Which camera to travel with?

Travel and Leisure

Around 2018, I decided to try and improve my photography by upgrading my camera kit. Why did I need a new camera? I had a pretty good camera on my smartphone, right? At the time, it was ok (iPhone 5), and I also had what they used to call a "prosumer" camera - a softball-sized, all-in-one Canon that could go from landscape photos to ultra-zoom with a push of a button.

Canon SX10 IS vs. EOS M2 mirrorless

Even with its relatively small sensor, it could still take way better pictures than my iPhone, but I had heard about the new mirrorless camera technology that had brought DSLR-like capabilities down in size and price. A friend suggested that I look at the new iPhone X that had just come out, but I balked at the hefty price. Besides, nothing can come close to the optical zoom capabilities of a real camera lens (vs. digital zoom of an iPhone).

So I pulled the trigger on an Amazon bundle for a used Canon EOS M2 (already a 5-year old camera at the time) with an 18-55mm kit lens and a 22mm prime. The change in images was immediate; the skill of the photographer was not, however. I was so impressed with the pictures that came out of the M2, that I bought a 55 - 200mm zoom lens as well. The sensor on this camera is slightly smaller than a full DSLR, so effective full zoom is 300mm! Inexpensive, even for my Scottish blood, I had put together a pretty complete mirrorless camera kit for around $800 CDN.

What made the difference?

Any Google search will give you much more information than I'm prepared to detail here, but there are about three primary differences that make this newish interchangeable lens camera better than what I had: sensor size, ISO sensitivity and glass quality. I won't get into it, but it all has to do with how much light you can get onto the sensor, and how that light is processed by the image sensor. This mountain scene from Mount Revelstoke was shot at full zoom with my 300mm lens and image stabilisation; I could never have been achieved this with an iPhone without the loss of perspective and the mountain appearing flat.

The more light and the bigger the sensor you have, the better the photos you can take. With the ability to change lenses, the Canon can capture images that I would never have been able to with my iPhone 5 (which I had upgraded to a used iPhone 6 that same year). Low light performance is nothing short of amazing; where my old camera or iPhone used to struggle with grainy, murky shots, the Canon can replicate interior scenes without the need for a flash or a tripod. This dramatic interior church scene in Lisbon would have required a tripod with my old camera, and I'd never have tried with my iPhone. One of the reasons I bought a Canon mirrorless, is that it would work with my existing Canon flash, but I have found that it rarely gets used, as more realistic pictures can be captured without it.

Enter a new era of iPhone cameras

A friend gave me his iPhone 8 a couple of years ago, which has one camera with a fixed focal equivalent of 28mm; i.e. if you were viewing the image through a traditional SLR camera, the coverage area/zoom would be the same as a 28mm lens. When you "zoom" with an iPhone, you're not actually changing the focal length, but instead you are making the image larger by magnifying or cropping the existing digital image. However, new iPhone Pros come with three cameras, in 13mm, 26mm and 52mm focal equivalents (77mm on Max ones). But it's not just the different camera lens types, but the amount of photo processing done by the iPhone technology. After seeing some impressive photos from others that I know are only using their iPhones, I started doing some research, and realised that things had moved along quite a bit since the initial introduction of Portrait Mode. So after the bit of internal debate, and knowing that my iPhone 8 will eventually become unsupported (I figure that iOS 16 will be its final software version), I picked up a used iPhone 12 Pro. 

Travel capabilities and features

Any iPhone can take a decent photo in bright daylight, so why is it that I have been toting around a camera? Well, here are the things that I have found matter to me, mostly when travelling.

Field of vision: For anyone who has been paying attention to the numbers above, you will note that even with the iPhone Pro's three cameras, the focal range is still limited to 52mm, hardly a telephoto lens, as touted by Apple. This picture of the Decebalus rock sculpture was taken with my Canon at 83mm, and then cropped; a similar iPhone shot was far too wide to capture this detail. Since I don't fly with the heavier and larger 55-200mm zoom lens, it's not a fair comparison to judge the iPhone's lack of true telephoto capability. But often for buildings and architecture, you need a wide field of view and the iPhone's 13mm "ultrawide" lens is something that I can't replicate with my Canon - well, not without shelling out for another lens. Additionally, you can shoot in 16:9 frame format; with around 120 degrees of coverage, the ultrawide almost replicates one's actual field of vision (135 degrees).

Low-light: I deliberately did not do any post-production on this image of Budapest's Liberty Bridge and Statue (taken from a moving ship) to show how amazing the Canon's low light performance is. An older iPhone could never had captured this, but Apple's Night mode has pretty much put low light photography issues behind us. Yes, you could take night photos with my older iPhones by holding them steady, but for the most part, the iPhone decided how long to open the shutter for, and usually images were grainy. Now with all the processing power of the new phones, you don't necessarily need a tripod, and there are so many ways that you can use Night mode; I recommend that you watch a few Youtube videos or Google tutorials on the subject. I still haven't discovered all the ways that you can create unique photos with Night Mode on my iPhone 12 Pro.

Long exposure: Another feature that I use quite often is a long exposure, either for low-light shots as mentioned above, or capturing moving water. e.g. We were recently in Croatia and saw some amazing waterfalls, but you don't really capture the essence of them with a snapshot at 1/250th of a second. I was able to take amazing, smooth waterfall shots with my Canon, but I needed to use an Neutral Density filter to reduce the amount of light coming into the lens, forcing a longer exposure. But with the newer iPhones, did you know that you can use Live Photo to do the same photo effect? You still need to hold the iPhone steady or use a tripod of some sort, but who knew?

Weight/accessibility/ convenience: This is an obvious consideration; you can't take great pictures, if you don't have a camera with you. I found that the Canon's 18-55mm kit lens was the most versatile for travelling, but even in compact form, the combined weight is 495g; adding in the charger and extra batteries makes bringing along this camera not an insignificant encumbrance. Sure, when touring during the day, I usually have a travel bag (man purse) that I would put my mirrorless camera in, but if I don't need to take up the extra space, there's more room for snacks and whatever. In the evening, when out for dinner or taking in the evening sights, I don't typically bring my day bag, so those impressive night shots aren't going to get captured by my Canon anyways. She took this evening shot on the Stradun in Dubrovnik, because of course, I didn't have my camera with me. I will always have my new iPhone in my pocket, so this makes the burden of the mirrorless camera perhaps too much to bear?

My conclusion is that if you’ve got an iPhone 11 Pro or above (e.g. iPhone 13 Pro Max), and you’re not looking to make a living from your vacation pictures, then that’s probably all you need. So if I'm no longer going to travel with it, when will I be using my mirrorless camera and all it's lenses and pro features? Certainly long zoom environments will dictate using the 300mm lens, and nothing beats the clarity and image quality of the 22mm prime lens. And there is something about having a "camera" in your hand which puts me in a photographic frame of mind; i.e. I'm going out specifically with the purpose of taking pictures. And of course, where weight and space aren't an issue, I'll bring the full camera kit, to capture moments like this little baby chickadee that emerged from our bird house. In the end, the decision on whether to bring your professional DSLR or mirrorless camera along with you on your travels is up to you, but for my needs, I think I'll leave the Canon at home when my vacation travel takes me on the plane.