Aurora HDR 2018 is availabe for pre-order today, September 12, and will be released on September 28. And if you haven't followed the development of this highly versatile app, you many want to take a look now.

For example, my favorite (formerly Mac-only) HDR app is now available for Windows as well. Other goodies/improvements include:

• Next-generation Tone Mapping - A new smart Tone Mapping algorithm automatically reduces noise, and produces more realistic and natural initial results.
• Mac and Windows versions share the same product key.
• Dodge & Burn Filter.
• HDR Enhance Filter - Adds details and clarity to an image, adjusting colors, details and contrast without creating artificial halos or other problems.
• New User Interface.
• History Panel.
• Touch Bar support for Mac.
• IMPROVED: New Structure Algorithm - The re-developed Structure tool allows you to adjust detail and clarity of an image to get a classic HDR effect with great detail or a smoother effect with less details.
• IMPROVED: RAW handling - An improved RAW conversion brings out more details in shadows/highlights, displays colors more accurately and reduces noise in RAW files.
• IMPROVED: Crop tool update - Now specify custom crop sizes for even more versatility.
• IMPROVED: Speed - Faster merging and masking performance, improvement in RAW image processing.

You can preorder right now. The cost for current users of Aurora HDR is a special pre-order upgrade price of $49 ($59 MSRP). New users can purchase Aurora HDR 2018 at a special pre-order price of $89 ($99 MSRP). A collection of bonuses will also be included with every purchase.

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

This is The Digital Story Podcast #601, Set. 12, 2017. Today's theme is "HDMI Out - The Untapped Resource." I'm Derrick Story.

Opening Monologue

I haven't shot much with my Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II since the PEN-F came into my life. It's not that I don't like the OM-D anymore; I love it. But the PEN-F is just so sexy. So I started thinking, "What could I use my OM-D for? What is its special talent?" Well, for one thing, it records amazing video. And it does have that HDMI port. Then it all came together. In this week's podcast I show you the wonders of my recent discovery: HDMI Out.

I Just Can't Stand My FaceTime Camera Any Longer

I've been getting by with my FaceTime camera with Skype and other streaming needs. I'm not sure why I stuck with it so long because I hate the video it produces. For one thing, it's too wide. It's too dark. And I look 10 years older than I really am. Yet, I was still using it.

This all came to an end one morning when I was testing mimoLive with my friend Oliver, the head of Boinx Software. Oliver is a very straightforward kind of guy. And when he saw the live video I was producing with his software, he commented, "What are you using? The FaceTime camera?"

I said, "Yes I am."

"Why?" he asked. "You're a photographer. You have cameras. You have lights. Use them."

He was right. But the problem was, I didn't have any experience in streaming video, only recording to the memory card in the camera. I didn't know how to connect to my Mac and an external hard drive.

Interestingly enough, at this time, elgato released a new product called Cam Link. It's a $129 interface about the size of a thumb drive that converts HDMI output from your camera to USB for your computer. I bought one immediately and started testing. And as a result, I've fallen in love with my OM-D and its HDMI port.

What Exactly Is Happening with HDMI Out?

Essentially, instead of sending visual information to your memory card, the camera redirects it out through the HDMI port. Depending on what you're connecting too, this means that you can record full HD footage directly to a hard drive, or stream it via Skype, Facebook Live, or a number of other apps and services.

This opens up a whole new world of movie making. You still have access to all of the settings and controls that you normally use on your camera, it's just that the output feed is redirected.

In my case, I'm using mimoLive to produce my Nimble Classroom series. It's essentially a TV production environment for my Mac. So I can switch between my OM-D and the FaceTime camera for the output. And the difference is night and day. For the first time in my adult life, I look OK on live stream.

I'm using the Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 lens, with the Portrait configuration, white balance, exposure compensation, and manual focusing. I have complete control over the image, and I can stream or record at 1080p at 60fps. And not a pixel goes to the memory card. It's all flowing directly to a 2 TB Western Digital hard drive.

Will Your Camera Work with HDMI Out?

There are a few simple checks you can make to see if your camera will work in scenarios like I've described.

