iPhone 11 Pro Would the 11 Pro make a good DSLR replacement for full-time travel?

[lkalliance]

Your original question is one I ask myself often on a day-to-day basis. I like shooting with my DSLR, I like the versatility, etc. etc. I even love how it feels in my hands. But when I go to an event or gathering, I always ask myself this question: do I want to participate? Or do I want to shoot? Because I know me, if I bring my DSLR I'm going to want to shoot, and if I'm going to shoot I'm not going to be participating in [insert activity here]. If I try to do both, I'll do neither well. Rephrased, bringing the DSLR will by definition diminish my enjoyment of the activity specifically, in exchange for the joy of photography. Is that a trade-off I am willing to make, on a case-by-case basis? Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

I also get really nervous about bringing my DSLR anywhere where it would be at risk for theft or damage and where I'll have to store or put it somewhere away from me. If it's on my person the whole time, not a problem. If I'm concerned about that risk, I might as well just bring my phone. I have the new SE; the camera is fine but it's not my go-to if I want GOOD photos. I would imagine the same would be true with the 11 Pro though the gap would be smaller.

Then there's this: let's say I take my camera. You've suggested that you're not a professional photographer, you don't seem to be prioritizing the *joy* of photography over the *joy* of being in the place. I sometimes ask myself, if I bring the DSLR to, for example, Yosemite, am I really going to get a more interesting photo of Half Dome than any of a thousand others I can bring up with a Google search? If the activity of photography does not give you a lot of joy, then really all you need are photos that document your presence in a place, that you were there. Your phone will be more than sufficient for that.

In your situation, I would probably leave the DSLR at home.
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Keep it simple, otherwise you might end up more time tinkering with electronics on your trip than actually enjoying it. iPhones have excellent video (best in the business) with no extra learning or cost necessary.

I (over)analyze all my purchases too and am trying a new mantra of keeping it simple to enjoy some other parts of life more.

LOL, a much more succinct way of putting what I used several paragraphs to say!

I'm kind of going through the same process in considering an Apple Watch. I have to be convinced it will be specifically useful, instead of generally fun. I could have decided at any point to spend $500 or so and get one. I don't spend that much every day, but heck, over the last few years I'm sure there were plenty of stretches where I could have afforded it just fine without any problems. But I've got to over-analyze, lol!

 

[Savage]

Your original question is one I ask myself often on a day-to-day basis. I like shooting with my DSLR, I like the versatility, etc. etc. I even love how it feels in my hands. But when I go to an event or gathering, I always ask myself this question: do I want to participate? Or do I want to shoot? Because I know me, if I bring my DSLR I'm going to want to shoot, and if I'm going to shoot I'm not going to be participating in [insert activity here]. If I try to do both, I'll do neither well. Rephrased, bringing the DSLR will by definition diminish my enjoyment of the activity specifically, in exchange for the joy of photography. Is that a trade-off I am willing to make, on a case-by-case basis? Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

I also get really nervous about bringing my DSLR anywhere where it would be at risk for theft or damage and where I'll have to store or put it somewhere away from me. If it's on my person the whole time, not a problem. If I'm concerned about that risk, I might as well just bring my phone. I have the new SE; the camera is fine but it's not my go-to if I want GOOD photos. I would imagine the same would be true with the 11 Pro though the gap would be smaller.

Then there's this: let's say I take my camera. You've suggested that you're not a professional photographer, you don't seem to be prioritizing the *joy* of photography over the *joy* of being in the place. I sometimes ask myself, if I bring the DSLR to, for example, Yosemite, am I really going to get a more interesting photo of Half Dome than any of a thousand others I can bring up with a Google search? If the activity of photography does not give you a lot of joy, then really all you need are photos that document your presence in a place, that you were there. Your phone will be more than sufficient for that.

In your situation, I would probably leave the DSLR at home.
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LOL, a much more succinct way of putting what I used several paragraphs to say!

I'm kind of going through the same process in considering an Apple Watch. I have to be convinced it will be specifically useful, instead of generally fun. I could have decided at any point to spend $500 or so and get one. I don't spend that much every day, but heck, over the last few years I'm sure there were plenty of stretches where I could have afforded it just fine without any problems. But I've got to over-analyze, lol!

