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youngmac

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 17, 2010
163
45
London
Hi guys, I have not upgraded yet from iPhone X. I do lot of travel and was wondering if the pro can be your only camera for travel. I don’t like taking lot of tech on my travel. I have an dji osmo action when I’m doing videos.
now that iPhone have ultra wide side lens, stabilisation, improved battery, improved pictures, would you still buy a separate camera, action camera etc...
 
I guess the question is do you think the iPhone wouldn’t be able to do what you want? It takes good photos and videos. There is always a trade off which ever way you go.

Action cams are excellent for action, I wouldn’t take my iPhone into a water park, skydiving, quad biking etc.
 
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Hi guys, I have not upgraded yet from iPhone X. I do lot of travel and was wondering if the pro can be your only camera for travel. I don’t like taking lot of tech on my travel. I have an dji osmo action when I’m doing videos.
now that iPhone have ultra wide side lens, stabilisation, improved battery, improved pictures, would you still buy a separate camera, action camera etc...
In short, yes. The multiple lenses make the iPhone versatile enough to really replace standalone cameras for casual users.

I have not bought the iPhone 11 yet, but I already replaced my Sony mirrorless and RX100 camera with my Huawei P30 when traveling. No need to have a bulky camera or extra things to charge. The P30 with its ultra wide angle camera and night more makes me enjoy my travel more instead of fiddling with the gadgets.
 
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Yes in my opinion, for most purposes it’s as good as a dedicated DSLR

Do you own a DSLR? I have the feeling that you don't.

I tested the camera system and, as with most iPhones until now, it looks good on the phone, on social media and it can catch great photos of your pets and kids for the family album, if that's what you're looking for.

But it can't replace a mirrorless DSLR in terms of photo quality, details and what you can do with that photo after you take it.

For OP, if you're an instagramer or similar enthusiast that wants to "shoot and post" then sure, just get some good video/photo apps for iOS like Filmic Pro and you're good to go. But if you're serious with photography you'll still have to carry a proper camera system with you...
 
Yes in my opinion, for most purposes it’s as good as a dedicated DSLR

In the sense that if you give both to an untrained user they are more likely to get at least a couple ok shots from the iPhone, sure.
Looking at pure image quality, not even close.

I have a small dedicated camera around that runs circles around my iPhone for regular snapshots.
 
Only you can decide if it’s good enough for you.
For me, nope, I always have a camera with me. :)
Which camera do you use?
[automerge]1570883176[/automerge]
Do you own a DSLR? I have the feeling that you don't.

I tested the camera system and, as with most iPhones until now, it looks good on the phone, on social media and it can catch great photos of your pets and kids for the family album, if that's what you're looking for.

But it can't replace a mirrorless DSLR in terms of photo quality, details and what you can do with that photo after you take it.

For OP, if you're an instagramer or similar enthusiast that wants to "shoot and post" then sure, just get some good video/photo apps for iOS like Filmic Pro and you're good to go. But if you're serious with photography you'll still have to carry a proper camera system with you...
Thank you for your feedback. I’ve been doing iPhone photography for a while now and would like to get more serious. So an entry level mirrorless camera with nice lens will still be better than iPhone 11 pro?
 
So an entry level mirrorless camera with nice lens will still be better than iPhone 11 pro?

In terms of taking photos yes almost always, as long as you know what you’re doing.

The issue comes when you don’t take your camera with you or decide you don’t want the hassle of carrying a camera. Then it doesn’t matter how good your camera is, if it’s at home. This is where the iPhone excels. It is always with you and no added distraction.

I’m currently weighing up whether I should ditch my mirrorless camera and just rely on an iPhone 11 pro. I find myself reaching for my mirrorless less often because I don’t want the added hassle and just want to be more present and enjoy whatever the occasion is. Not be stuck behind my camera thinking about composition, lightning, dialling in the right settings etc.
 
Which camera do you use?
[automerge]1570883176[/automerge]

Thank you for your feedback. I’ve been doing iPhone photography for a while now and would like to get more serious. So an entry level mirrorless camera with nice lens will still be better than iPhone 11 pro?
Dedicated camera with proper lenses and proper post processing will always have better image quality than a phone.

