Samsung admits not all Galaxy S6 handsets use Sony image sensor

[nitro912gr]

If people want quality in their photos they should get some real camera with real lens.
Phone camera are good for most of your photos and in many cases all you need.

[crossy]

If people want quality in their photos they should get some real camera with real lens.
Phone camera are good for most of your photos and in many cases all you need.

Pretty close to what I was thinking, namely: if you're "expert" enough to be bothered by the difference in sensor then perhaps you should be using a device designed for the purpose instead.

Was listening to "tankgirl" on AAA podcast the other day bigging up the sensor on the S6 and couldn't help thinking "buy a proper digicam instead you cheapskate!"

Can't a lot of the colour cast issues (warmer v's colder images) be resolved in software processing anyway?

I'm more easily pleased, "can I take a picture, print it at A4 and not being annoyed by it?" If the answer is yes then the camera is definitely good enough.

[shaithis]

I used to think like that but I've been in a number of situations where someone has busted out their phone to take an impromptu photo and I have been thinking "Just why would I have my camera with me now?"

While my Canon takes a considerably better photo than any of my phones have, it's just not something I can carry around with me on a day-to-day basis.

[crossy]

I used to think like that but I've been in a number of situations where someone has busted out their phone to take an impromptu photo and I have been thinking "Just why would I have my camera with me now?" While my Canon takes a considerably better photo than any of my phones have, it's just not something I can carry around with me on a day-to-day basis.

For the "quick, let's take a group selfie" then you're right - the chances of having a proper camera are pretty darned small.

What I'm getting at is the prats who feel hard done by because their phone isn't a camera. I was reading two articles recently, the first complaining bitterly because his Galaxy S4 was making a hash of a landscape shot while he was on holiday, and the second one reviewed a phone (think it might have been the HTC M8) and was bitching something rotten because of no RAW format option. For the latter I was yelling at the screen, "it's a flamin' phone you ****head, not a x-ing DSLR".

Me, if I was going on a holiday expecting to do landscapes etc, then I'd be taking a proper camera rather than relying on what Apple, Samsung, LG, etc were giving me. Next holiday is a Disney one, so a high-end smartphone is going to be good enough - plus I don't want to look like a tourist with a Canon hanging around my neck! The old Samsung S3 was good enough to do a diner-at-twilight shot that was smart enough to do as my 1080p screen background.

[TooNice]

I have my dSLR (well SLT) on me over 6 days a week, but I can still sympathise with people being critical.

1. A lot of those high end smartphones are pretty darn expensive, so one can understandably want everything to be better than anything we have seen up until now.

2. You also don't want to pay the same money for the same device only to end up with something that is a little worse. Not saying it is necessarily the case here.

Besides, if not for the demand for progress, I don't think that we'd have the quality we have today. Remember the Sony Ericsson K800i? The quality of the camera was noticed and highly praised. Heck, it was even better than some of phones that came later.. yet today, pretty much any smartphone is going to trounce it. There may be a limit as to what can be done with improved sensor without improved optics, and while we are getting ever closer, mobile phone cameras are still getting better. Maybe not noticeably every generation, but little improvement adds up.

That being said, I am really convinced it is such a big deal here.

[TaintedShirt]

This looks like the difference between shooting with Fuji (warmer) and Kodak colour film back in the day.

If given the choice I would go for the warmer pictures, i.e. the Sony, just out of preference. In reality both looked (at least to me) to be really good so for a pocket shooter on a phone I don't think anyone should quibble too much.