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.
Pupusa time! This is outside my favorite spot in Olocuilta. Very good quality in daylight.
My cousins new ride…
Salvadorian breafast. Not really macro but look at the color and clarity. No other phone I’ve seen gives this.
Ceviche. Prob the worlds best food.
This is a bus.
View from my cousins Hotel window.
Spa time
Probably the best Sushi joint in the world…I kid you not.
My cousin and octopus. Colors indoors in Tungsten light are a little harsh due to the flash.
Flash output can’t be controlled. That’s a big negative.
Sushi Boat. I turned off the flash but as you can see there’s a bit of camera shake.
My cousins and I. Camera needs a bit more resolution for groups of people.
Macro is decent
That’s a gigantic slab of Sushi! Notice the Orange skin tones again. That issue needs to be addressed in future versions.
My cousins workstation…
Preparing meat for a big barbecue. Shutter speed is automatic. That would be a great feature though!
Family Pic outside, outdoors with no fillflash
Center of Shopping Plaza in Cuscatlan. I added a polarizer filter in LR.
Best Steakhouse in San Sal. A bit too much noise for my taste but it’s acceptable.
My Cousin and his coworkers. Pretty good detail for an evening pic with no flash.
Hen Soup with sunlight coming through window. Good quality in this environment.
Dead Hen…
Fresh Oysters on the way to the beach!
Very good resolution in daylight.
Breakfast of champions.
Love me some amaca.
There’s that slow shutter effect again.
Look at the color rendition. Very good quality.
Infinity focus very good. Super sharp because of all the light.
Gotta make sure to shoot away from direct light avoid flare.
Used an Pro HDR to get this great image.
Low light is acceptable but still a bit of grain and banding.
Sipping a $250 bottle of Rum & a $40 pure Cuban…
Did I mention adding FEC
Lobby Entrance of the Hilton San Salvador
Outdoor lunch time
My farewell lunch. Look at the resolution! Again outdoors this phone camera can’t be beat!
Farewell gift. Indoor resolution still needs to be improved.
All in all, I’m pretty happy with the images I got from my phone. They can’t compare to my DSLR…
My cousin and his family in an quick pic session before leaving for airport.
…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!