Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for February 22, 2015

Those are phones that can take pictures more than two feet away.

Hey, I’ve seen that look on a retail clerk before … I think it was at a store that sells watches …

Rat and Pig sure aren’t scoring any Brownie points with that guy.

“For the times they are a-changing.” ~Bob Dylan

This generation has no appreciation for the quality of high-end photography- just like it has no appreciation for good stereo sound. Tiny, tinny speakers? Give me a break!

“KodachromeThey give us those nice bright colorsThey give us the greens of summersMakes you think all the world’sA sunny day, oh yeahI got a Nikon cameraI love to a photographSo mama, don’t take my Kodachrome away” ~Paul Simon

There is something about a beautifully made camera that makes you take more effort in taking the photo.

Obsolescence comes so quickly as the pace of technological development quickens and multiplies! I myself have missed whole phases of gadgetry because I was happily still using an older one while a newer one came and went and an even-newer replacement appeared!

Wait a minute, last time I saw Rat smile he died for a weekhttp://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine/2005/01/23(agreed, I have yet to catch up on 2005-2014)

Don’t hate. We had some horrible music in the 70’s too. I personally am a fan of 50’s-60’s music. Motown rules.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXwUVRkRYj4

Oh god. 7:00am on Sunday and I’m strolling down memory lane with youtube music videos. Winter has finally destroyed me mind.

Yeah, smartphones take some crappy pictures, but ya know what? So did the film cameras that most people had at their disposal at the time: 110, 126, cheap point-and-shoot 35mm, and of course, the Polaroid. I, for one, don’t miss paying extra for flash cubes, paying for film, then paying to have that film developed, then opening up the envelope with the freshly developed photos only to see that out of 12 or 24 shots only three came out right, then paying extra to have extra prints made of those, and then finally putting those photos in a closet, never to look at them again.

High-end SLR film cameras are great for purists, but for everybody else you can’t beat the convenience of a good smartphone camera (and they really are getting pretty good).

For the last decade plus it’s been ‘convenience’, over quality..Also I shouldn’t have to pay for music and videos..I will always miss film cameras due to the ‘instant’ the picture was taken, not:PressWait about a secondThen the picture is takenUnless you want to spend serious $$$$ for a digital.I will admit the digital picture taking does have some advantages.

Oh well, the wise acres will come back with the unimaginative ‘buggy whip’ expressions. Especially when they can’t find a good argument against your statements.

To be fair, and accurate—the people taking pictures with their phones are the same people that would have been taking those pictures with a crappy 35mm camera ten years ago…people who bought nice cameras then are the same people who buy nice cameras now, regardless of generation. I use my phone for day to day casual photography and my camera for specific types of photography. Sadly, it’s hard enough to find a lens with the appropriate f stop to capture short-distance action shots as well as an iPhone can with its burst mode. It also doesn’t hurt that you can put one in your pocket, and not the other.

Living in Arizona, I’m not familiar with that “tree” thing in the first two panels…is that a new technology?

and I have the real OLD poloroids that crank out of the case. Dinosaur. Where’s Bob when you need him?

I used to take great photos with my 4 SLR cameras. Then I had cataract surgery in both eyes and my lenses were replaced with fixed-focus lenses. On the plus side: I threw away my glasses and now just need reading glasses for close work. On the minus side: I can’t take sharp pictures due to my ability to quickly focus far and near. I have to trust the camera to focus on whatever, and I have yet to find a camera which allows the fine adjustment of focal length and spot focus I could achieve before. Also on the plus side: It’s MUCH better than being blind! I would have to have my sweetie read Pearls Before Swine to me.

@Tony PizzaI bought my second SLR, a Canon A-1 (the first SLR with an LED display in the viewfinder), I also started shooting color film for the first time. With the cost of the film plus processinI in 1981 being 50¢ every time the shutter release was pushed, one put a lot of care and composition into every shot.

In the digital age, which started in 1994 for me, shutter presses are virtually free. It was and continues to be easy to fall into a practice of “spray and pray” — shoot a lot of images and hope one of them is good enough to keep.

BTW, 50¢ was what some of us Kodak employees paid through the employee store; average consumers on the street paid a bit more. Those who worked in the photography parts of the business got theirs for free while those who did not were SOL.

I’m amused every time a new sort of ‘smartphone’ comes out. The advertising always points to how great the camera is. Howzabout you make one with a bloody decent PHONE?

I saw a person using a pay phone the other day. I took a picture of it. With my phone.

Got my smart phoneGot my textsMy e-mailMy quick snaps to reviewThen it’s Canon TimeManual settingsDifferent exposuresPlanned shotsMy Art

The camera on my LG Viewty Snap is 5MP.The quality always seems to be better in the daytime.xxx

…and get off my lawn.

I wasn’t complaining about the music- I was referring to the amplifiers & speakers. Vinyl is making a comeback. So are tube amps. I still have my 15" tower speakers.

Ooo….I’d like that for my collection- can you weave me one?

Awww. Rat’s smiling. And not out of malice and he didn’t explode.

For all of the photographers out there, kudos to you.

He’s selling things that produce higher quality pictures than your phones ever will.

Did you realize that the phone is in the selfie