I get great results with the 4S, and I like it a lot. I think it's true that higher end cameras will do better. I think everyone here can just say "duh" to that. What I think is silly is saying that (or implying) that the iPhone cant produce anything "remotely good." You are just plain wrong. It can. It does. End of story. The web is FULL of examples. This forum is full of examples. My photo roll on my iPhone is full of examples. The iPhone (4 or 4s - hell, even the 3) can produce good - no, GREAT - looking photos. Again, if you disagree, then you are wrong. Plain and simple.
The rub is, maybe they don't look good to YOU. That's fine.
Now I am sure you can list off an entire list of photography terms and qualifications that would, frankly, bore me and not impress me in the least. But, if you had ANY grasp of just how insignificant I am, you wouldn't care a bit about impressing me. The bottom line is that there are millions of us who are thrilled with the quality of the pics on the iPhone.
I mean no disrespect, but I strongly believe the following is completely true: There are "snap-shooters" and "photographers." Snap-shooters just want to take pics of things we like, and we want to enjoy the way our pics look. We don't (in general) spend much on camera's. We don't (in general) carry camera's around. Photographers want to take pics that OTHER people will like, they want OTHER people to enjoy looking at their pics. They spend THOUSANDS of dollars on cameras. They almost always (in general) have some sort of fancy camera near by. They (quite unintentionally I believe) become picture snobs. When a snap-shooter dares to have the audacity to imply that something we shot on a cheap camera or (gasp) even a device that is a camera only as a secondary function even approaches the quality of the super-heroic and awesome DSLR/SLR devices of the gods.... well, the photographers tend to take it personally.
You can spot em a mile away - they always give back handed, grudgingly offered compliments to cheaper cameras, but their bottom line is always the same: it's not a "real" picture unless it was taken by a multi-billion dollar camera designed by Zeus himself.
Ya see - I play guitar. I know other guitarists - we call ourselves "musicians." Let some kid get a $100 setup and post a video of himself playing a version of "Stairway to Heaven" that he spent all night learning... and we will eviscerate him for daring to enter our arena with such shoddy weapons. We will destroy him for even thinking about existing in our world with such unworthy tools (not to mention his pitiful skills - how DARE he not be born with years of skill at his command!) We are terrible human beings - we suck.
I think all people are like that in some area or another.
For most of us, the iPhone is great, and it takes great looking pictures. For some of us - the iPhone will NEVER take a good looking pics. The difference is, snap-shooters AND photographers carry iPhones (or some other camera-phone). I would say it's ALL of our "first grab" cameras.
But hey, I'm just a dumb guitar playin' dude - what do I know?
Seriously, I meant no disrespect - I just see this a LOT lol.
Take care,
Rob
