I’ve written previously about my decision to use the camera in my iPhone 5S as my only camera when I go on vacations and such. No longer do I additionally take along a separate point-and-shoot camera.
I had a major opportunity to test out how well this worked when Naomi and I went on a two-week road trip up the California and Oregon coast, stopping at Portland, and looping back down on an interior route that took us to Crater Lake and Lassen Volcanic National Parks.
Actually, Naomi insisted that I also take along our old Canon; she wanted to have the zoom lens available. I didn’t use it. But Naomi did. However, in what I swear was an unintended mishap, I broke the camera about midway through the trip. That effectively ended even Naomi’s limited use of the Canon.
With our vacation now over, and the photos reviewed and evaluated, I can say that I was overall very pleased with the results.
On the down side, there were times when I would have preferred a zoom lens and more control over exposure settings. I missed a few shots as a result, especially those of wild animals (elk, seals, etc.) where getting close to the subject was impossible. But this did not happen often.
On the up side, the iPhone proved capable of taking some incredible high-quality photos. At least to my eye. The photos are even more impressive when you consider that my photography skills skew toward the minimal – and most of the shots were taken “on-the-fly.” In assessing these photos, the iPhone (not me) should get most of the positive credit.
To give you a peek how the iPhone did, here is a sampling of ten (10) of my favorite photos from the trip. All were taken with the iPhone without any additional third-party lens. Two of the photos used the iPhone’s Panorama mode. The rest were shot with the iPhone’s standard photo setting.
To see a larger version of any photo, click/tap on its image:
Redwood National Park, California
Beach in Bandon Oregon [taken from our motel window]
Face Rock, Bandon Oregon
Oregon coast [near Coos Bay]
Oregon coast [near Devil’s Punchbowl]
Haystack Rock, Cannon Beach Oregon
Multnomah Falls, Columbia River Gorge, Oregon
Crater Lake National Park. Oregon
Crater Lake panorama
Mt. Lassen from Manzanita Lake, Lassen Volcanic National Park, CA