I love your points.

In terms of damage, we will be hiking, we will end up in the rain, I will end up with mud on my hands while off-roading, I will be in heavy wind where the tripod could fall over, I wouldn't be surprised if my truck eventually gets broken into, I wouldn't be surprised if I fall while hiking onto my camera backpack.

And yes, I'm all about being in the moment and experiencing nature in peace. I always wonder why people put so much effort into taking amazing photos of the same scenery that has been all over Google for years. (This is not an attack at those who do.) When we are 60 years old, we'll want to see photos with us, our dogs, and my truck in them; not necessarily photos of a waterfall from a quarter mile away.

Yes, I want to create YouTube videos for people to experience the journey with us, but not in the form of vlogging for no reason (like every popular YouTube family seems to do now). If we have something particularly interesting to film, I'll film it. If we are just enjoying our time, I don't need to be pointlessly talking to a camera all day.

 

[lkalliance]

As an addendum to my previous post, the counter-argument would be that you're not going for a week, you're going for a period of YEARS. If it were me, I would expect that at SOME POINT in a time span that long (perhaps at several points), I'll wish I had my Canon, lol. I'd still probably leave it at home, though, and spare myself a lot of worry about the safety of the equipment.

 

[Savage]

As an addendum to my previous post, the counter-argument would be that you're not going for a week, you're going for a period of YEARS. If it were me, I would expect that at SOME POINT in a time span that long (perhaps at several points), I'll wish I had my Canon, lol. I'd still probably leave it at home, though, and spare myself a lot of worry about the safety of the equipment.

As I do with everything, I will likely change my mind over the years and switch devices around anyway, lol.

 

[chengengaun]

But when I go to an event or gathering, I always ask myself this question: do I want to participate? Or do I want to shoot? Because I know me, if I bring my DSLR I'm going to want to shoot, and if I'm going to shoot I'm not going to be participating in [insert activity here].

Great point. Sometimes when I am not taking photos I am still constantly observing the surroundings (the contrast is getting too great, let me switch to center-weighted metering; it's getting dark, let me dial up the ISO).

Now I am reminded of The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton. There's a segment when he asked a group of tourists to stop taking photos and make sketches instead. @Savage , since you are going for a proper trip you might as well watch the whole video, haha.

As an addendum to my previous post, the counter-argument would be that you're not going for a week, you're going for a period of YEARS. If it were me, I would expect that at SOME POINT in a time span that long (perhaps at several points), I'll wish I had my Canon, lol. I'd still probably leave it at home, though, and spare myself a lot of worry about the safety of the equipment.

I know of friends who make RTW trips replace their gear (sometimes more than once) during their trips. Theft, wear and tear, 'confiscation' and/or forgetfulness are sometimes inevitable.

 

[lkalliance]

As I do with everything, I will likely change my mind over the years and switch devices around anyway, lol.

So if we stick with psychology, leaving the equipment at home spares you having to make the decision! "Do I bring the Canon on this hike, or don't I?" How many times would I have to make that decision over this trip you're making? Ugh, I don't even want to think about it. The more I put myself into your shoes, the less I would think of bringing my camera.

But perhaps I WOULD decide to upgrade my phone, like you are. No additional inconvenience in carrying, but an appreciable improvement in quality.

(Anecdotal aside: my mother recently got into feeding birds in her backyard. With her setup, the feeders are far enough away that she would need a "real" camera to photograph them if she wanted. Her previous iPhone 7 had no shot at all. She recently upgraded to the 11 Pro Max and what do you know, now she gets pretty clear photos of the birds. Great photos? Not really. But clear, close enough to see detail without it being ruined by maximum digital zoom.)

 

[weaztek]

Full-time photographer here.

When I want to go light during travel I grab my 10-year-old compact Canon S95 camera with built-in 28-105mm IS lens. I'm looking very closely at replacing that with the new Sony ZV-1 (24-70mm).

 

[Savage]

I was going to return my 11 Pro today to switch to mirrorless.