• Look for an HDMI Port - Many cameras have HDMI out, but not all. So check your specs.
• Determine the Type of HDMI Port - There's more than one port size. And you have to figure out the port on your camera and the device that you're connecting it to. There's the standard HDMI connector, mini, and micro. Figure out what you need, then order the appropriate cable.
• Clean Output - Check your camera to ensure that it has clean HDMI output. This means that you can turn off all onscreen menu items and that you get full-size HD output. The easiest way to test this is to connect your camera via HDMI to an LCD TV and view what appears on the TV screen. If it is clean and detailed, you're good to go.
• Automatic Shut Off - Some camera automatically shut down their output after a certain amount of time. It could be 5 minutes or 30. Some allow you to adjust this via their menus. And some don't have it at all. Find out yours and determine if it will work for your needs.
• External Power Capable - If you're going to have long recording sessions, you may want to investigate external power options to extend broadcast time. As an alternative, a power grip with an extra battery might do the trick, depending on how seamlessly the camera shifts from one battery to the next.

The Elgato Cam Link works great with my E-M5 Mark II. Beware of the system requirements for your Mac or PC computer however. When it says 4th generation quad-core Intel i5 CPU or better, it means it. I tried using it with a dual core, and the image flickered. No good! You'll also need either Windows 10 (64-bit) or macOS Sierra and an USB 3 port. If you meet those requirements, however, Cam Link will open up a new world for your HDMI compatible camera.

Lifelike 3D Audio Recording Headset

Last week I promised you an audio goodie as well. This is about as cool as it gets for video recording in the field. The Lifelike 3D Audio Recording Headset is currently accepting backers on INDIEGOGO, and this affordable device is amazing.

With just these simple earbuds and your iPhone, you can record panoramic, lifelike audio to use with your videos, or as standalone files. I explain in more detail in this second segment.

Updates and Such

Big thanks to all of our Patreon members!

Our next Nimble Classroom focuses on Luminar Pro Techniques on Saturday Sept. 23. If you want to master this amazing image editing application, join us online for this workshop. We chat among ourselves via a Slack classroom, and I'm teaching via live video and screen sharing. It's a blast!

B&H and Amazon tiles on www.thedigitalstory. If you click on them first, you're helping to support this podcast. And speaking of supporting this show, and big thanks to our Patreon Inner Circle members.

And finally, be sure to visit our friends at Red River Paper for all of your inkjet supply needs.

Texas-based Red River Paper recently announced a new fine art paper, Palo Duro Etching. The new paper is a 100 percent cotton rag paper and is free of optical brightener additives. The paper is designed to offer warm white tones, deep blacks and a subtle texture to accurately recreate traditional darkroom fine art prints.

See you next week!

More Ways to Participate

Want to share photos and talk with other members in our virtual camera club? Check out our Flickr Public Group. And from those images, I choose the TDS Member Photo of the Day.

Podcast Sponsors

Cascable - Cascable is the best tool available for working with your camera in the field.

Red River Paper - Keep up with the world of inkjet printing, and win free paper, by liking Red River Paper on Facebook.

The Nimbleosity Report

Do you want to keep up with the best content from The Digital Story and The Nimble Photographer? Sign up for The Nimbleosity Report, and receive highlights twice-a-month in a single page newsletter. Be a part of our community!

Want to Comment on this Post?

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

Even if you have a 64 GBs of storage on your handset, things can get a bit tight over time. My 2 year old iPhone 6S was down to 10 GBs of free space. With 12,000 photos, 134 videos, and tons of apps... no wonder the closet was getting full.

On the photography front, I do use optimized photos to help manage space. The masters are in iCloud with the optimized versions on the device itself. That really helps, especially for those instances when I shoot RAW with my iPhone.

But videos are another matter. There isn't a user-controlled way to optimize their storage (that I've found). There does seem to be some magic happening under the hood, but it's hard to understand exactly what's going on. So I decided to do a little experimenting.

I exported all of my videos out of the Photos library at 1080p, the same resolution that I had originally used to record them. I did include the Location information as well.

First, I exported copies of all my video files out of Photos on my Mac to an external hard drive. This took a few minutes because there was 7.76 GBs of movie content. Much of this footage had already been incorporated into other projects, so it was safe to relocate it to my backup drives.

Once everything had been copied and archived safely, I deleted all of the files from the Photos app, then emptied the trash. (Photos doesn't delete content right way. Instead, it moves it to a trash bin. But you can force the trash to empty.)

Then, I rebooted my iPhone and checked the available memory in Settings (Settings > General > About). I hadn't regained any storage space, even after deleting the videos. I checked the Photos app on the phone, and the movies were gone, but no change in numbers. Rats!

