taking pictures with the AT&T Galaxy Note 2

[NoNoiPhone4me]

My wife and I are planning a rather extensive vacation overseas and are planning to take a lot of pictures. Realizing that our "new" phones now have higher resolution (or at least, more pixels) than our "old" cameras of a few years ago, we are thinking it would make more sense to leave our cameras at home and just take pictures with our phones. We realize that we will be sacrificing "something" when we use our phones instead of a dedicated camera but does anyone know of any classes and/or have any tricks we can use to get the best out of our camera phones.

For the record, I have an AT&T Galaxy Note 2 and she has an AT&T Apple iPhone 5 (but I love her any way). We plan on taking your typical "tourist" pictures: from closeup portraits of people we meet to long distant shots of landmarks and everything in between. I really appreciate any help and wisdom you can pass along.

 

[Phil Nickinson]

If you're talking about sacrificing your typical point-and-shoot, you might not be missing all that much. I think with P/S and phones it comes down to photo skill -- composition, lighting, etc. -- more than the hardware. It's not completely apples to apples, but there have been plenty of trips where I've just walked around with a phone and not a camera.

Good luck!

 

[OceanView]

Personally I could never go on a trip and not take a dedicated camera.
If your gonna take the time and spend the money to take a trip, why not take/spend on a dedicated camera?

 

[NoNoiPhone4me]

Personally I could never go on a trip and not take a dedicated camera.
If your gonna take the time and spend the money to take a trip, why not take/spend on a dedicated camera?

I actually agree with you that a dedicated camera -- or at least a new a "new" dedicated camera -- is better than phone camera but that's not what I have. And even then, the question is how much better and for what price.

My current camera is a seven-year-old, 5Mb point-and-shoot and incidentally, it was made by Samsung. My camera was good in it's day but, honestly, I cannot say that it takes better pictures than my Note 2. Ironically, if I were to get a dedicated camera, I would get something definitely better than my phone camera; I would get a DSLR. But a decent DSLR is going to cost at least $500 (and more likely more, much more, if I get something that I really want). Honestly, I have to ask myself, is it worth it. Plus the added "inconvenience" of carrying around and not forgetting another device. If the pictures taken by my Samsung Galaxy Note 2 (and my wife's Apple iPhone 5) are good enough, I would rather spend that $500 or more on something else: another tour, an extra day at a 5-star hotel, whatever.

Like Phil wrote above, many people are using the cameras in the phones today already. For many people, they already are good enough.

 

[CoachRob16]

I always take my Canon digital slr for any kind of vacation or trip pictures. My phone is just for a spur of the moment picture or maybe a family photo.

 

[ska916jedi]

Note 2 pictures suck. The iPhone is a great camera. I hate to say it, but it's true.

 

[vr002sh]

I always take my Canon digital slr for any kind of vacation or trip pictures. My phone is just for a spur of the moment picture or maybe a family photo.

I have both Nikon and Olympus DSLR's and would always put them over a cell phone camera, however my motto is the best camera is the one you have with you. The DSLR's come out when I want to shoot, but the phone is always with me. I do agree if you are going on a vacation and intend to want to take pictures, get a dedicated camera. Just remember it's not about how many MPs, it's about the size of the sensor and the quality of the glass. My oldest DSLR is only 5MP, but with a full frame sensor and quality glass, I would put it up against any cell phone camera, even those with 20MP sensors, the small sensor, lack of IS and weak metering and auto white balance, and a plastic lens is no match. Panasonic makes a great point and shoot with Leica lenses, if I were to carry a point and shoot, that would be the one I would consider.

 

[JayRatliff]

Note 2 pictures suck. The iPhone is a great camera. I hate to say it, but it's true.

Do not agree, been taking some great pics with my Note 2. Play with your settings some and play around with the interface, if you take the time, the pics are amazing.

 

[OceanView]

For outdoor shooting in bright, well lit areas, the phone cameras will do fine.
But if you are indoors and have poor lighting conditions, the phone cameras will suck.
For a decent camera you are gonna need to spend at least $300 - $500.
You mentioned this was gonna be an expensive trip so why not take advantage of this opportunity to get a decent camera.
You will have a good camera for future use.
I personally have 2 DSLRs with many lenses I use for professional work but for vacations, I take a micro 4 3rds camera as it is much smaller and the quality of the photos are very good.
Both Panasonic and Olympus have good offerings.
My choice would be the Panasonic Lumix GF5 with a 20mm f1.8 lens.
or if you want an all in one "Good" point and shoot, either the Canon S110 or Panasonic LX7 would be perfect.
Whatever you do, have fun and enjoy your vacation.

 

[vr002sh]

My choice would be the Panasonic Lumix GF5 with a 20mm f1.8 lens.

+1 Or an Olympus Pen

 

[ska916jedi]

Do not agree, been taking some great pics with my Note 2. Play with your settings some and play around with the interface, if you take the time, the pics are amazing.

It sounds like you've never had an iPhone to compare it too What settings do you use then?

 

[lostchild]

The phone camera is good enough for outdoor pictures. Although the iPhone 5 will definitely take better pictures than the Note II, but most people can't tell. For indoor low light pictures, some of the pocket camera with bigger sensor are way better than the phone camera, but usually on vacation you don't take too many indoor low light pictures. So unless you are going on a trip to visit bat caves around the world, the 2 phones you have are just fine!

 

[ska916jedi]

All my pics turn out blurry on this phone. It sucks & pisses me off. Hands down the worst thing about this phone.

 

[gvndeb60]

All my pics turn out blurry on this phone. It sucks & pisses me off. Hands down the worst thing about this phone.

Should user error be a reason to hate a phone? I do not have problems with taking blurry picks, maybe you should find out what you are doing wrong. This isn't a DLSR but it takes fine pictures.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 2

 

[BeRich]

My advice would be to always tap-to-focus on your subject so your pictures aren't blurry.

 

[Jtshurtleff]

I had a GS3 which I believe has pretty much the same camera and it takes pretty good pics. I'd say the iPhones are better by a slight margin but like stated above its not that noticeable. I want a Note 2

 

[ska916jedi]

My advice would be to always tap-to-focus on your subject so your pictures aren't blurry.

I do.

 

[ska916jedi]

Should user error be a reason to hate a phone? I do not have problems with taking blurry picks, maybe you should find out what you are doing wrong. This isn't a DLSR but it takes fine pictures.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 2

Hey, go play in traffic! I'm on here asking for help douche bag.

 

[ga_fool2002]

Lol tell him! I use that a lot going play in traffic.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

 

[lostchild]

Here is a picture I took yesterday in indoor low light setting. I use HDR because I want to see the granite fireplace and not just the fire in the dark. I think it looks okay for a phone camera.