iPhone 11 Pro iPhone as travel camera

[Clix Pix]

A lot depends upon where one is traveling and what one is going to be seeing and doing there. I love my iPhone 11 Pro and obviously it will be with me on a trip anyway, but I take into consideration what I will be doing on that particular trip and the opportunities I will have for shooting, and more specifically, what type of shooting. If I'm going to a concert, I'll take along my Sony RX100 M6 and may or may not get to actually use it either during the event itself or at the stage door later..... When it comes to getting certain desirable results, I have more control with that camera than I do with my iPhone. It also does nicely for capturing a lot of images in the area where I'm staying.

A trip to a wonderful scenic area where I'll have lots of opportunities to shoot will mean that I take along my iPhone, my RX100 M6 AND my RX10 M4 -- the latter having a wonderful zoom range and so able to capture things I sure wouldn't be able to with the iPhone and most likely not even with the RX100. The camera at times almost feels like shooting with a DSLR and I have all the control that I need with regard to settings, etc. On none of these trips will I take a DSLR and various lenses any more, as the RX10, which is a "bridge" camera, does pretty well and is quite versatile for covering many scenes that I would want to shoot.

That said, when I'm just running around town and I see an interesting subject or scene that I'd like to shoot, I've got my handy-dandy iPhone 11 Pro in my pocket or purse.....and I've been very pleased at how well it captures images, especially if I just want to grab a quick macro of a cool flower or plant or I see an interesting scene. I know from the start that when I use the iPhone that the resulting image is not going to be prize-winning portfolio material proudly printed on large canvas or an image that is likely to sell rapidly through a stock agency -- that's not why I shoot photos in the first place. I just like to capture what I see and when I see it, which may not always be when I'm equipped with a DSLR or one of my mirrorless cameras.

I think some people tend to be a bit snarky and downright snobbish about iPhone photography -- iPhoneography as devotees call it now -- and that's their prerogative. Using an iPhone rather than a DSLR or a mirrorless camera doesn't automatically make the former image "less than...." because sometimes one can come up with surprising results. iPhones and other cell phones can produce amazing results in talented, gifted, knowledgeable hands.

All that said, in the end, I would not take ONLY my iPhone with me on a vacation or other type of out-of-town trip. I would think about and assess what I might be able to use on said trip and pack my gear accordingly.

 

[Pipper99]

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?

another wonderful mirrorless camera is the Fuji X-T30.

Fujifilm X-T30 review

The Fujifilm X-T30 is a $900 camera that's an incredibly capable stills/video hybrid. Image and 4K video quality are top-notch and, aside from some ergonomic and autofocus stumbles, the X-T30 does just about everything right. Learn more in our in-depth review.

m.dpreview.com

If you want to travel light with a dedicated camera, the Sony RX100 VII, though expensive, is terrific.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 VII Review

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 VII is the most capable pocket camera currently on the market thanks to a combo of good image quality, smooth stabilized 4K and an industry-leading autofocus implementation. For these reasons it receives our gold award.

m.dpreview.com

 

[NYCValkyrie]

One thing I'm not seeing discussed is the cost. There's the initial outlay of the camera kit, a few accessories. And you need a camera bag. You'll buy probably 4-5 before you find one that fits *your* needs, despite all the reviews you read and hours of videos you watched on it. And also camera straps. And you'll eventually want more lenses that span the whole focal length spectrum. And if you are really going to maximize the camera, you'll eventually need filters...glass! not acetate! Which means you need a tripod. And you'll start out with a cheap one but eventually will realize that good, lightweight tripods are really expensive. And you need a shutter cable. And by now, a new model of the camera body is out and you really want it...and the cycle continues. Don't forget post processing software! And really hating yourself for not learning all the manual controls as fast as you wish you could so that you could take the same photo on that website you saw. And now your SO hates you because all your camera crap is taking up too much room and all you ever use these days is your iPhone to take photos.

I really love my camera equipment and I love going out and making photos. I've been a hobbyist for 20 years. But it is an expensive hobby. I have sold a few prints and I enjoy giving them as gifts but it's a real investment. You can absolutely take great photos with your iPhone.

 

[OxCxDx]

Also don't forget one of my biggest annoyances lugging a DSLR around, the battery charger and carrying a spare battery or two..... or forgetting to charge that spare one.

Although, I must say I do love my mirorless.

 

[1rottenapple]

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’ve had the iPhone as my main travel camera for years. The xs max has been great to me in the last year for two vacations and can only imagine the 11 pro is a big step in quality. Day time, xs is great but night time is “ok”. The pro blows the xs away with night mode so I would go for it if I were you.