At this point, I tapped my ace in the hole. I had a software update waiting, iOS 10.3.3. I decided to run that to see if it would clean house on the iPhone. And indeed it did. I went from 10.25 GBs available to 13.59 GBs. That wasn't as much as I expected, but still quite an improvement.

The bottom line is this: with a little persistence, you can recover storage space on your iPhone. I don't want to mess with my photos. I like having them available all the time. And optimized storage really helps me manage that. But the videos? They were low hanging fruit as far as I was concerned.

I'm not exactly sure how I regained 3 GBs of storage on my iPhone. Some of it should have been the reduction in movies, maybe some of it from the software update, who knows for sure? What I have learned is that a little housekeeping usually yields positive results. And for now, I have a little more breathing room on my mobile device.

Book or Videos: Photos for macOS

Explore the world of modern photography with my The Apple Photos Book for Photographers that features insightful text and beautiful illustrations.

And if you'd like to cozy up to a video at the same time, watch my latest lynda title, Photos for macOS Essential Training

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

Many photographers try to use Spot Removal instead of cloning in Capture One for a very simple reason: they can't find the cloning tool.

That's because it's tucked away in the Local Adjustments panel. Then, someone could tell you that, and you still might not find it. You'll see adjustments for just about everything else - white balance, exposure, etc. - but not cloning.

The trick is to long-click on the new layer icon (+) until a popup menu is revealed displaying: New Layer, New Clone Layer, New Healing Layer. Choose New Clone Layer, and now when you select the Brush, it will transform into a cloning tool that works pretty much like everyone else's.

Give your layer a name. Then make sure the brush icon is highlighted or press the B key. Use the bracket keys to control the size of the brush, and Shift-bracket keys to control feathering. Option-click on the area that you want to sample. Then paint over the area that you want to clone. When you're finished, tap the V key to disable the brush.

(Another nifty way to go about this is to create a regular Adjustment layer, then change it to a Clone layer by click on the "Adjustment Bubble" that reveals the popup menu.)

There are a variety of options in the brushing tool itself that allow you to control the appearance of the mask. And since all of this work is created on a layer, you can turn it off and on by simply unchecking its box in the Adjustments panel.

After a little trial and error, you should get comfortable with Capture One's cloning tool. And now you can save Spot Removal for what it was designed for... removing sensor dust and other specks.

Master Capture One Pro

Start with Capture One Pro 10 Essential Training that will quickly get you up to speed with this pro level imaging application.

Then drill down into mastering the editing tools with Capture One Pro 10: Retouching and get supremely organized with Advanced Capture One Pro: Catalog Management.

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

A while back, the Instagram gods deemed that it was acceptable for us to publish rectangular images in our feeds. And it was a good thing... but a feature that I will probably never use.

There's something evenly perfect about the square format. The world has both width and height. It seems fairer. I like the way my IG images fill up the entire space. I feel like I'm looking at the real world.

People use Instagram in many differ ways. For me, it's my visual diary. Here'e what I saw, felt, thought about, or was surprised by today. I'm going to fill up the whole box. I don't want to waste a pixel of space. I don't want to miss a moment of life.

Some of my favorite moments as a photographer are when I tap the Share button and see today's slice of life fill up my iPhone screen. Square is cool. And Instagram is the one place where squares rule.

Join me on my Instagram site as I explore the world of mobile photography.

This is The Digital Story Podcast #600, Sept. 5, 2017. Today's theme is "6 Ways that Photography Has Changed." I'm Derrick Story.

Opening Monologue

I was composing a shot at the Santa Monica Metro Station the other night when I felt someone staring at me. I looked up and saw this man at the top of the steps with his eyes directly fixed on me. I looked back for a moment and waited for him to say something. Finally, he spoke: "We're you taking my picture?" he asked. This is the type of encounter that I'm experiencing more and more these days. And for our 600th show, I thought I'd explore 6 ways that photography has changed since I started this podcast in 2005.

Meanwhile, Back at the Santa Monica Metro Station

I paused for a moment before answering the man who had been glaring at me. His body was stiff with anger. I took a deep breath, exhaled, then replied, "I have been taking pictures here for about an hour. If you've been here during that time, you may be in some of them. I couldn't tell you for sure. But you have not been the subject of my work."

"That's freaking uncool," he spit out. "You should be ashamed of yourself."

"I'm sorry if I bothered you," I replied. "That was not my intent."

I then walked away without saying anything else. There was nothing to add to the story. I put my camera away and walked back to the hotel. The night was over.

