What’s the point of ultrawide on a smartphone?
So that there’s no confusion here, I will say that I’m not making the argument that there’s no place for ultrawide photography – far from it. Ultrawide shots of cityscapes or natural vistas can be truly stunning, and exactly the type of photo that I could spend a chunk of time admiring in a gallery or museum. The problem is that the absolute worst medium for viewing these shots is a smartphone display.
Manufacturers need to ditch ultrawide lenses and go all-in on telephoto equivalents
When shrunk down to a compact screen, all of the detail and points of interest that make ultrawide photography worthwhile are completely lost. Unless you plan on printing out your ultrawide shots and giving them the space they deserve, there’s little point in having them.
What smartphones really excel at is portrait photography. My hot take is that manufacturers need to ditch ultrawide lenses and go all-in on telephoto equivalents.
Luke Baker
Telephoto is king
The biggest beneficiary of an easily accessible camera is candid photography. It’s so much quicker to reach for your smartphone to capture something in the moment than it is to take the lens cap off a dedicated camera and set up the focus.
The best portraits always come from a telephoto lens
With that in mind, telephoto lenses with optical zoom are perfect for quick, candid shots. As a new dad, my camera roll is now completely taken up with phots of my daughter, which my wife and I share with family. The best portraits always come from a telephoto lens as I’ve been able to snap them swiftly, from a distance, and all without my daughter spotting the camera.
It’s when a camera is noticed that a shot looks forced and the moment is gone. That’s exactly why a telephoto lens should be available on almost all modern smartphones to help users to capture better pics.