The best camera you have is the what you have ready on hand. Phones just are the best way to take pics in the moment. It snaps open to the camera app quickly, and is usually ready to go.

I remember in LOAS I was leaving at night and had a 5s and a point and shoot. This was in 2014. I missed the shot of dozens of monks walking at 5am in the evening because I was using my point and shoot. I got a blurry iPhone 5s pic instead. My point and shot wasn’t ready. Since then the iPhone has been my main camera because it’s fast to open and is always in my pocket ready to go.

I’m glad they upgraded the camera in the iPhone 11 significantly and look forward to upgrading next year.

 

[dmaxdmax]

A general rule that applies to 95% of people 95% of the time is that if your reason for shooting is to share on social media or Flickr, an iPhone is more than good enough.

it just so happens that only yesterday I found my Pentax ME-Super from the mid 80’s. The next time that we have a special event I may buy a roll of film for old times sake.

 

[Davefevs]

I’m a complete amateur / hobbyist when it comes to photography. Only ever had compact cameras like the old Panasonic TZ range, which were great for me, being pretty much point and shoot. Since getting iPhones I’ve gradually stopped taking a camera anywhere, and the last 3 major hols I haven’t bothered. In fairness the thing I missed most was zoom, so I did buy a Moment Tele lens (and case) for a bit more zoom. Just gone from 8+ to 11pro so ordered a new moment case To carry on using Tele lens.

You can tell the difference, but for showing family your holiday pics on an iPad, or misting on social media, or just browsing your own pics, the iPhones are great.

 

[akash.nu]

I’m a complete amateur / hobbyist when it comes to photography. Only ever had compact cameras like the old Panasonic TZ range, which were great for me, being pretty much point and shoot. Since getting iPhones I’ve gradually stopped taking a camera anywhere, and the last 3 major hols I haven’t bothered. In fairness the thing I missed most was zoom, so I did buy a Moment Tele lens (and case) for a bit more zoom. Just gone from 8+ to 11pro so ordered a new moment case To carry on using Tele lens.

You can tell the difference, but for showing family your holiday pics on an iPad, or misting on social media, or just browsing your own pics, the iPhones are great.

I’ve seen a lot of reviews of the moment lenses. Do they actually make much difference? I feel like carrying more lenses bring it back to the same level of hassle of carrying a stand-alone point and shoot

 

[Davefevs]

I’ve seen a lot of reviews of the moment lenses. Do they actually make much difference? I feel like carrying more lenses bring it back to the same level of hassle of carrying a stand-alone point and shoot

i only have the 2x Tele, which I originally had for my iPhone 7. It worked better on 7 than 8+. As I understand it the lens and the camera software changed from the 8+, and Moment introduced an optimised 58mm lens especially for 8+ and XS at the time.

Telephoto Lens for iPhone, Pixel, and Galaxy Phones

The Moment Telephoto 58mm is the sharpest lens designed for the latest iPhone, Pixel, and Galaxy phones. Now you can capture 2-4x zoom on a dual-lens phone.

www.shopmoment.com

Bit of wording about it above.

No idea about the other lenses...but for the chance to go 1x to 2x or 2x to 4x it’s useful addition. The photo case (black canvas) is really nice even without a lens attached.

At end of the day they aren’t cheap, but so easy to use, take off, put back in again....in seconds.

 

[Pipper99]

One thing I'm not seeing discussed is the cost. There's the initial outlay of the camera kit, a few accessories. And you need a camera bag. You'll buy probably 4-5 before you find one that fits *your* needs, despite all the reviews you read and hours of videos you watched on it. And also camera straps. And you'll eventually want more lenses that span the whole focal length spectrum. And if you are really going to maximize the camera, you'll eventually need filters...glass! not acetate! Which means you need a tripod. And you'll start out with a cheap one but eventually will realize that good, lightweight tripods are really expensive. And you need a shutter cable. And by now, a new model of the camera body is out and you really want it...and the cycle continues. Don't forget post processing software! And really hating yourself for not learning all the manual controls as fast as you wish you could so that you could take the same photo on that website you saw. And now your SO hates you because all your camera crap is taking up too much room and all you ever use these days is your iPhone to take photos.

I really love my camera equipment and I love going out and making photos. I've been a hobbyist for 20 years. But it is an expensive hobby. I have sold a few prints and I enjoy giving them as gifts but it's a real investment. You can absolutely take great photos with your iPhone.

Spot on!

 

[UBS28]

It seems a lot of serious photographers are here in this thread. I have a question for you guys as no reviewer has talked about the question I have

My girlfriend has a cheap Android phone but somehow her camera has over 35 MP (or something in that range). And it is no market gimmick because when she takes a picture and zooms in, it is almost like a microscope. With my iPhone X, it is just blurry and a lot of details lost when zooming in.