I started thinking about all of the encounters I've experienced while working recently. And how much the act of photography has changed, as well as its perception. Some things are better, many are not. And since we're at a milestone today, show number 600, this seems like a good time to take stock of the situation.

Six Things that Have Changed

• Maturation of the Digital Workflow - In 2005, the year I began this podcast, Aperture was released by Apple, with Lightroom soon to follow. This was the next step in digital photography because it represented a true RAW workflow for all levels of photographers. Today, we have many software options and anyone can produce technically outstanding images.
• Increased Resolution, Capability, and Storage - On Flickr, I have a shot of my boys captured in April of 2005. I used a Canon Rebel XT. Canon wrote this about its camera: "The EOS Digital Rebel XT features Canon's 8.0 Megapixel CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) sensor, which captures images of exceptional clarity and tonal range and offers the most pixels in its class." It had a 1.8" LCD viewfinder with 115K dots resolution. Today I'm capturing around 20MPs with 3" LCDs at a million dots. At the same time, storage became cheaper. In 2005, hard drives were relatively expensive and cloud storage was anything but robust. Today, I can buy 3TB hard drives for about $90 and I have 200GB of Cloud backup for $2.99 a month. And all of this storage is optimized.
• More Sharing Options - (Here's where things really begin to change.) In 2004, both Facebook and Flickr launched. Twitter followed in 2006, and we didn't see Instagram until 2010 and Snapchat until 2011. The impact of these social networks has impacted photography dramatically.
• The Emergence of the Selfie - The iPhone 4 was introduced in 2010 with a front-facing camera. This single device poured gas on the self-love portrait phenomenon known as the Selfie. Combined with the emerging social networks I mentioned earlier, the tone of consumer photography shifted from an outward exploration of the world to inward reassurance. I think in many ways, the convergence of these technologies is what put us on the rails that we're riding now.
• The Devaluation of Artistic Imagery - With the improved hardware and software, little ability was required to create a technically acceptable photograph. Unfortunately, this has had an adverse affect for artists and professionals. Technically acceptable has become good enough for stock, public display, weddings, annual reports, and other business opportunities for professional photographers. Our value has diminished, as well as our ability to support our families.
• Post September 11, 2001 - All the while these other events were unfolding, the effects of 9-11 continued to surface, and to some degree, expand. Anyone taking a picture in public may be subjected to questioning by security guards, pedestrians, shop owners, and police. To my knowledge, photography did not play a role in horrific attack by terrorists, yet it somehow has suffered collaterally ever since. People are not the same in public. And hostility toward photographers has increased.

So where does that leave us? If we're not careful, we could find ourselves in a wholly unsatisfying position. Where on one hand, we have these marvelous tools. Yet the world we have to use them in is highly suspicious, inwardly facing, and satisfied with the average.

As artists and professionals, it is our role to not be content with the status quo, and to push back against hostility, narcism, and visual mediocrity.

I was back on the streets the next night in Santa Monica. The image that I captured on that second shoot featured a young mother holding her child and looking up at the lights and magic of the carnival atmosphere of the Santa Monica Pier. She was clearly happy to be there. She was enjoying it with her daughter. At that moment life was good, for all of us. And as one viewer commented on Instagram, "I can't stop looking at this picture."

For me, that shot represented the good things about my photography today. I captured the image handheld at ISO 3200, processed it in great software, and was able to share with the world on Instagram. Those are my positive takeaways. I'll deal with the other things as they come up.

Photography has changed greatly since my first podcast in 2005. There are some things I miss from then. But like that image of my boys playing basketball that I captured with the Canon Rebel XT, I will always have those pictures.

Updates and Such

Big thanks to all of our Patreon members!

B&H and Amazon tiles on www.thedigitalstory. If you click on them first, you're helping to support this podcast. And speaking of supporting this show, and big thanks to our Patreon Inner Circle members.

And finally, be sure to visit our friends at Red River Paper for all of your inkjet supply needs.

Texas-based Red River Paper recently announced a new fine art paper, Palo Duro Etching. The new paper is a 100 percent cotton rag paper and is free of optical brightener additives. The paper is designed to offer warm white tones, deep blacks and a subtle texture to accurately recreate traditional darkroom fine art prints.

See you next week!

More Ways to Participate

Want to share photos and talk with other members in our virtual camera club? Check out our Flickr Public Group. And from those images, I choose the TDS Member Photo of the Day.

Podcast Sponsors

Cascable - Cascable is the best tool available for working with your camera in the field.

