The 5S camera is killer. f/2.2, apparently a great sensor for the size and 120fps video is more than most pocket cameras offer. Manufacturers of point-of-shoot cameras can pack up and leave if this is a trend.
The only good thing is f/2.2 which the Lumia 1020 has and is a better camera, 32Gb of built in storage (and SD card slot) for £200 GBP LESS than the 5s.
The Coolpix has its pros, sure. But it has an extraordinary con: it's a second device.
Today the feature of not being a second device outweighs almost any other camera feature.
// I love photography, have top of the line Nikon pro gear, but the iPhone 4S ruined my enjoyment of lugging that gear around. This summer I picked up a Sony RX1 which is an astonishing full frame sensor in an amazingly compact body to solve that, figuring I'd be willing to carry something small, and that, frankly, the cost would compel me. But truth is, with the iPhone 4S, pictures of everyday things are "good enough" that the inconvenience of the second device still has me leaving it at home. Convenience is a compelling feature!
Today the feature of not being a second device outweighs almost any other camera feature.
Unless your eyes are tuned to look at iPhone snaps or have poo in them, then no. I'll go as far to say that it's crap and a dishonest attempt at calling it a camera.
I'd rather carry a second device around. Here - a quick holiday snap from my Coolpix P330 with NO processing whatsoever: http://i.imgur.com/mtic70l.jpg
“We are being naïve if we think aesthetics do not play an important role in the way photojournalists tell a story. We are not walking photocopiers. We are storytellers. We observe, we chose moments, we frame little slices of our world with our viewfinders, we even decide how much or how little light will illuminate our subjects, and — yes — we choose what equipment to use. Through all of these decisions, we shape the way a story is told... I could not have taken these photos using my S.L.R. and that perhaps is the most important point to be made about the camera phone in this story... The beauty of a new tool is that it allows you to see and approach your subjects differently. Using this phone brought me into little details that I would have missed otherwise.” -- Damon Winters, pro war photojournalist, on winning third place feature story Pictures of the Year award with photos shot on his iPhone instead of his Canon.
I think its clear the eyes of the judges of the most prestigious photojournalism award are neither "tuned to iPhone photos" nor "have poo in them". Also, I'm not talking about holiday snaps of pine cones. I'm talking about every day life shots or EDLs, Damon's "little slices of our world".
Someone smart once said "the best camera is the one you have with you", which adds immensely to the value of having a good camera on something you carry all day long.
If the expensive device is something people will buy and be carrying with them anyway for other purposes (phone calls, SMS, apps, etc.), then they have no motivation to additionally buy the cheap photo/video-only device and carry that with them.
It's the same reason why, if there was a $20 Facebook device, a $20 Twitter device, a $20 SMS device, etc., they wouldn't sell very well since the phones people already carry can do those things without needing to purchase and tote around multiple other devices.
Well you're probably gonna need a phone anyway, so the question is rather why someone would pay $70 for an extra device rather than $70 extra for a phone with a good camera.
Many of the Micro 4/3s and higher end P&S like Sony RX100 are relatively pricey and could find the iPhone snapping at their heels. The difference in quality could easily be acceptable given the benefits of an internet connected device e.g. Facebook, Instagram, Flickr.
> Manufacturers of point-of-shoot cameras can pack up and leave if this is a trend.
My friend brought a cheap point-and-shoot camera to last New Years Party. He had pictures from a family get-together with kids throwing leaves up in the air, taking multiple snapshots during. With the fast shutter mode, you could see individual leaves and zoom in on them. I'm certain the iPhone 5 nor any other camera phone cannot come even remotely close to that.
Then there's the low light pictures I tested during the party. None of the cameraphones could get a decent shot, but the point-and-shoot was amazing.
Sure, if you take pictures in ideal conditions with a cameraphone, it starts to get hard to tell, but the reality is most pictures are taken with low lighting, or too much motion, and I've yet to see a single cameraphone be even minimally useable in these conditions.
I agree that the new iPhone camera will be no substitute IQ-wise for a half-decent point-n-shoot, and it probably will not be enough to convince me to upgrade from my 4S. On the other hand, I am very impressed with the path Apple are taking regarding automatic modes. Automatically bracketing exposure and shooting in burst-mode, then analysing the results in real time for highlight/shadow clipping and sharpness, and then presenting the 'best' photo to the user? Automatically combining twin tinted flashes for tone without mucking about with gels? That's great stuff (assuming it works), and orders of magnitude more advanced than the 'auto' modes on pretty much all other cameras.
It's not going to replace good cameras used by enthusiasts who know their aperture from their ISO, but it has the potential to make huge waves in the snapshot category. I'd love to see that tech make its way to, say, the successor to the Canon S110 or the next Ricoh GRD.
The ability to low light pictures was the one thing that surprised me about my Nokia 920. It really does have a great camera, I guess the 1020 is even better.
Point and shoots are already dying and that handwriting has been on the wall for years. The interesting thing is that hundreds of millions of people having great smartphone cameras has created a boom in photography enthusiasts and DSLR and other high end cameras markets have benefited.
http://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/coolpix/s/s6500/
16MP, 12x optical zoom, upto ISO3200, Lens shift VR
The only good thing is f/2.2 which the Lumia 1020 has and is a better camera, 32Gb of built in storage (and SD card slot) for £200 GBP LESS than the 5s.
Apple are rip off merchants. Sorry.