Video killed the Radio star and cellphones killed stand-alone cameras. The song (on vinyl) about television killing off radio resonates with those who might feel a dash of nostalgia for the days when you had to have a camera to visit a game reserve. It is even worse for those who might be pining for their film cameras.
Yes, there are some people who believe that digital will never produce the same quality as film, but that is another argument for another newsletter.
In the real world, almost everyone who visits game reserves has a smartphone with a built-in, rather sophisticated digital camera. At any sighting today, you will observe visitors hanging out of their cars pointing cellphones at wildlife.
Are the cellphone photographs any good? Is it a waste of time trying to take pictures of wildlife with a smartphone? Are they as good as a ‘real’ camera?
The answer is not simple. It depends of course on your expectations.
Are you taking photos to brag to the people back home about what you have seen? Are the pictures just so you can remember your holiday in the bush, or are you trying to be creative by searching for imaginative angles?
Personally, I always keep my cellphone ready to take wide-angle photos but I mainly use my Canon with a 70-200mm lens for most wildlife subjects.
Many smartphones now have multiple lenses that you can easily change according to your subject matter. My personal iPhone is a basic model (SE-3) so it only has one lens (28mm f/1.8) but it actually does an extraordinarily good job. Like all smartphones, it has an effective digital zoom (5x) that brings the subject considerably closer than you would imagine. Of course, there is a cost to the digital zoom – as you zoom in the subject loses sharpness and becomes pixelated, which means you won’t be able to sell the photo but it will still be good enough for fond memories.
I use my cellphone camera when I want to take landscape or scenery pictures. The wide-angle lens allows me to photograph Rooidam with hazy mountains in the background or any of the other watering holes, each with their unique environment. It is also great if you want to show the extent of an elephant herd
A smartphone camera is especially useful in the Addo Elephant Park when elephants come so close to our car that the Canon with a heavy zoom lens just becomes too unwieldy. If an elephant is under three metres away, it fills the entire frame and all you can hope for with the zoom is a nice picture of skin texture. The iPhone is much better at capturing a real close up of an elephant. It is also easier to handle at close quarters.
Sometimes you see on WhatsApp groups photos of the side of a mountain with no notable subjects of interest. Then you read the next posting informing you that you were looking at ‘flat-cats’, or lions fast asleep in the grass. Sure enough, there in the distance, a tiny pair of tawny smudges reveal where the lions are sleeping.
I have been there – many times. You are so excited that you have finally spotted some lions after six visits without seeing any of the big cats and suddenly there they are. It is tempting to take the pictures, and sometimes I do so even though I know they will be pointless. Not even the most polite family member will pretend that it is amazing that you saw the lions.
On other occasions wild animals remain in a middle-zone where you can see them clearly – they are no longer smudges in the distance – but you can’t really take a good photo even with a zoom fully extended. The only option here is to take the photo with your digital zoom at maximum, or in my case with the zoom lens at 200 mm, and then be prepared to do some creative editing when you get back to the studio; or your laptop.
The inevitable selfie is another niche where cellphones are far better than ‘real’ cameras. Have you ever tried to take a photo of yourself with a 200mm lens? OK, you could use a tripod, but then you’d have to get out of the car.
Many people try to take selfies with animals in the background to show just how close they are. I have tried this several times, but quite frankly it has never worked. In other circumstances, it is relatively easy to take a selfies with beautiful scenery in the background or the irresistible sign warning visitors that they may get out of the vehicle but watch out for lions.
I have often mused about how far you could wander from your vehicle to be certain that you would get back inside before a lion pounces on you. Probably about two inches.
To answer the question posed at the beginning of this newsletter: are cellphones any good? The answer is yes, they can be very good, but bear in mind that all photographic equipment has limitations. The quality of a photograph depends to a large extent on who is wielding the camera and how well do you know your camera.
As camera phones are different from each other, I advise you to spend time learning about your personal device. There are plenty of YouTube videos on each model that will explain how to extract the best from your equipment. It is a worthwhile investment.
So ends the last Real Safari newsletter of 2023. I hope you have a fabulous festive season, and I am looking forward to seeing you again in the New Year.
Real Safari Links:
Wildlife photography and FOMO - Yes, you can take that pic
Manhandling my new lens - on being a photographer