What’s it like to take travel photos with a smartphone? I tested the iPhone X camera on a recent trip to Vietnam. Rather than use the dedicated iPhone camera, I mostly shot with the free Adobe Lightroom CC app camera. Here is a photo essay of my trip, along with a look at how I took the pictures.
Psychedelic Saigon
Hoi An Street Photography
Fishing Village Photo Walk
A few days later, Etienne (far right), Peter (second to left), and I drove up the coast to a small off-the-beaten-track coastal village. We shot sunrise, explored alleyways, talked about finding the light over a bowl of noodles for breakfast, then ended up in this shipyard. / The iPhone produces photos at a 4:3 ratio. But if you crop your image to a 16:9 ratio, like I did for this photo above, you can fake a wide angle or panoramic shot.
Storming The Citadel in Hue
“We have to walk in a way that we only print peace and serenity on the Earth. Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh: Buddhist monk, peace activist, Zen master, and native of Hue, Vietnam.
Over the Hai Van Pass by Train
The lumbering train clickty-clacked over the Hai Van Pass. I took the slow road. And that made all the difference.
Final Thoughts on The iPhone X Camera
After traveling for 10 days through Vietnam with the iPhone X, I’m convinced the future of photography is a smart one.
Computational photography allows you to create images once limited to professional cameras. For instance, you can now blur the background, take HDR photos, and long exposures.
Also, the DSLR-killer feature for me is simplicity. During my trip, it was refreshing to not carry my gear or think about settings.
When I want to get the best shot possible I still use my pro camera. But I don’t believe that will be the case for much longer.
*Do you find yourself using your smartphone more often to take photos? What will the future of photography look like? Let us know in the comments below.
Comments
6 responses to “Postcard From Vietnam: Shot On iPhone”
Satish Addanki
Have seen many of my friends take fantabulous pictures from a smartphone! All of them were great when there’s ample amount of proper light. On certain conditions like low light, moving subject, panning, etc I feel smartphone cannot replace the DSLR. And of course te sensor in a DSLR cannot be matched by its smartphone counterpart!
Hey Satish, I absolutely agree with you. I do believe though that some of these limitations – like poor image quality in low light, panning, etc. – will be possible on a smartphone in the near future. For me, the argument is not so much about DSLRs being better than smartphones. What I’m trying to say is that the smartphone is now a more than capable image capturing device for many situations. And if you adapt your style to the device, a whole new way of photography opens up. Thanks for your comment.
Absolutely agree on that Pete! In fact my affinity for photography happened thanks to the smartphone. I extensively use my phone for photography. But need to hone up my skills on that front for a more refined picture quality!
Thanks for the pingback, Pete. Decided to check out your article, because I find myself using my phone to photograph more and more (especially since upgrading recently form Iphone 5 to 7, hehe refusing to spend any more money than I have to.) Still, I’m pretty blown away in the upgrade in picture capabilities from 5 to 6 and 7, I bet 10 must be something very special!
Hey, no problem Alla. Thanks for the wicked cafe tip! Yeah, I think there is a significant jump in quality from the the 5 to 7. And there’s a notable difference with the 10 as well. Try shooting in RAW (DNG) with the free LR app. The editing capability is much better than a JPEG with the native camera app. HDR mode is fantastic too!
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