What next?!

[Matt]

I could see how that would be useful, but at the same time... phone tech changes so quickly, and the shape of a new iphone, such as the 5, would mean having to buy a whole new mount.

[Kelly]

Guess I'm missing something here. The benefit of a camera within an iPhone is its portability and small size. Why would someone want to haul along a big ass lens only to attach it to an iPhone? I don't see the advantage. Besides looking almost as dumb as an iPad photographer at the Eiffel Tower, you really still have almost as much to carry as if you just attached it to your DSLR body. And if someone is only using the lens/iPhone combo so they can Instagram and hipsterize their shots, all I can say is..... .

[Des219]

I agree with Kelly, why? The one possible use could be video... For example my camera was the last Canon without video, so maybe I would use it with my iPhone. I am curious what the equivalent mm my 24-70 would be on an iPhone.

[Kelly]

I just hope I'm standing nearby when the call comes in.

This gal lugged her huge lens, huge mount, and her tripod - but didn't feel up to lugging her camera.

[Matt]

Guess I'm missing something here. The benefit of a camera within an iPhone is its portability and small size. Why would someone want to haul along a big ass lens only to attach it to an iPhone? I don't see the advantage. Besides looking almost as dumb as an iPad photographer at the Eiffel Tower, you really still have almost as much to carry as if you just attached it to your DSLR body. And if someone is only using the lens/iPhone combo so they can Instagram and hipsterize their shots, all I can say is..... .

You ARE missing something. Two big things. One little.
Connectivity. Apps. GPS.

Just one example would be the wildlife identification and cataloging apps. Snap a photo of a bird, have it uploaded to a community of people ready to help identify it immediately.

How about someone at Owl Woods, snaps a shot of an owl, immediately uploads it to the flickr stream, tagged with the owl species, date/time, and location. Then visitors can check the feed and get the locations. Flickr will plot photos on a map and sort them by time.

Webcam apps. real-time filtering apps. security apps.

Basically the huge advantage the iphone has over that SLR, is that it's connected and has an open development system. Our SLR's can't be upgraded to that.
The iphone can be upgraded to take an SLR lens.

Think of a security firm that wants to install an array of cameras that scan the faces of visitors entering a stadium. They develop facial recognition software for the iphone. Attach lenses that get in close enough or are focuses at the right spot to grab enough detail on passer-by. Wifi or 3g the data back to a central server for processing.

How about Journalists, who are now using cell phones to beam live stream video, from war zones,political hotspots, and even during the Boston terror pursuits. Now they aren't limited to the 30mm pinhole the iphone 4 gives.

[Kelly]

Ahaaa! Got it. Never considered those.

Still a few drawbacks to perfection though. No auto focus or auto anything as far as I can tell, which makes the security and webcam application a bit difficult. And....images will appear upside down unless you use their software.....Most important of all - there's no traditional viewfinder. Seeing the LCD screen in bright light, in order to get a decent focus, even for a young person will be a challenge. And old people? Forget it. We can't see it in any light.

[Matt]

Connect your iphone to those binoculars.
sound stupid? Not for the bird-watcher.
http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/13a4/? ... ID=2617611

[Matt]

I guess that IS what's next... Sony is in on the game with an adapter
But this one is a bit different.
Technically the lens mount IS the camera with sensor and mechanics. You just sync it with your smartphone and it uses software on the smartphone as display/processor/storage.
Pretty ingenious

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDIZImKrhg8