Why it's handy to have a 'phone with you...but

I know this is a topic that goes on and on...Can 'phones replicate/replace beat cameras for taking pics ? By chance I was out walking and don't always take a camera with me but of course had my phone. I came across this scene and took a pic. Whilst I am happy with the composition, the quality and the ability to 'improve' in post, for me, is well below what I find good enough. It's a supposedly high end phone camera and the light was good

151025 autumn sunflower field by softmarmotte, on Flickr

The next one was a pic I was trying to capture for a few weeks with my camera and managed, finally, to get the light I was after. It's similar in many ways but the detail, for me, that a proper camera and a decent lens give makes it stand out more

151025 autumn purple field by softmarmotte, on Flickr

Camera is Lumix S5D with free 18-40 lens at 999 eur. In this case I used a 899 eur lens (Lumix 100mm). Interestingly I think (some) camera prices are really low for what they do and (many) phone prices are crazy high...

Hi,

Technology marches on. So figure on replacing a phone every five years. Same with cameras. Something is going to fail. Probably a capacitor if we don't count the battery.

Batteries are their own story. Phones are a Royal Pain these days. Have to get that glass back cover off in one piece. However, cameras can be difficult to source a replacement. I am still using a couple old Kodak DCS units on power supplies as batteries are jow at the point where I have to rebuild them, not buy replacements. That Fuji GFX-100 I have, my newest cameras, can no longer get replacement.batteries from Fuji.

I am probably done with buying cameras. That GFX is as far as I can see going. It replaced a Pentax 645D. Both were $10k USD when new. Both acquired used by me for far less. On the small format side,.my Nikon Df is also probably the last one. I dont know what I might get for those when something fails. However, I expect to get a replacement phone for my Samsung Galaxy S25 in another 4 years.

Stan

I've replaced a few capacitors in various equipment over the years too. At least they are often big and easy to spot, and they often even look swollen up when dying or dead.
Just need to take it out with a soldering iron and pop in a new one :-)
If anything else breaks down on a modern pcb it's almost impossible to find the culprit and mend it these days. Usually for that you'll need big expensive specialised test equipment and the know-how to debug it all.

Focal plane (Lagrange Edge Detection, Threshold)

Frequency Domain (FFT, 50% Threshold):

Not real sharp ...

@davidwien

Very good, David.

Yes, heat is the number one enemy of modern-day electronics, with everything nowadays stuffed into smaller and smaller “black boxes.” And of course, the ubiquitous sketchy electrolytic capacitor. I drill extra ventilation holes in everything from external hard drives to WiFi routers and add raised rubber bumper feet to aid airflow.

Fireplace33 wrote: ...I've replaced a few capacitors in various equipment over the years too. At least they are often big and easy to spot, and they often even look swollen up when dying or dead.

Yes, swollen capacitors on the edge of venting (exploding) are indeed obvious, but there are many failure modes, and you cannot judge the health of an electrolytic capacitor just by looking at it... :-)

There was a period maybe 15? years ago when a lot of electronic gear was failing more early than most would expect. I remember an article that particularly called out poor quality capacitors from a specific Chinese manufacturer. A lot of gear manufacturers weren't happy as it reflected poorly on them. No doubt the issue was addressed but of course most consumer products are made to have a finite shelf life...

Hi,

It isn't just electrolytic caps that go. Tantalums are just as bad. There are extremely good ones out there, but they tend to not find their way into consumer electronics. They simply cost too much. So, when something consumer electronic fails, go looking for a bad cap first.

I have been in the electronics R&D decelopment business since 1981 and was a service tech before that. Caps are often the culprit. And I have the specialized equipment and skill to deal with the most modern of electronics. But I wouldn't go digging into a failed cell phone to repair it, only to reveal the root cause of the failure. But, then, that is what I get paid to do.

Oh, and there is no point in comparing a line powered telephone to a cell phone. They are not related. The cell phone is more related to two-way radios, which they began as back in 1947.

Stan

I refuse to work on any type of cell or smartphone. Micro soldering is not my bag. lol

Regarding technology advancements in the 20th century…

The first working transistor was invented in 1947 by John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley at Bell Labs, and many folks here will remember carrying a six-transistor shirt pocket radio to the ball game.

Today… there are over 19 billion transistors in the latest Apple iPhone!
For the benefit of the congregation: transistors can act as both switches and amplifiers.

Hi,

Oh, yeah. I hear voices in my head now, from those pocket transistor radios. And, a song about them. Transistor Sister by Freddy Boom-Boom Cannon, IIRC. :)

Ironic story regarding transistors. Tubes were the most likely to fail. So they used sockets to make that an easy job. BTW, those were the User Serviceable Parts we don't have according to equipment labels.these days....

Anyway, transistors came along and no one was quite sure about how long they would keep on going for. So, they used sockets in early applications. Which turned out to be what failed. The sockets. Not the transistors. And those sockets were a Royal PIA to change out....

Stan

Back on topic.

I wanted a shot of a concert I attended last night, to post on a music forum where I comment. I did music photography professionally once, so I know about gear for music shots. But as photography was not allowed, I made a shot at the curtain call at the end with my iPhone, which got the job done, better than expected.

The group was Irreversibile Entanglements, a way out, on the edges Jazz combo, from the USA.