So what do you professional photographers think of the 12 MP lens that the iPhone 11 Pro has. I would expect much higher MP for a Pro camera so that details can be maintained while zooming in?

I tried zooming in on photo's taken in the Apple Store with the iPhone 11 Pro and it looses details too like my iPhone X while zooming in, so that is why I still have concerns about the iPhone 11 Pro camera.

 

[NYCValkyrie]

It seems a lot of serious photographers are here in this thread. I have a question for you guys as no reviewer has talked about the question I have

My girlfriend has a cheap Android phone but somehow her camera has over 35 MP (or something in that range). And it is no market gimmick because when she takes a picture and zooms in, it is almost like a microscope. With my iPhone X, it is just blurry and a lot of details lost when zooming in.

So what do you professional photographers think of the 12 MP lens that the iPhone 11 Pro has. I would expect much higher MP for a Pro camera so that details can be maintained while zooming in?

I tried zooming in on photo's taken in the Apple Store with the iPhone 11 Pro and it looses details too like my iPhone X while zooming in, so that is why I still have concerns about the iPhone 11 Pro camera.

A) what kind of detail are you talking about
B) where is this photo being used/posted
C) are you sure your hand isn’t just shaky?


My main comment to this thread is that people get caught up in technical details but that’s not the reaction you’re looking for in a photo. I’ve taken less than sharp photos, some with accidental blur but the feeling of the photo stays true. You’re trying to capture a moment, not pixels. Would that photo be more or less emotion provoking if it was sharper?

But the iPhone 11 Pro camera is the best iPhone camera to date. It’ll be good enough for what you’re doing unless you’re printing for editorial work. You Facebook friends and IG followers won’t notice. If you look back on that photo in a year and that less than sharp detail is what you think about, you probably didn’t need to take that photo at all or can just delete it as it hold no memory of the moment.

 

[UBS28]

A) what kind of detail are you talking about
B) where is this photo being used/posted
C) are you sure your hand isn’t just shaky?


My main comment to this thread is that people get caught up in technical details but that’s not the reaction you’re looking for in a photo. I’ve taken less than sharp photos, some with accidental blur but the feeling of the photo stays true. You’re trying to capture a moment, not pixels. Would that photo be more or less emotion provoking if it was sharper?

She can take a picture of a flower and zoom in and show things that you didn’t see with the naked eye. My iPhone X cannot do that as the picture becomes more like “blocks”. The iPhone 11 Pro also looked a bit like “blocks” when zoomed in.

So based on my humble amateur experience, high megapixel camera’s are able to capture much more details especially when zoomed in.

The new Samsung Galaxy S11 which will be released in a few months is rumoured to feature a 104 MP camera with a 5X telephoto camera. So they seem to also believe that 12 MP is not enough.

 

[akash.nu]

It seems a lot of serious photographers are here in this thread. I have a question for you guys as no reviewer has talked about the question I have

My girlfriend has a cheap Android phone but somehow her camera has over 35 MP (or something in that range). And it is no market gimmick because when she takes a picture and zooms in, it is almost like a microscope. With my iPhone X, it is just blurry and a lot of details lost when zooming in.

So what do you professional photographers think of the 12 MP lens that the iPhone 11 Pro has. I would expect much higher MP for a Pro camera so that details can be maintained while zooming in?

I tried zooming in on photo's taken in the Apple Store with the iPhone 11 Pro and it looses details too like my iPhone X while zooming in, so that is why I still have concerns about the iPhone 11 Pro camera.

Megapixel counts on smartphones don’t really matter much, it’s one of the aspects but image quality depends on the actually quality of the lens and sensors. In fact with that small lens element if you cram in too many megapixels then the quality of the pictures are often bad.

 

[NYCValkyrie]

She can take a picture of a flower and zoom in and show things that you didn’t see with the naked eye. My iPhone X cannot do that as the picture becomes more like “blocks”. The iPhone 11 Pro also looked a bit like “blocks” when zoomed in.

So based on my humble amateur experience, high megapixel camera’s are able to capture much more details especially when zoomed in.

The new Samsung Galaxy S11 which will be released in a few months is rumoured to feature a 104 MP camera with a 5X telephoto camera. So they seem to also believe that 12 MP is not enough.

It’s the lens, not the Megapixels, that matter. The 11 Pro camera is better than the X camera by 2 versions. If you like the Samsung camera, you should get the Samsung phone if the mp count is what matters to you. You’re the one who has to use it. But many of us here are very happy with it.

 

[pixel_junkie]

Since iPhone X, yes. iPhone 11, absolutely. I shoot professionally ...