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iPhone 11 Pro Diary

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iPhone 11 Pro Diary: 28 Weeks Later, photographing an empty London

28 Weeks Later in London

It’s not quite 28 Days Later out there, but I did get the chance to put the iPhone 11 Pro camera to an unusual test some 28 Weeks Later – almost to the day since the phone’s launch.

The UK is under lockdown at present, with people allowed out only for four reasons: work which cannot be done from home; shopping for essentials; medical or emergency needs, for you or someone else; and exercise – which is to say, walking, running or cycling …


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iPhone 11 Pro Diary: Using an iPhone as my only camera on holiday after all

The iPhone as my only camera

Yeah, I know that sounds strange, not long after I concluded that we weren’t yet at the point where I could use my iPhone as my only camera. Specifically, I decided it was a great social camera, but doesn’t yet replace a travel one.

There were, however, three reasons for having it be my only camera on this particular trip, which was to Buenos Aires…


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iPhone 11 Pro Diary: It’s no travel camera, but it’s a great social one

iPhone 11 Pro camera review

I’d so far given the iPhone 11 Pro camera a very high bar to meet: Could it be good enough that it would be the only camera I’d need while travelling? The answer to that question was a resounding no, even after double-checking.

But that’s mostly because I demand very high quality from my travel photos, so noise that would be largely unnoticeable at web-viewing size would disturb me in prints or when viewing on a large screen, both things I do with travel shots. I also want the ability to shoot 30-second exposures on demand, not when my camera decides it’s dark enough to permit it.

A recent night out, however, provided the opportunity to put the camera to the test in a more common situation…


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iPhone 11 Pro Diary: Tripod-mounted iPhone night photos don’t change the story

iPhone night photos – Night Mode has its limitations

I had only a few minutes to play with the iPhone 11 Pro camera on release day, taking just a few hand-held iPhone night photos to test Night Mode.

But a couple of readers made a good point in response. Although the vast, vast majority of iPhone photos will be handheld, it wasn’t fair to compare the results against a DSLR or mirrorless camera when those were tripod-mounted 30-second exposures. For a fair comparison, I should also mount the iPhone on a tripod, and let it also use its longest-available (pseudo) shutter speed…


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iPhone 11 Pro Diary: Night Mode is very impressive, but not yet good enough

Night Mode on the iPhone 11 Pro

In my iPhone 11 Pro Diary pieces to date, there’s been one consistent theme: it’s all about the cameras. In particular, I wanted to know whether the combination of ultra-wide-angle lens and Night Mode might enable the iPhone to serve as the only camera I need when traveling?

Friday night gave me a few minutes to play around with Night Mode. We were on our way home from the theatre, so these are just a few very quick snapshots, but they give a decent initial sense of how well the Night Mode copes late at night…


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iPhone 11 Pro Diary: To my surprise, I quite like the look of the camera module

iPhone 11 Pro camera module – industrial chic

The iPhone 11 Pro camera module has been a source of controversy ever since the first renders were seen. Many complained that this was the ugliest camera bump yet. Some felt the entire square block was unappealing, while others hated the triangular camera arrangement within the square.

My own view was somewhat neutral. Regular readers will know that I’m not a fan of camera bumps at all. I’d far rather the phone were slightly thicker to allow the camera to be flush. But given that Apple has gone this route, I had three thoughts about it – and two of those thoughts turned out to be wrong once I took delivery of my shiny matte new iPhone


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iPhone 11 Pro Diary: I’ll be buying one, for exactly the reason I expected

iPhone 11 Pro Diary

I wrote back in July about ‘the feature that will likely have me buy the iPhone 11,’ namely a wide-angle lens.

A wide-angle lens was the one missing camera feature for me. The photo above, and the gallery below, are all shots taken with a wide-angle lens (in this case a Sigma 10-20mm on a Nikon D3). None of those shots would have been possible on any current iPhone. Adding a wide-angle lens would make the iPhone a much more versatile camera.

And that’s what we saw yesterday…


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iPhone 11 Pro Diary: The feature that will likely have me buy the iPhone 11

I didn’t think I’d be very likely to buy the iPhone 11. My plan to date has been to hold out another year with my iPhone X.

The iPhone XS didn’t offer enough to persuade me to upgrade last year, and the rumors to date for this year have made the 2019 iPhones sound rather like another S year. With a much bigger update likely in 2020, including 5G support, the sensible plan seemed to be to wait until then.

But something we learned yesterday through 9to5Mac exclusive will likely be enough to persuade me to upgrade this year …


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