Just because you're good at one job doesn't necessarily mean you'll be good at another...
http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/2002-09-24/
The Chicago Sun-Times is training its journalists in iPhone camera work to replace its staff photographers, who were all laid off last week. The training commences on Friday and will include "iPhone photography basics", as well as capturing and editing video on iOS, and uploading it to the appropriate social sites, according …
I wonder if the Chicago Sun-Times ever sends its correspondents into conflict/war zones? Good luck with trying to explain to the local warlord that "I'm a legit reporter - look at my cool iPhone which not only doubles as my camera /videocam but also my voice recorder". Still at least they'll be able to get in close.
Could actually be good if the photos are taken by the reporter, at the time, and line up with what is written. How many articles have some stock photo, or the same as all the other articles, and give me a strong suspicion they were paraphrased from someone else's work...
Some of the best articles on this site have photos by the hacks, usually accompanied with something like "it's a crap photo because the light in the pub was poor and I've only an iPhone 4" but at least you know it's real :-)
"Could actually be good if the photos are taken by the reporter, at the time, and line up with what is written. How many articles have some stock photo, or the same as all the other articles, and give me a strong suspicion they were paraphrased from someone else's work..."
I don't think that will change. Just that now anything that needs a wide angle, telephoto, or a real flash will be photo free, or have a stock photo.
So the paper will be.
50% ads
30% wire stories that also appear in every other paper.
10% stuff they 'paraphrased' with out checking from something they found on the internet (like the Onion).
5% stuff readers sent in (free).
5% stuff they actually wrote, often days old, now with cell phone photos.
You forgot the 70% totally inaccurate bollox that appears in the Daily Fail such as this article:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2333626/What-WILL-Google-block-child-porn-Jailed-life-yesterday-April-Joness-murderer-latest-child-killer-use-internet-fuel-perversion.html?offset=300&max=100#comment-32009308
the delight of watching shaky video, frantically blurred panning, and distracted photo composition, all taken while the journo/photog thumb-stabs the text into the fondle-slab? I don't think so ... but it must have felt good for thirty seconds or so to see all that payroll burden get shoved out the door. Good, until they see the next huge drop in subscription and advertising income.
It's kinda like firing the coal stoker on the locomotive and handing the shovel to the engineer. That's a great way to keep your eye on the signals.
You forgot "The Weather Forecast is Swedish" .... for those who can't remember this was a weather forecast in swedish by a female swede in a bikini complete with subtitles .... in swedish. At the end of the forecast she switched to English to describe the current weather in Sweden!
They're going to have to be bloody good reporters if they're going to be able to not only capture a picture of an event but also pay attention to the details of what's happening around it in order to put together some meaningful description.
I think the end result will be more, but crappier, reporting.
It's not the equipment, it's the person using it. News photographers have lots of experience taking photographs. Some have even gone to school for it. Sure, your reporters can use iPhones. They might even be able to get them out, enter the unlock code, and bring up the camera before the moment to be photographed passes. Then, they might even get a shot.
No zoom lens, no flash, tiny sensor. I guess that's god enough for the Chicago Sun-Times.
//feel bad for the photogs, but maybe they'll be appreciated at their next jobs.
You can take photos and vids from the lock screen since iOS 5 I think (maybe iOS 4, honestly can't remember). Slide the camera icon at the right hand side of the slide to unlock bar up, and you're dropped into the camera app. This to me is poor security as there appears to be no way to turn that feature off, but *shrug*
And the phones do have a flash. Admittedly nowhere near as powerful as a Canon Speedlite or the like, but then again if they're asking the journalists to take pictures, then they're not actually caring too much about the quality of the pics.
Oh, and yes, the tiny sensor will have a definite negative impact. The smaller sensors are nowhere near as sensitive as APS-C or 35mm sized sensors, so they tend to crank up amplifiers to handle low-light situations and hence introduce a lot more noise than a DSLR sensor would.
"And the phones do have a flash. Admittedly nowhere near as powerful as a Canon Speedlite"
Understatement of the week.
There are a few (not iPhone) that have a small xenon flash. The LED "Flash" most often found on a phone is only of any use for a few feet, better then nothing I guess.
To remove the protective cover on the Lens when you are shooting forward. It might be hiding under the case you just bought. It really screws up ALL the flash pictures, but they look OK when you frame them.
Another thing: photography is an art like other things. To get it right takes LOTS of practice (and making mistakes).
Me: I'd hire some of the BEST photographers as trainers for the new found picture takers. They might impart some useful knowledge!
Now where was that Speed Grafic I had stored away in the closet.