Fly pics with older Apple phone?

skiltonian

skiltonian

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Jul 6, 2007
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My fly pics suck. How do you take detailed pics with an older iPhone, like a 13?
 
Dear skiltonian,

I don't own that particular phone so I can't offer any firsthand information. There may be some settings that you can change that will improve your results.

Try reading this web page.

Is the Camera on the iPhone 13 Good? An In-Depth Review - BlinksAndButtons

The iPhone 13, launched in September 2021, has quickly become one of the most popular smartphones on the market, garnering attention not only for its sleek
blinksandbuttons.net blinksandbuttons.net

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂
 
skiltonian said:
My fly pics suck. How do you take detailed pics with an older iPhone, like a 13?
Click to expand...
If you post examples of your fly photos, we may be able to diagnose the problem.

Here's a common problem, with any type of camera:

If the fly is very blurry, but the background is in focus, it means the autofocus is focusing on the background, and not your fly.

You can solve this by changing the focus setting. Or by putting a background, like cardboard or foam board, behind the fly but very close to the fly, so that both will be in focus.

And "fill the frame", i.e. you want nearly the entire frame to be filled with the image of the fly. That way the camera will focus on the fly, not the background.
 
Also, maybe try not getting too close to the fly with your phone. Stand back a bit and use the zoom to get a closer shot.
 
troutbert said:
If you post examples of your fly photos, we may be able to diagnose the problem.

Here's a common problem, with any type of camera:

If the fly is very blurry, but the background is in focus, it means the autofocus is focusing on the background, and not your fly.

You can solve this by changing the focus setting. Or by putting a background, like cardboard or foam board, behind the fly but very close to the fly, so that both will be in focus.

And "fill the frame", i.e. you want nearly the entire frame to be filled with the image of the fly. That way the camera will focus on the fly, not the background.
Click to expand...
Dear troutbert,

Doing research, the minimum focus distance is 2 CM on the iPhone 13 which is about 8 inches. If the OP is trying to take a picture closer than 8 inches from the fly it will never work out. If the camera operates anything like my ancient Nokia 400G there should be a focus box that pops when you try to take a picture. If you place it over the subject, in this case, the fly and press the shutter button you should get a usable picture. If the shutter doesn't fire the focus distance is too close so backing up a bit may make the difference.

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂
 
This is following the internets advice. Details are all blurred. There a lot of good pics of flies on the site, just wondering if its user error.
IMG_3092.jpeg
 
I took photos with an 8 up until about a month ago simply by holding the phone in my hand. It’s not the phone it’s your technique. First, DO NOT zoom in with the phone. Do not use any zoom at all. Manually move the camera closer or further away from the fly until it’s clear on the screen and take the picture. TMurphs 8” estimation is probably about right. Then crop the picture to size. Should be more than sufficient. It will definitely look better then the one above which sure looks like you used the cameras zoom. When you use the zoom you can’t hold the camera steady enough and you will always get blurry pictures because you’re moving.
 
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skiltonian said:
This is following the internets advice. Details are all blurred. There a lot of good pics of flies on the site, just wondering if its user error. View attachment 1641249056
Click to expand...
Dear skiltonian,

Just a guess, but I think you are too close to the fly to render anything in focus. Nothing in that picture is in focus. Back up an inch or two and try again. And if the picture above is cropped that makes it worse. Tightening up on bad shot is a recipe for disaster.

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂
 
skiltonian said:
My fly pics suck. How do you take detailed pics with an older iPhone, like a 13?
Click to expand...
So every pic I posted on the what are you tying thread was taken with an iPhone 11, shot through the magnification glass I use to tie. Perhaps your lack of definition needs magnification, but not from the phone?
 
skiltonian said:
My fly pics suck. How do you take detailed pics with an older iPhone, like a 13?
Click to expand...
If an iPhone 13 is an older phone, my iPhone 8 must belong in the Smithsonian Institute. I had a salesman at the Xfinity store tell me only buy a newer iPhone if mine dies, and not until then.
He also said when I do decide, for whatever reason, to buy a new phone, to get the iPhone SE 3rd Gen, which supports iOS 17.0.
He said this phone takes the best quality pics of any out there, including the newest iPhones.
 
That's older? The only reason I'm using this 11 is bec
skiltonian said:
This is following the internets advice. Details are all blurred. There a lot of good pics of flies on the site, just wondering if its user error. View attachment 1641249056
Click to expand...

The good news is you use an 18% grey backdrop, you got that part right!

The bad news is you're still using flash, turn it off. Turn on a desk lamp.

You're likely too close, as others have said, back it up a bit and zoom it in. Someone said the minimum focus is 8cm, that's like 4 inches and even that is probably too close. Hold your phone 6-8" away and zoom in a bit.

FInally, brace it on something. You've turned your vise jaws sideways, now set a pile of books, a jar, a candle, a pile of random *** crap down 8" away from your vice and set the bottom of your phone on that base so your jittery hand doens't make it worse. Tap your screen ontop of the fly so the little yellow box pops up and says "I'm going to zoom in here and use this for my light meter setting."
 
All of my fly pics are taken with an IPhone SE 3rd Gen while holding the phone in my hand. I agree with staying back as far as possible with the phone while still being able to brace the phone for steadiness with at least one finger on a part of my vise and then centering the fly and touching the fly in the middle of the screen to focus on it before snapping the photo. Any zooming is accomplished by cropping the photo after it is taken as well as other editing features to bring out some of the detail in the fly. However the IPhone SE does take really great photos so there definitely is photo quality differences between phones.
 
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Sometimes it is not the phone but the lighting of the space. A lot of photographers will use a light box for macro pictures. You can buy one off of Amazon or you can make one out of an old box and some plastic grocery bags.

With phones nowadays, just make sure the image is in focus and use post editing to make it look snazzy.IMG_6173.jpeg
 
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