A relatively new term in the “professional” journalism world: “iPhotojournalism.”

While named for the iPhone with its better-than-average camera — particularly for a camera phone — the term applies universally to anyone using a cell phone camera to capture images — both still and video — for news use.

After three years of using an Android phone, I took advantage of Apple’s introduction of the iPhone 5 to pick up an iPhone 4s for a sharply-reduced price.  The 4s has basically the same 8 megapixel camera and HD video capabilities as the 5 and I can live without the slightly-larger screen and 4G LTE speed, which is sporadic anyway in places where I spend most of my time.

In emergency situations, I used the Droid to capture news photos for online and print use but never considered it a viable substitute for my higher quality digital cameras.

And while the iPhone 4s offers good imaging — especially with apps like ProCamera — it is still a backup to my trusty Canon DSLRs.  I plan to continue exploring its use as a viable still and video tool.

Yet other photographers are putting the iPhone to use as a primary photojournalism tool.  London Guardian Photographer Dan Chung documented the Olympics this summer on an iPhone.  Bloomberg Business Week talked with photographers who use an iPhone with Instagram for news use.  Damon Winter of The New York Times put his iPhone to use covering the war in Afghanistan and won an award in the annual Pictures of the Year contest.

I’m finding the iPhone handy to grab a photo without having to dig one of my big cameras out of the bag.  In recent weeks, I’ve used the camera phone to shoot news photos of storm damage, a football game and election night.

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