Smartphone Snapshot Shootout: How Photos Compare (contest OPEN to readers)

aNewDomain.net: The Canon EOS 5D Mark III is the latest high-end choice of most serious pro photographers. And the Mark V just came out. But at $3500, you almost have to be a professional to justify the cost. Why not download Android HDR or use an Apple iPhone and get almost pro-level pics? And here’s how to submit a shot to aNewDomain.net. You, too, will become a published photographer.

If you mostly share apps and you’re not selling shots for a living, a high-end smartphone camera with HDR capabilities is fine. And as you see below, a lot is possible with lesser phones, too. Scroll down to check out the gallery.

Before I get to the gallery, check out this Flickr.com data. Flickr is a site where pros and amateurs alike post libraries of photos for licensing or free via a Creative Commons license with some or no rights reserved. The Apple iPhone 4, stats say, is the most popular source of images on its site. It easily wins out over traditional cameras. The Mark III, from Canon, is second, with the Nikon D90 and Canon EOS Rebel T2i trailing a distant third and fourth, respectively.

You know who you are if you really need a serious DSLR camera with all the whizzy features — or if you can get away with just a point-and-shoot camera or smartphone lens. I say you can’t beat the readiness of a smartphone for quick shots.

Add some of the image-enriching apps available out there — I like Pro HDR Camera for Android, a $1.99 app from Google Play — and take your photography to an entirely new level. Here’s an image I shot using my Motorola DroidX smartphone with the Android HDR app installed.

Below, check out the best shot I’ve ever taken. It was at the 2012 BCS Orange Bowl. Granted my team was destroyed in this game, but I still love this pic.

The camera industry still exists due to the demand of professionals in film and print media — and it exists maybe only because of them.

Check out this image below from award-winning HDR expert photographer, and TWiT with Leo Laporte regular +Trey Ratcliff, who is gaining a high profile on Google+ for the evocative imagery he shares on that network. He says he relies on High Dynamic Range tech — and it’s built into the iPhone 4S and the new Apple iPad third generation tablet.

Check out this photo he shared on his Google Plus page, which shows what a great photographer with an Apple iPhone 4s is able to accomplish using Trey’s app — 100 Cameras in 1. The app is available at Apple iTunes or via Trey’s site at StuckinCustoms.com.

Apple iPhone 4 with Trey’s 100 Cameras in 1, image credit: + Trey Ratcliff

I’d love to see what your camera can do. We’re adding to this piece all the time. Here are some more beautiful smartphone shots.

Our editorial director Gina Smith took the two shots below of her spring garden with an Apple iPhone 3G.  She is the first to say she is no photographer. For the first shot, she used no HDR or flash, zoom or retouching. Nada. And that’s what we call naked smartphone photography.

Below is a pic Gina Smith took with the same smartphone, the original Apple iPhone 3G, pointing straight up at the sky out of Muir Woods, north of San Francisco. Another naked snapshot with no enhancements.

Our futuretech beat reporter Todd Townsend took this shot of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington DC. He snapped it with his Samsung Galaxy Nexus — Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus ICS Raw Photo Courtesy: Todd Townsend for aNewDomain.net

Here’s Stephen Smith’s photo, also raw, shot on his Droid Bionic. Idaho is still looking bleak this time of year, but the picture is gorgeous.

Motorola Droid Bionic ICS Raw Photo Courtesy: +Stephen Smith

Our Peter Baer Galvin took this shot in Cambridge, MA. It shows stained glass at the Trinitarian Congregational Church in Norton, MA. He used an Apple iPhone 4S with no flash, zoom or app enhancements.

Google + community member and aNewDomain.net reader, +Ian Vaughan shot the photo below with a Samsung Galaxy S II using HDR. It shows Maple Ridge, British Columbia.

Google + community member and aNewDomain.net reader Dennis Thompson shares a picture from the Detroit Tigers baseball stadium. He captured this shot with his Motorola Atrix 4G and the Camera Zoom FX app.

