in quick
succession. In Samsung phones, this feature is called “Continuous Shot” and
comes under shooting modes in the Camera app. How well this
feature works is dependent on your smartphone processor and the speed at which
your storage and/ or memory card can record these bursts.
Burst mode is best employed in action/ sports
photography, when you want to capture your subject in stride or midair. You can
possibly use it to get the perfect shot of a lightning strike.
Beautification: Almost
everyone uses this mode with their selfie camera. But apply too much of it, and
your selfies might seem artificial. If you must, use a setting between 2 and 4
out of 10 for best results.
Use the beautification tool with restraint,
especially if you do not want to look like a plastic Disney princess or like
Bambi caught in the headlight of a car that’s barreling towards you.
MANUAL/PRO MODE: If your
smartphone camera has a manual mode—most of them have it nowadays—you’re in
luck. Here you will find granular controls that let you select the ISO, adjust
White Balance, set Shutter Speed, Focus, and finetune Exposure.
Knowing what these controls do, and when you need to
tweak them will help you extract the most out of your camera.
ISO: When
film was used, photographers picked up rolls based on their ISO, which – in
simple terms – is the measure of the film speed/sensitivity to light. This ISO
is now replicated in digital cameras to help you select the right setting for
your lighting. If you’re shooting outdoors in sunlight, opt for a slow ISO of
100. For indoors, you can opt for an ISO of around 700, while for night
moon-lit shots, you might need to opt for a fast ISO of 3200. If you select a
slow ISO in dark environs, your shots will turn out dark with few details, but
it should be noted, fast ISOs could result in grainy snapshots that are plagued
with noise.
White Balance: Measured
in Kelvin, this setting allows you to select the colour temperature (hue) for
your photo. A setting of around 2300K will give your photos a blueish hue,
while 7500K will result in warm reds. White Balance is usually adjusted after
taking into consideration the light source so you can capture true colours.
Still, you might want to play around with White Balance to give you pictures
more flair and to highlight its mood.
Shutter Speed: This is
a measure of how long a camera shutter is open when snapping a picture. Fast
shutter speeds—like 1/1000 sec—allow for lesser light but result in crisper
captures of fast-moving action.
Slower speeds of say four seconds will allow for more
light to reach the camera sensor, but will result in blurry shots due to shaky
hands. You should use a slow shutter speed only if you have a tripod at hand
and are looking to capture arty photos of light trails in the dark.
Focus: This
feature in the manual mode is self-explanatory. It will allow you focus on the
foreground for a softer background or choose to focus onto an object in the
distance. You can use this to snap sharp macro shots, and even crisp sceneries
with an even focus.
Exposure: This
setting, when increased, will brighten a photo, while decreasing it will darken
your image. This is especially helpful when you are in an overly bright or dark
environment that can fool the camera’s light meter. Simply put, exposure
compensation acts as a failsafe in such a situation
TOI 18AUG18
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