But now I'm probably going to pick up the Apple battery case for it instead.

I'm insane. But I love you guys.

Didn't expect this thread to become so helpful.
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So if we stick with psychology, leaving the equipment at home spares you having to make the decision! "Do I bring the Canon on this hike, or don't I?" How many times would I have to make that decision over this trip you're making? Ugh, I don't even want to think about it. The more I put myself into your shoes, the less I would think of bringing my camera.

But perhaps I WOULD decide to upgrade my phone, like you are. No additional inconvenience in carrying, but an appreciable improvement in quality.

This right here is pretty much a deal sealer on the iPhone.

How many times can my wife handle me saying "Wait, shouldn't we also bring the DSLR for this hike just in case? What if we regret not having it though?" And then we never even take it out of the bag, lol.
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Their battery case has a built in camera button! Could my new setup be any more convenient for this?!

Who wants to buy a used Canon T5i Rebel? 😇

 

[Savage]

I decided to order this case after I realized you need one like this to run the Moment lenses: https://www.shopmoment.com/shop/nomad-rugged-iphone-case/iPhone-11promax-brown-leather

And I got this, lol:

 

[motulist]

These replies have been very helpful, thanks everyone!

To those saying the DSLR would be better: I know the photos would be better and a phone will never compare. But I'm not in this for the best photos possible. The photos are just for my wife and I to remember this part of our lives. I'm not actually into photography, that is why I came up with the idea to switch to the phone instead.

Good to know about the hard drive size. I will get one bigger than 64gb. Not sure which yet.

I also don't know if I should start this now or wait for the 12. I'm not sure if I would really need the 12 over the 11 Pro. But I was looking into Apple's iPhone upgrade program -- maybe I should do that? Get the 11 Pro now and use the program to upgrade to the 13 for free next year?
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Everyone added great replies and and I learned a lot. But wow, you went above and beyond! I need to go through your post separately and view some of those links. Also, I suppose a thread about my truck and travels could be a cool idea.

If this is just for your personal memories then any phone from the iPhone 6 forward is totally good enough to capture the feeling of the moment to relive later. Seriously.

 

[HDFan]

I also get really nervous about bringing my DSLR anywhere where it would be at risk for theft or damage

I will be in heavy wind where the tripod could fall over,

When I was traveling with thousands of dollars of DSLR equipment I made sure that I had coverage under my homeowners policy with a camera rider. Totally worth the cost just for the fact that I wasn't constantly worrying about it falling into water, if it was stolen, etc.

 

[cmaier]

The tiny sensors on the phone cannot compete with even an average DSLR or mid-range point and shoot. Not yet, anyway.

 

[ian87w]

I decided to order this case after I realized you need one like this to run the Moment lenses: https://www.shopmoment.com/shop/nomad-rugged-iphone-case/iPhone-11promax-brown-leather

And I got this, lol:
View attachment 925248

Wow! Nice! Do share your experience with the Osmo Mobile 3. I have the Osmo Mobile 2, and it's not adapting well to large phones and ultra wide angles.

 

[Steven-iphone]

Wow! Nice! Do share your experience with the Osmo Mobile 3. I have the Osmo Mobile 2, and it's not adapting well to large phones and ultra wide angles.

Maybe you need some counter-weights

 

[5gsumdae]

The 2X optical zoom/10X combined zoom of the pro would be handy but I consider the 2X optical zoom to be way overpriced. I bought an iPhone 11 instead and used the $400 difference from the 11 to the pro to buy a 40X optical/80X combined compact Canon camera instead. We carry a small camera case on trips that has the compact camera and binoculars in it. The new Canon replaced an older compact camera that had much less optical zoom.

 

[ian87w]

Maybe you need some counter-weights

The Osmo 2 is simply not designed for larger phones. And the way the mechanism work, the corner of the arm will be caught with ultra wide angle lens.

