We went last week to Belfast, Northern Ireland, for 5 nights. It was not a photographic trip with mirrorless camera, tripod, filters etc, and time to set up and wait for the moment. It was a travel trip where images could be given some thought, but not take much time; photography is not a spectator sport! Rather than take a dedicated camera, I decided to just take my iPhone 12 Pro.
Would I be happy with the results?
I do my processing in LR and have played with super-resolution for iPhone images so that I could crop in when I really needed a longer lens. In the main I have been happy. In Belfast the iPhone lenses were nearly always all I needed. However, we went to the north coast with its scenery and basalt at the Giant's Causeway. Using the x2 lens was OK for a general shot, but not if I wanted basalt details in cliffs some way distant. I shot RAW, came home and put all my images into LR. When I felt I wanted to crop I used super resolution. Attached are 2 images, one as seen by the iPhone and the other is a crop of the super resolution version of the first image. I wanted to show what myth sometimes calls the basalt Finn's organ pipes. Others see a lion's head with the basalt being the teeth and the nose and eyes above.
I am happy with the outcome. Would I just take the iPhone on a similar trip? Yes I would. Would I get rid of my mirrorless cameras and lenses? No, I will not. There is a place for both for me.
Anyone else going through this internal debate? I am not sure any professional photographer is, but enthusiasts may.
Jonathan