Red River Paper - Keep up with the world of inkjet printing, and win free paper, by liking Red River Paper on Facebook.

The Nimbleosity Report

Do you want to keep up with the best content from The Digital Story and The Nimble Photographer? Sign up for The Nimbleosity Report, and receive highlights twice-a-month in a single page newsletter. Be a part of our community!

Want to Comment on this Post?

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

Imagine plugging a set of great sounding earbuds into your iPhone, tapping the record button, and instantly capturing crystal clear 3D audio. That's exactly what Lifelike 3D Audio earbuds by Scenes can do.

The Lifelike headset looks like regular earbuds, and it doesn't take up any more room in your camera bag. For listening purposes, they are terrific... crisp and clear. They would be a great music listening device if nothing else. But these earbuds go well beyond simply enjoying your favorite song.

When you plug them into your iPhone via the Lightning port, they are also a sophisticated recording device. Each microphone is positioned naturally outside each ear, capable of recording the world as it happens all around you.

Lifelike 3D earphones come with a Digital Box built-in best-in-class high fidelity processor, which is equipped with a MFi-certified lightning connector to integrate seamlessly with all compatible iOS devices. Use the Lightning port to your iPhone, open the video app, and then you will have a realistic, immersive 3D video. After sharing, use any headphones to replay, audiences will feel like they are there.

That's right, once the recording is captured, anyone can experience your 3D audio with their standard earbuds. No special equipment is required. Here's a movie that I made at the Santa Monica Metro Station using the Camera app on my iPhone and the Lifelike 3D earphones.

To create this movie, I recorded the scene with the iPhone set to standard video mode. I was wearing the Lifelike earphones that were plugged into my handset. I tapped the record button.

Once the footage was captured, the video with the 3D audio was automatically uploaded to my Photos for macOS app. There, I created a slideshow project where I added a few stills, transitions, and background music. That was it. High quality 3D audio with the mere tap of the record button.

You can learn all of the details about the Lifelike 3D earphones at their Indiegogo page. The early bird prices are as low as $79. They are projected to sell for $149 on the open market.

Having this high quality audio dramatically changes even the simplest videos. And to be able to do so without any extra work is just amazing.

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

The Santa Monica Metro Station connects travelers to the greater Los Angeles area. It's an attractive, well-lit area that's perfect for night photography. So I mounted my Olympus 17mm f/1.8 and went searching for those who commute after dark.

A peek between cars. Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II, 17mm f/1.8 lens at f/4, ISO 2500, 1/15th. (Out of camera image.) Photo by Derrick Story.

Getting a Ticket - Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II, 17mm f/1.8 lens at f/4, ISO 2500, 1/40th. (Out of camera image.) Photo by Derrick Story.

It's a great way to get an evening walk, and the images provide a completely different look than daytime travel photography.

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

This is The Digital Story Podcast #599, August 29, 2017. Today's theme is "5 Scenarios When Analog Makes More Sense." I'm Derrick Story.

Opening Monologue

I've been reading a lot about the Nikon D850 and what an impressive 45MP, $3,300 machine it is. I've also been following the Fuji GFX story and how the market is responding to the 51MP, $6,500 digital medium format body. The numbers made me a little dizzy. And it got me thinking about more affordable alternatives for creative photography. And that's the subject for today's show.

5 Scenarios When Analog Makes More Sense

I had coffee the other day with a customer who had purchase a Contax RTS from TheFilmCameraShop. He was in town via a road trip, and it was easier to hand over the camera rather than ship it. Kyle is a professional travel and landscape photographer. And it was fascinating to listen to the direction he's taking today.

He shoots Sony mirrorless most of the time. But he has collection of Zeiss lenses with the Contax mount that he's adapted to his digital body. "I can't describe how good these lenses are and how utterly affordable."

He was preaching to the choir. And his story is my first example of when analog makes more sense.

