Greeting folks, today’s post will be about my why you should trust your iPhone to capture your vacation memories & why/when you shouldn’t. In case you didn’t know, DSLR cameras are heavy! Well, maybe not little point & shoots but my cameras are big and heavy. I used to carry them around everywhere I went, but that novelty wore of pretty quickly. I now try to use my DSLR bodies as little as possible. I’ve had quite a few point & shoots over the years with mixed results. My latest camera got pummeled into submission by my kids and I am reluctant to buy another one until they’re a bit older. However, the underlining reason for not getting another one is that I carry a pretty darn good camera on my person @ all times. It’s my phone! The cameras in our phones have come a long way, yes, even you Blackberry Boy. They’ve gotten so good that I almost see no need in getting another point & shoot, but we’re not there just yet…

I needed to go to El Salvador this past November on a family emergency. I stayed in San Salvador, the capital, with my cousin and his family. I was about to buy a camera @ the airport because I wanted to get some images of my trip while I was down there. I was bringing along my big beast but knew that I wouldn’t take it everywhere. While I was looking at some Canons & Nikon units I thought about my phone and how good the quality was for certain environments, key word, certain. I decided to forego the new rinky dink snapper and go CommaniPhone! I was pleased with a good portion of my images but of course a phone, even an Apple one, has it’s limitations. If you know what they are then you can easily get away with your iPhone an a vacation or trip. So, let’s get into it…

Ready to board @ JFK – You can see a bit of noise as the iPhone in lowlight is not the greatest.

IMG_0511 Pupusa time! This is outside my favorite spot in Olocuilta. Very good quality in daylight.IMG_0513 My cousins new ride…IMG_0517 Salvadorian breafast. Not really macro but look at the color and clarity. No other phone I’ve seen gives this.IMG_0518 Ceviche. Prob the worlds best food.IMG_0521 IMG_0522 This is a bus.  IMG_0523 View from my cousins Hotel window.
IMG_0525 Spa timeIMG_0530 Probably the best Sushi joint in the world…I kid you not.IMG_0535 My cousin and octopus. Colors indoors in Tungsten light are a little harsh due to the flash.IMG_0536 Flash output can’t be controlled. That’s a big negative. IMG_0537 Sushi Boat. I turned off the flash but as you can see there’s a bit of camera shake. IMG_0538 My cousins and I. Camera needs a bit more resolution for groups of people.IMG_0541 Macro is decentIMG_0543 That’s a gigantic slab of Sushi! Notice the Orange skin tones again. That issue needs to be addressed in future versions. IMG_0547 My cousins workstation…IMG_0552 Preparing meat for a big barbecue. Shutter speed is automatic. That would be a great feature though!IMG_0553 Family Pic outside, outdoors with no fillflashIMG_0558 Center of Shopping Plaza in Cuscatlan. I added a polarizer filter in LR.
IMG_0564 Best Steakhouse in San Sal. A bit too much noise for my taste but it’s acceptable.IMG_0566 My Cousin and his coworkers. Pretty good detail for an evening pic with no flash.IMG_0567 Hen Soup with sunlight coming through window. Good quality in this environment. IMG_0569 Dead Hen…IMG_0570 Fresh Oysters on the way to the beach!IMG_0587 Very good resolution in daylight.IMG_0588 Breakfast of champions.IMG_0592 Love me some amaca.IMG_0604 There’s that slow shutter effect again.IMG_0606 Look at the color rendition. Very good quality.
IMG_0608 Infinity focus very good. Super sharp because of all the light.IMG_0610 Gotta make sure to shoot away from direct light avoid flare.IMG_0612 Used an Pro HDR to get this great image.IMG_0614 Low light is acceptable but still a bit of grain and banding.IMG_0619 IMG_0621 Sipping a $250 bottle of Rum & a $40 pure Cuban…IMG_0623 Did I mention adding FECIMG_0625 Lobby Entrance of the Hilton San Salvador  IMG_0628 Outdoor lunch time
IMG_0632 My farewell lunch. Look at the resolution! Again outdoors this phone camera can’t be beat!IMG_0633 Farewell gift. Indoor resolution still needs to be improved.IMG_0636

All in all, I’m pretty happy with the images I got from my phone. They can’t compare to my DSLR…

JargaPix_San_Sal_2010-088 My cousin and his family in an quick pic session before leaving for airport.JargaPix_San_Sal_2010-121 …but that’s expected. I’d say that if you know your shooting in good sun light you’ll be more than happy with the Iphone camera. If you know you’ll need some flash, then bring along a compact camera.

Thanks for stopping by! See you soon.

Me fui!