dfx
Contributor
Discussing that one particular special case might be academic, but when you extend it to have general meaning, it's not academic at all. You can also take two photos, one from a DSLR and one from some cheap camera, subject both to the same processing and see which one comes out better. It's all about one tool being better suited for a job than another.Every picture that I take with my DSLR is subject to post-processing before I display it here or elsewhere. For example, I do not see the point of doing white balance underwater when I can tweak my RAW file in the comfort of my office. Yes, a DSLR can take a nicer picture than a point-and-shoot or cellphone camera without post-processing, but I see this as a discussion that's largely academic.
Correct, cameras which produce lower quality images often have some other advantage that makes people buy and use them (often it's just the price). But I really, really, really don't see the advantage of using a cell phone to take pictures under water. It's not price, you need to buy an expensive housing. It's not picture quality, because cameras which are just as small and cost just as much as the housing produce better pictures. It's not ease of use (can you even use the touch screen under water?). It's not the fact that you always have it with you (which is usually given as the killer argument for using the phone for everything) because the phone itself doesn't cut it, you also need to have the housing with you, which again means that instead of that housing, you could also take a real camera. It's not battery life. So what is it, other than to show off how iCool you are?Snapping identical photos in the same light would give us an apples-to-apples comparison. There are other variables though, particularly for underwater use. Can the diver handle the camera and its controls underwater? In low light? In a current? Are the controls accessible? Can the diver afford the camera and housing? The extra baggage charges? Will the propeller plane even take it? Etc. Sometimes I'm a little envious of other divers when I see their little point-and-shoot dangling daintily from their wrist, while I drive my housing and strobes like a forklift. And there are a few divers on ScubaBoard who take excellent point-and-shoot pictures.