However, what’s the purpose of your travel? If it’s for actual photography work that makes money for you, of course, bring proper tools like dedicated cameras and lenses. However, if it’s a family trip of vacation just for fun, think about what you’ll be doing while traveling. Would you enjoy lugging huge camera bags around? Me personally, nope. When I travel for vacation, I want to enjoy the vacation, not lugging bulky gadgets around. So having the camera being the phone that I'm already carrying is a huge plus.
 
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Few things iPhone will struggle with vs DSLR although I have a 11 pro and loving it, precisely for casual outdoors photography when can’t be arsed to take big camera)
- big zoom quality >4x /200mm (obvs with a suitable lens) for stuff like wildlife, sports etc
- depth of field control
- detail (DSLRs will be 20-50+ megapixels)
- focus accuracy / tracking
- situations where you set up the DSLR manually for effects
- flash use/control

But there are some amazing features on it, I’m not knocking it, and its low light sensitivity / night mode is great. Think of it a bit like the optics and sensor are relatively worse but the processing is way better to compensate.
 
The best camera is that is always with you

That said, out of all travel pictures, the best ones were taken with my iphone...Also, the limotations of iphone camera encourages you to take different approach which leads to more artistic pictures...

Here is a few of them from different years ranging from iphone 7 to iphone xs

Hope that helps
970FC668-2020-4EA9-A7C0-642620D400E6.jpeg
E0B45C37-99F8-46E1-983E-63B3261BA9DA.jpeg2667B98C-4BEF-49E2-890F-A836920A5380.jpeg22E509EB-89DB-4334-9FE4-27EFE504D496.jpeg3E6A969F-7A4D-4741-81DD-A0264D1BE67B.jpeg9ECD2303-1310-40F9-B197-5E7D658BFB2E.jpeg84AE9B2B-4EF9-439C-B7A1-8FE0CB9685F0.jpegD00FFF74-6704-4A8C-AB7E-AF6DB08D5CA2.jpeg7CA52FF0-D28A-4303-B15F-AFF3C738B309.jpeg
 
@lifeisepic Honestly I know what you mean. I sometime travel with mates who own Sony a7iii and it is just painful when on holiday with them trying to take pics. I just fill I don’t enjoy holiday as much. That’s the reason I only rely on iPhone. Also have DJI Osmo action for swimming and action.


@pika2000 The purpose of my travel are mainly holidays, sometimes work remotely from different countries, I do also lot of weekend get away in Europe as I live in UK. I do lot of solo travel so I enjoy sharing my experience on social media. I don’t get paid for it.
I don’t like carrying lot of stuff, charging many cameras etc... even thinking getting rid of the osmo and upgrade to iPhone 11 pro max
 
Technically a bigger lens will always end up producing better image quality. The benefit of iPhone or any smartphone for that matter comes as convenience. There’s also a point of challenging yourself to get better at storytelling with your shots.

Personally, I used to have a DSLR a few years ago but since the iPhone 6 days I’ve sold it and have gone into iPhone photography mainly to challenge myself and also to prove the point that skill matters more than the tools.

As mentioned earlier, untrained eyes / photographers will most likely not really take advantage of the DSLR anyway.

My Instagram is dedicated to only iPhone pictures starting from the 5S all the way to the latest 11 Pro. Take a look if you’re interested to get some ideas etc.

 
I own a Fuji mirrorless system which I have taken on my last three trips. I have it paired down to a light system but there are still times when I just done feel like carrying any gear. This is why I bought the pro model. On my next trip I will likely just take the phone and travel much light.
 
don’t bother buying a camera, the 11pro will meet your needs

the video, the night mode, the deep fusion should have you covered for most of the scenarios

if you needed a camera for specific uses(there are still specific uses that they are better), you would already know that


Hi guys, I have not upgraded yet from iPhone X. I do lot of travel and was wondering if the pro can be your only camera for travel. I don’t like taking lot of tech on my travel. I have an dji osmo action when I’m doing videos.
now that iPhone have ultra wide side lens, stabilisation, improved battery, improved pictures, would you still buy a separate camera, action camera etc...
 