 

[1193001]

for video maybe but for photos definitely not, you will notice more the more you crop the image it’s still just a phone camera meant to be viewed on phone screens only

 

[Ruggy]

It looks like you've made up your mind and I think for you sticking with the phone is the right decision.
If you are photographing landscapes in excellent light, you will hardly see a difference between a really good DSLR and the phone especially as the phone adds a very pleasing polarizing filter effect to the sky and give you plenty of depth of field without having to worry about it.
The lenses on the phone are so tiny, its like taking the very centre out of a big objective which then naturally overcomes a lot of the problems of sharpness optical and chromatic aberration. Then the incredible computing power of the phone makes up for the smaller sensors and you should get really good results.
It's similar to what we have with our eyes in fact. Optically, they are just ok but that big brain we have on the back of them does all the tricky stuff.
You've said you're not a keen photographer so it's absolutely the right thing to do because you aren't going to have to worry about bracketing exposure, working out the hyperfocal distance etc etc. You will get great looking shots without having to worry about getting it right and the panorama feature is not to be forgotten either.
Personally, I love a real camera. I love the feel of it, I love playing with it and for me, it isn't really photography when I just point and shoot. And there's no doubt the further you are away from the ideal situation, the more you'll see the DSLR shine. Especially if you want to use pro lighting or fast action sport's photography
But a lot of the information captured by a DSLR in an every day setting is thrown away and frankly it's overkill for a lot of the time especially if you are going o view on screen. You will have plenty of pixels to crop to screen size and the NR is really good these days.
Also a little reminder that the likes of Cartier-Bresson and Ansel Adams didn't have fantastic cameras like we use today. Cartier-Bresson did a lot of good work on a box brownie. It isn't all about having the best equipment.
And the best camera is always going to be the one you have with you: don't forget that.

 

[IvyG]

Hello,

Yes, i think this would be a good choice, also it is really important to take into consideration the quality of the image, really helpful if you are a traveler. Maybe it will take some time to learn the settings, but not impossible. Using a phone camera may not be enough if you really care about the quality of your shots, because this is what makes the difference.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Not directed at the OP but does anybody else feel a little sad that the days of admiring good photography seem to be over? Nowadays we have entire platforms like Instagram full of instant photographers begging for likes on photograpghs easily achieved and devoid of any real skill.

In the days before smartphones and widely available editing software we used to see a really good photograph and admire it for its technical prowess and the photographers ability to get all the settings and lighting right. Now anybody can point a phone at a landscape and get the software to cheat the output or take a portrait photo of someone and manipulate a slider to adjust the bokeh in seconds. Don't get me wrong its super convenient and quick and I use these technologies myself, but it doesn't and won't ever replace the enjoyment of knowing you've achieved a bloody good photograph with a DSLR on manual IMHO. The sad thing is not many will care or be impressed! 'Oh you took that on your £700 Canon? Well I took mine on my £1449 iPhone 11 Pro Max and I've got 57 likes!!

The world is a changing fast

 

[chengengaun]

@The-Real-Deal82 I think the sad part is people only want the result but not the investment of effort required to get there. I think there is ironically a case to be made for using poorly spec-ed equipment (like an older phone) and make great pictures. It requires an understanding of light, artistic techniques (composition etc.) and technical strengths and limitations of the equipment, and use these to advantage. If one takes all that into account, one can indeed have great joy making photos with basic equipments, and indeed push one's creativity in turning limitations into strength. However, it is a practice that is not well appreciated by many people nowadays.

Nonetheless I think a highly automated photographic tool like iPhone can help a beginner photographer by making the complicated aspects of photography simpler (no more zone system for a start) so that he/she can pay attention to other (e.g. artistic) aspects of photography. Then he/she can revisit these once the basics have been mastered.

 

[MarkX]

Not directed at the OP but does anybody else feel a little sad that the days of admiring good photography seem to be over? Nowadays we have entire platforms like Instagram full of instant photographers begging for likes on photograpghs easily achieved and devoid of any real skill.