• Great Glass, Affordably - One of the best zoom lenses ever made is the Zeiss 35-70mm f/3.4 in the Contax mount. Pop Photo commented in their testing of it that every focal length performed like a prime lens. I bought one in pristine condition for $289. I can mount it on any mirrorless camera.
• Medium Format at a Fraction of the Price - You can buy a Hasselblad 500C with Zeiss 80mm lens and back for about $900. That's about 1/10 the cost of a digital medium format kit. Since most of us only need medium format for special assignments, this is a wonderful alternative.
• Archive for the Ages - Properly handled film has a very long life expectancy and is device independent.
• Improving Your Skill as a Photographer - It's amazing the motivation that sets in the moment you get your processed images back from the lab, and they are all over the map exposure wise. Shooting digital RAWs has made most of us lazy at capture. There is no better (and unforgiving) way to sharpen up our skills than by shooting a monthly roll of film.
• The Cameras Themselves - Many of the analog cameras I shoot with are my favorites. And because of this, I want to shoot more often with them. And as a result, I have more images at my disposal than ever before. I shoot digital at work. But analog gets me off the couch in my free time.

Using the Intervalometer for Cascable 3 "kas-ka-ball"

One of my favorite features in Cascable's Shutter Robot is the Intervalometer Module. It's both powerful and flexible, and perfect for taking full control of your time-lapse sequences. The Intervalometer is a PRO feature.

Start by setting the Interval, which can be as short as 1 second or as long as 59 minutes, 59 seconds. Then set the Stop parameter. You have three options: manually, after a fixed number of shots, or after a fixed amount to time. Once those are set, tap the Engage button, then the shutter release to begin the sequence.

Cascable is available to get started with for free from the iOS App Store. Cascable's Pro features come with a free trial when subscribing from $2 per month, or can also be unlocked with a one-time $29.99 purchase.

We have a tile on all the pages of The Digital Story that takes you directly to the TDS landing page on the Cascable site.

You Don't Always Have to Take the Shot

The story about my younger brother getting to steer the ship during an important family event.

A Look at Our First The Nimble Classroom

It was all systems go last Saturday for our first The Nimble Classroom focusing on Capture One Pro Catalog Management. Here's how it went.

Here are the upcoming sessions.

• September 9, Expert Editing, Capture One Pro
• September 23, Luminar Pro Techniques
• October 7, Photos 3 for macOS SOLD OUT
• November 4, Photos 3 for macOS

You can learn more about them and sign up for your favorites by visiting The Nimble Classroom online.

Updates and Such

Big thanks to all of our Patreon members!

B&H and Amazon tiles on www.thedigitalstory. If you click on them first, you're helping to support this podcast. And speaking of supporting this show, and big thanks to our Patreon Inner Circle members.

And finally, be sure to visit our friends at Red River Paper for all of your inkjet supply needs.

Texas-based Red River Paper recently announced a new fine art paper, Palo Duro Etching. The new paper is a 100 percent cotton rag paper and is free of optical brightener additives. The paper is designed to offer warm white tones, deep blacks and a subtle texture to accurately recreate traditional darkroom fine art prints.

See you next week!

More Ways to Participate

Want to share photos and talk with other members in our virtual camera club? Check out our Flickr Public Group. And from those images, I choose the TDS Member Photo of the Day.

Podcast Sponsors

Cascable - Cascable is the best tool available for working with your camera in the field.

Red River Paper - Keep up with the world of inkjet printing, and win free paper, by liking Red River Paper on Facebook.

The Nimbleosity Report

Do you want to keep up with the best content from The Digital Story and The Nimble Photographer? Sign up for The Nimbleosity Report, and receive highlights twice-a-month in a single page newsletter. Be a part of our community!

Want to Comment on this Post?

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

As we rev up for the next iPhone super cycle (10 year anniversary and all), it's sounding like the top of the line handset will tip the scales at $1,000. That's more than what I would spend on a new Pentax KP or OM-D E-M5 Mark II (and the OM-D comes with a free $400 lens). Both are serious tools that I use in my photography business.

Based on Apple's track record, we're also pretty sure that we're going to have to purchase the top of the line model to get the best camera. In a very real sense, many mobile photographers have to look at this investment as photography gear. And as such, it should be pitted against the other cameras and lenses we're considering.

The waters get muddied a bit by the fact that we typically buy our smartphones on payment plans rather than splashing a big charge on to our credit cards. It makes the purchase easy, and therefore the investment might not be accounted for properly.

I'm thinking about all of this because I have an iPhone 6S that will be paid off in September. It's a great handset with a very capable camera. Typically I upgrade my phone every two years.

But I think I need to look at this in a more businesslike matter. If I spend a $1,000 on a new iPhone, that should be accounted for that in my budget (spanning two years). What else do I need? How will the iPhone purchase impact those other items?

The days of getting a semi-free phone with our carrier plan are over. The next iPhone will be a substantial investment, and it should be viewed as such for photographers on a budget.

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.