To phone or not to phone? That is the question.
It’s 2026 at the time of writing. Technology has advanced at a mind boggling rate in the last couple of decades.
And … Guess who isn’t exactly up to date with New Stuff! Hint… it’s not my kids…
Sigh… I have always thought that Big Camera was in some ways a set-in-stone necessity to get Good Photos. And that somehow phones were inferior.
And then I went to Iceland.
Iceland is magnificent, the landscapes are jaw dropping, the atmosphere is almost unworldly. And!! Talking of atmosphere, yes, there is/was plenty of it and then some.
I rapidly found that when standing (or huddling or sheltering) with a Big Camera in hand, it just didn’t cut it. Nope. Most problematic. A lens full of rain, drops and blotches all over, not to mention the camera body with seals soaked. Any kind of telephoto lens in use?… well, let’s just say in the wind it was almost laughable to even think you could hold it straight and or steady, to get a crisp shot. A tripod? Don’t turn your back or it would be in Norway.
And then.
Enter this sleek little device, waterproof, and it fits snugly in your pocket. It’s called a phone. The lens is small enough that water droplets aren’t a problem.
And then I get to the clincher, for me. For my Australian landscapes, clients will ask for a fifty or sixty inch print. And I am confident in the way that a Canon R5 with RF lenses will produce superb crisp images in the vast majority of cases at that size. If the print at a given size is not sharp enough, I tell my clients upfront.
For my travel (ie non Australian) photos, I do not make as many sales. For personal use, I may well enlarge to a twenty-four or even thirty-six inch print and when framed it is a lovely size on the wall. But that’s it.
And a phone can do that now. Especially given the upsize / upscale software now available.
Waterfalls
I know I’m slow to the party, but then I found Live mode on the iPhone. And for waterfalls! Wow, instant water milky flowing effect.
So yours truly would walk to waterfalls, camera in hand – or on back. Then shoot a number of images on the phone. I would then take ‘proper camera’ photos until there was too much water on the lens. Umbrellas were more of a hindrance than a benefit, as well. And yes indeed I could have cleaned my lens as I went, but this was seriously windy apocalyptic conditions sometimes. Blow-me-over kind of wind.
So, as I process my Iceland images, I have two sets. Canon and Apple. I will make a book of personal photos. The images will, I doubt, not be much bigger than a 12×8. That’s quite a big book (with a white page border
Gulfoss, Iceland. Taken with iPhone 16
The above photo was taken:-
- In 2 degrees feels like -8
- Standing without crampons on ice
- A wind blowing toward me that made standing difficult – your feet would literally start sliding as you stood
- With frozen water crystals hammering into me. My glasses were covered in tiny shards of ice.
So I was able to ‘point and shoot’. No, actually let’s make that just shoot, with the phone pointing in the vague direction of the falls. I think I took maybe two frmaes with Big Camera
In conclusion
- The best camera is the one you have in your hand
Andrew Barnes
2026 Edit –