In the days before smartphones and widely available editing software we used to see a really good photograph and admire it for its technical prowess and the photographers ability to get all the settings and lighting right. Now anybody can point a phone at a landscape and get the software to cheat the output or take a portrait photo of someone and manipulate a slider to adjust the bokeh in seconds. Don't get me wrong its super convenient and quick and I use these technologies myself, but it doesn't and won't ever replace the enjoyment of knowing you've achieved a bloody good photograph with a DSLR on manual IMHO. The sad thing is not many will care or be impressed! 'Oh you took that on your £700 Canon? Well I took mine on my £1449 iPhone 11 Pro Max and I've got 57 likes!!

The world is a changing fast

If you’re not a photographer or someone who has an interest in photography I’m not really sure people care how a picture was taken. All that they care about is the end result.

 

[Steven-iphone]

It is what you photograph - not how you photograph it. A pinhole camera could give some interesting results with the right subject. Getting too caught up in the equipment and you lose you focus.

 

[akash.nu]

Not directed at the OP but does anybody else feel a little sad that the days of admiring good photography seem to be over? Nowadays we have entire platforms like Instagram full of instant photographers begging for likes on photograpghs easily achieved and devoid of any real skill.

In the days before smartphones and widely available editing software we used to see a really good photograph and admire it for its technical prowess and the photographers ability to get all the settings and lighting right. Now anybody can point a phone at a landscape and get the software to cheat the output or take a portrait photo of someone and manipulate a slider to adjust the bokeh in seconds. Don't get me wrong its super convenient and quick and I use these technologies myself, but it doesn't and won't ever replace the enjoyment of knowing you've achieved a bloody good photograph with a DSLR on manual IMHO. The sad thing is not many will care or be impressed! 'Oh you took that on your £700 Canon? Well I took mine on my £1449 iPhone 11 Pro Max and I've got 57 likes!!

The world is a changing fast

@The-Real-Deal82 I think the sad part is people only want the result but not the investment of effort required to get there. I think there is ironically a case to be made for using poorly spec-ed equipment (like an older phone) and make great pictures. It requires an understanding of light, artistic techniques (composition etc.) and technical strengths and limitations of the equipment, and use these to advantage. If one takes all that into account, one can indeed have great joy making photos with basic equipments, and indeed push one's creativity in turning limitations into strength. However, it is a practice that is not well appreciated by many people nowadays.

Nonetheless I think a highly automated photographic tool like iPhone can help a beginner photographer by making the complicated aspects of photography simpler (no more zone system for a start) so that he/she can pay attention to other (e.g. artistic) aspects of photography. Then he/she can revisit these once the basics have been mastered.

Personally I appreciate both sides of this argument. On one hand I completely agree with the pure joy with making a shot work. Just the sheer planning of how you want to compose a shot makes me thrilled, but that has always been a characteristic of photography enthusiasts only. A person without much interest / understanding of photography will just point and shoot, no matter the type of camera you give them. I’ve seen plenty of people walking around with a DSLR and shooting people with their heads chopped off.

On the other hand I’m a firm believer of the fact that as a whole photography is more down to the person taking the shot rather than the tool being used. A pro photographer will always take better picture than an amateur. It comes down to understanding / experimenting and experience. Smartphone cameras definitely have their place in our day to day lives now. The traditional point and shoot market is all but dead because of a reason. Most pictures taken today lives in digital format and that also means that issues related to quality of the actual shot stays hidden most of the times unless people are specifically looking for it. There are so many camera comparison videos on YouTube that proves that in normal lighting conditions the pictures a smartphone generates can compare with a DSLR in auto mode pretty easily except low light circumstances.

This is one of the main reasons why I’ve sold my DSLR now and primarily focus on iPhone photography. I’ll admit that sometimes I don’t get the result I’d like to have with my iPhone but I take it as a challenge to work with the limitations of a smaller sensor.

I also feel that editing is part of the photography itself. So it has often happened with me that I look at a situation and I’ve already got a general theme of how I’d like to edit that shot. This maybe a personal thing for me but potentially a lot of people are doing the same.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

If you’re not a photographer or someone who has an interest in photography I’m not really sure people care how a picture was taken. All that they care about is the end result.

That exactly highlights my point about the modern age of instant photographers who simply don’t care about anything but the end result. I was just mentioning it from somebody who does appreciate the skill of photography that’s all. It’s probably the wrong place to discuss it though.