Portrait Mode Fight! Software vs Hardware! Pixel 4 vs LG V60!

What makes for a better portrait photo? Google’s incredible camera software? LG’s brute force hardware? Which camera cuts around hair better? Which company delivers the more eye-pleasing background blur? Let’s FIGHT!

Continue reading “Portrait Mode Fight! Software vs Hardware! Pixel 4 vs LG V60!”

Does the Galaxy S20 use a FAKE Zoom?

How DO cameras work?

As I’ve been talking about the Galaxy S20 and LG V60, people seem surprised by some of the performance I’ve been describing.

We might complain about compromises on one phone, but how do those changes compare to the competition?

How closely should we examine marketing claims? Should popular manufacturers be graded on a curve JUST because they’re popular? Let’s take a look at the Galaxy S20’s spec sheet here…
Continue reading “Does the Galaxy S20 use a FAKE Zoom?”

The OnePlus 7 Pro DOES have a 3X OPTICAL Zoom – Why generic consumer measurements suck…

Looks like we needed something to be outraged about.

A flurry of stories have been published, claiming deceit on the part of OnePlus. The zoom on the OnePlus 7 Pro camera is a LIE! It’s NOT really a 3X zoom! PITCHFORKS! TORCHES!

Except it is. It’s exactly what OnePlus advertised it to be. In fact, it’s a little better than what they advertised. You get a little more than what they listed on the spec sheet. The main thing OnePlus is guilty of is a clumsy execution, which we shouldn’t be too surprised about. This company is regularly “charmingly clumsy”.

We’ve got a lot to unpack here.

First of all, Very few phones really have a ZOOM lens. Continue reading “The OnePlus 7 Pro DOES have a 3X OPTICAL Zoom – Why generic consumer measurements suck…”

A response to the DXO review of the LG V40: They’re not wrong, but…

Better late than never DXO?

The V40 has been ranked and scored at DXO, and the results aren’t what LG fans might have been hoping for. A combined score of 93 places the V40 well outside the top ten list of current phones. It’s just above an iPhone 8, and just below a Note 8 in DXO’s ranking.

LG fans are understandably “not thrilled” with this conclusion, especially for how long the phone has been out. Sort of adding an insult to the injury of delaying their review this long.

The thing is, based on the way DXO shoots and analyzes image quality, they’re not wrong. The DXO testing suite is very consistent.

They just might not test for what you use…

Continue reading “A response to the DXO review of the LG V40: They’re not wrong, but…”

Bokeh is NOT Pronounced “Boca”! Limited run T-Shirts and Hoodies for April!

It’s a joke for April, but NOT an April Fools joke!

There’s much debate over how to pronounce the word “bokeh”, a Japanese term used to describe the artistic quality of lens blur. While we photo-geeks squabble about “ke” versus “kay”, or what region of Japan has a slight upward inflection, or blah blah blah…

The one thing we should all be able to agree on is that the recent Apple commercial is completely wrong. Where one woman turns to another and says:

“Did you just BOCA my child?”

Boca. As in Boca Raton. That’s completely wrong. All I can hear is one woman ask another:

“Did you just MOUTH my child?”

Which is kind of dirty for an Apple ad.

I’ve drawn a line in the sand, and if you want to stand with me on the correct side of that line, I’ve put up a collection of t-shirts and hoodies to help you support the good and righteous cause of language preservation. We’ll probably lose this fight against the juggernaut of Apple marketing, but we won’t go down without a fight!

Men and Women cut premium t-shirts, and super soft premium hoodies, only available through the month of April!

Click here to check out The Bokeh Collection on TeeSpring!

Adonit PhotoGrip Qi – Better Photos, More Power!

I LOVED the original PhotoGrip, and I’m always excited to see a product evolve. The PhotoGrip Qi removes one feature from the original PhotoGrip, and adds a new feature to extend your phone’s battery life out in the field. I’ve been using it for a couple weeks, here are my thoughts!
Continue reading “Adonit PhotoGrip Qi – Better Photos, More Power!”

Nokia 9 PureView Camera: Not ready for a review…

Wading in to some expanded coverage on the Nokia 9. Lot’s of people asking about comparisons, RAW vs RAW, low light vs Night Sight. There’s a lot happening here, so we can have a conversation about what this phone is doing, and show off a few samples, but it’s REALLY not ready for a full review…

Continue reading “Nokia 9 PureView Camera: Not ready for a review…”

‘Take Better Photos: Smartphone Photography for Noobs!’ – 2019 Revisions are LIVE on Kindle!

A quick heads up folks! My yearly update for the photography book took a bit longer than expected, but the update is finally live on Amazon Kindle.

Version 1.2.3 includes a passage on Night Mode photography, updates the section on multi-camera phones, includes a new exercise, and corrects numerous spelling and grammar problems.

If you have a copy, update it in the Kindle app, and please drop me a review on Amazon if you like it!

If you don’t have a copy, the link below will help you fix that!

Take Better Photos: Smartphone Photography for Noobs!