Attention: Phone Spotters!

Real World Aviation Spotting
#1

Hey there!

I am creating this to give a little reminder to some of our eager “phone spotters” on the community.

Now, there is nothing wrong with taking pictures and videos on your phone; in fact, the newest phones can take 2160p (4K) video, and take pretty good pictures as well. But, because of how small the phone camera is still, and the lower amount of megapixels and smaller lens.

So, even though the photos you take on your phone look good unedited, if you try to crop your photo, the quality drops dramatically. This is where the power of DSLR is evident.

I am simply trying to urge users to not post poor quality phone pictures (or just poor pictures in general). Any reply or topic that starts with “Sorry for the bad quality, but these were taken with my iPhone 11” etc. is a red flag for not being worth posting.

Misha’s guidelines for the #real-world-aviation spotting category touch on some questions you should ask before creating a spotting topic, but I think these should apply to all pictures posted in general:

  • How much of the aircraft can you see?
  • Can you see the registration?
  • How pixelated is your photo if you are zoomed in a long way?
  • Is there any way to add to the post to enhance the topic if your photos are not the best quality?

Remember, the IFC does not have unlimited storage. So, for the storage we do have, let’s post our best photos :)

Quick note, I think it would be fair to post a low quality photo of an especially rare aircraft, such as a AN225 or brand new 787-10. Just try to get the best picture you can!

Thanks, and have a great day!

25 Likes
#2

Thanks for the reminder!

3 Likes
#3

It also uses a lot of storage. Like A LOT.

1 Like
#4

Not too much tbh. I have over 600 photos and videos on my phone, all taken in the highest resolution with smart HDR, deep fusion, photos taken outside the frame, you name it enabled and it is only like 4 gigs, not nothing, but almost all phones have quite a bit of storage these days, and the compression methods have gotten really good…

1 Like
#5

Really depends on what phone, but honestly, an actual camera works better than anything not designed to primarily be a camera. The pros definitely outweigh the cons.

2 Likes
#6

Depends, phones have gotten really good recently, and having something that while sure it was expensive, isn’t exactly an additional charge, and you always have with you, is a really compelling grab. There are definitely reasons to stick with a phone I think. Especially if you aren’t serious, because an SLR is a lot easier to mess up, and definitely have a learning curve, and is kinda costly. If your just someone who wants to go out to the airport and snatch the occasional picture of a cool plane to say you saw it, I think there are probably more pros than cons to going with a phone…

2 Likes
#7

I can agree with you. Depends on what your purpose is in taking the pictures. I think we can agree that if you want to get pictures on, say, JetPhotos, you can’t possibly expect to do so with photos taken with a phone.

2 Likes
#8

Facts. Actually I did see something on the jetphotos community I think about a photo that was accepted that was taken on an IPhone XS, I think it was a ramp shot though, so they were very close to the aircraft, and it was a small Cessna, so suffices to say hardly a technical shot, but 9.99 times/10 I definitely agree with you, if you really want to take high quality photos a good real camera is a must, but smart phones are getting super good for the average user…

1 Like
#9

Well I have some pretty good Photos on my phone because my camera is really garbage.

#10

Like a polish airline you say?

Anyways I think this is a great reminder to everyone!

1 Like
#11

Nice one @snoman. I get it , LOT

1 Like
#12

Lol 🤣 yea crony

#13

Any suggestions on a good lens for spotting?

#14

It honestly depends. I have a Nikon so in a few months, I’ll be getting a Sigma 70-300 mm. It all depends on your budget and needs. If you have anymore questions with cameras and lenses, feel free to PM me.

#15

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