Another friend of mine, Mark Hicks of SOI,  shared this snapshot from his new Apple iPad. This is a picture he shot in the Charlotte, NC area — from his desk and through a window. Pretty nice quality, unretouched image.

Here’s another shot Mark Hicks shot — with his Sony Cybershot Carl Zeiss Edition. It captures a classic Las Vegas golf course.

aNewDomain.net’s founding publisher, Mac McCarthy, snapped some pictures from his now classic Apple iPhone 3GS. Mac used both the raw image he shot from the camera as well as the popular Apple iOS app Instagram. Here’s his shot of Monterey Bay, CA.

 

And here’s Mac McCarthy’s headshot, below. He used Instagram’s black and white filter. I love the shadows in this image.

Managing editor of aNewDomain.net, Jeremy Lesniak, stepped outside in Duxbury, VT, to capture this HDR image on his Motorola DroidX via the HDR camera app for Android, below.

 

V!ZOR founder and team member Jonathan Hoffberg caught this shot on a December afternoon on his Motorola DroidX at Monument Valley, UT.  Note he bumped up saturation a bit using the Droid’s built-in color correction tool. It’s below. Beautiful.

Here’s an unedited raw snapshot with my Motorola DroidX. I love how cold this glass looks. The 8 megapixel camera really captured details in this shot with the perfect lighting I had available.

 

Our aNewDomain.net reader, Frank Foster, has a portfolio he created using images he took with his Samsung Charge smartphone. Below is his stunning picture in Bombay Beach, CA.

 

Our executive editor here at aNewDomain.net, Joy Ma, submitted this image she took with her Apple iPhone 4. We all know the iPhone 4 has a much-improved camera. This image shows it off. She took this at Humayun’s Tomb, New Delhi.

Want to see what a professional photographer will offer up with just a smartphone camera? Check out aNewDomain.net’s senior photojournalist, Julie Blaustein’s snapshot at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco. Julie used the Apple iPhone 4S with HDR without the flash. Her snapshot of this beautiful Monet is below.

A friend of mine, Amanda Bonner, is a Motorola DroidX2 user. She wanted to show her support of aNewDomain.net and submitted this gorgeous beach view from her recent visit to Cancun.

 

Ever taken a picture from the Golden Gate Bridge? Neither have I. Well, world traveling maven Diane Decastro and a friend of aNewDomain.net took this one with her Apple iPhone 4S. It was the right time to capture a practice session of Larry Ellison’s America’s Cup current world champs practicing for the 2013 Cup. Nice shot.

 

aNewDomain.net, Attack of the Androids, and Buffer Overflow podcast host Mat Lee was able to show us a beautiful picture from the serenity of Bigfork Mountain, Montana. This image was grabbed with his Galaxy Nexus with the stock ICS camera. Outstanding.

 

Our aNewDomain.net features editor, Sandy Berger, took a photo of her backyard in North Carolina. Look at how vibrant the green is on those shrubs. The power of the Motorola Droid Razr camera really shows here.

 

Here’s a beautiful submission from photography student, Keith Diamond. It’s of the Rocket House in Salton Sea, CA. Keith attends Victor Valley College in Victorville, CA.

 

Isaac Kendall captures the curiosity of this newborn baby cow at his farm in Ladner, BC. No flash with his Galaxy Nexus.

Our Julie Blaustein of aNewDomain.net took this gorgeous shot of Oakland Bay at sunset with her Apple iPhone 4s using HDR. Notice the cranes in the background. Urban legend has it that George Lucas was inspired by them to create the AT-AT Walkers in Star Wars. Very cool.

Send us shots that show what your old or new smartphones are capable of — we’ll add them to the gallery …

I’m Ant@aNewDomain.net — watch for my smartphone snapshot weekly contest and send me a photo if you want to be a published photographer here at the site.