As a photographer, it's all about convenience vs. ability of camera for me. Can a DSLR offer better quality and a wider variety of lenses? Sure. But that means usually carrying bag for the camera and lenses, versus carrying something I can fit in my pocket.

These days, if I was going on vacation, I'd probably opt to just take my 11 Pro Max rather than add additional luggage. DLSR photography for me is something I go out and do specifically now.
 
I upgraded to the 11 Pro Max as I think the camera is good enough to replace my awesome Sony RX100 V. Being able to carry one less thing is more convenient when traveling and it is one less thing that could potentially get stolen. Also I have an a6300 if I want to take more serious shots but most situations, a smartphone camera will suffice.
 
Not a professional photographer and my iPhone has been my only camera on many trips. The only time I wished for something better was in evening/low light situations. I don’t have many of those and the pictures were still acceptable (main goal is to capture the moment, not an Instagram sensational shot each and every time).

With the 11 Pro Max, I’m looking forward to my vacation next week. This will be my first vacation trip with this new device, so I’m looking forward to seeing if this is the one that can finally can cover all my personal camera needs.
 
I always have my phone with me so but when I go on big trips or special occasions I will bring along my full frame Leica. The iPhone 11 Pro Max is no slouch though and can take some really great images, especially at night.
 
ProMax camera is great and phone is always with me, still have and will continue to use my 6D2 as phone cameras don’t match reach and quality of DSLR, and imho will not , maybe never? Who knows... I love my iPhone AND my DSLR
 
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I agree overall

is it worth the extra weight/bulk/mind occupation to carry additional equipment for a slightly better perfomance? in the vast majority of cases the answer for me is no

Latest example: I bought a very good gimbal to get a more steady video. I spent $300 dollars and do you know how many times I have used it?

only once, when I tried after I bought

since that fist time I never bothered again to carry this extra piece of equipment

the iphone videos were very good

you needed to put side by side the two videos to understand any difference and again this was about shooting video while you have to walk simultaneously


As a photographer, it's all about convenience vs. ability of camera for me. Can a DSLR offer better quality and a wider variety of lenses? Sure. But that means usually carrying bag for the camera and lenses, versus carrying something I can fit in my pocket.

These days, if I was going on vacation, I'd probably opt to just take my 11 Pro Max rather than add additional luggage. DLSR photography for me is something I go out and do specifically now.
 
Do you own a DSLR? I have the feeling that you don't.

I tested the camera system and, as with most iPhones until now, it looks good on the phone, on social media and it can catch great photos of your pets and kids for the family album, if that's what you're looking for.

But it can't replace a mirrorless DSLR in terms of photo quality, details and what you can do with that photo after you take it.

For OP, if you're an instagramer or similar enthusiast that wants to "shoot and post" then sure, just get some good video/photo apps for iOS like Filmic Pro and you're good to go. But if you're serious with photography you'll still have to carry a proper camera system with you...

I did own a DSLR and sold it. No need to carry a separate camera anymore. I don’t print pictures, haven’t printed a picture in years.
 
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Photography is a hobby for me, and I have a 12 year old Nikon D300 that still works very well. I spent a fair amount of time learning photographic skills, but I haven’t carried the Nikon in a few years because it became a chore to lug around. I bought a very nice mirrorless camera, the Fuji XT3: wonderful camera, very small and light. Again, I found that I didn’t like carrying it around, and I was using my XS Max more, so I returned it. Before I went to San Francisco last summer, I bought a terrific Sony RX100V because it’s very sophisticated, has full manual control, and it’s pocketable. I found myself using the XS Max much more than even the little Sony, so I returned that one, too.

Now that I have the Pro Max with a great wide angle lens (wish I’d had the Pro Max in SF), Night Mode, and terrific 4K video, I’m seriously evaluating my need for a separate camera. Indeed, a dedicated camera with interchangeable lenses gives you much more flexibility, range, and potential, but lugging all of that gear around has become less appealing, and I enjoy traveling less with that extra stuff. Capturing a moment is so much faster and effortless with the iPhone.
 
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