Smart Phone
Its amazing how quickly we can adapt to change if we have no other choice !
I have always used a camera of some form from a very early age of about 8 years old and trust me when I was 8, around 50 years ago cameras were quite basic, I used to love taking photos and it was always interesting to see what came back from the developers !
The digital age came and it was great to be able to see what you had taken on the rear screen and when mirrorless first came out it was great to see the image through the sensor as such. I embraced Mirrorless and and the Fujifilm system, I probably did this very quickly because I was very slow to move from Film to digital and once I realised the potential of Mirrorless I jumped ship from the huge Nikon Pro system to the Mirrorless system.
I then went one step to far and brought in to the Fujifilm GFX system, the system is great one of the best in the world but my work had changed and there is no way I needed all that resolution and did not need a camera system that was that heavy.
I sold my GFX system and re invested the money back in to my Fujifilm system and at that time the XT-3 was the way forward for most of my work. I also had the Xpro2 and the X100F for personal work and Street work.
One of my all time bug bares with the Fujifilm system as with any digital system was the few extra steps it takes to edit and then get your images online ! Sounds crazy right ! 50 years ago I would shoot then wait a week for the images to come back from the lab, now I cant be arsed to transfer my images to my laptop and then get them online.
The smartphone has always been ok but they have there downsides like resolution speed of focus and lens length. I did not think I would ever favour a phone to a camera but after using an iPhone 11 ProMax now for so long without any other camera its been an eye opener. I can shoot edit and upload to where ever I need in the matter of minutes.
The iPhone 11 ProMax has three lens options and although they are not as good as Fujifilm glass they are good enough, also I get fed up with a bag full of lenses and a camera around my neck.
When I started my projects after my Stroke I really did think I would miss the Fujis but I have not picked up a real camera for my own personal work in 18 months. I have done a few commercial shoots before I retired and went back to the Fujis but even found myself using my phone as well for the client ! He loved the fact he could get my work on Instagram as we finished the shoot so we were both happy.
Don’t get me wrong if you want to print large or need the images for commercial work outside the internet and social media then the smart phone would struggle but for most social media work its the perfect tool. I was even shooting my YouTube videos on my phone before I closed my account.
I made some notes in Autumn so that next year I could go back to some locations with my real cameras to get some decent Landscape shots ! But the crazy thing is the thought of dragging bags of gear and a tripod to a lake on a 5 mile walk don’t feel me with enthusiasm.
I really have adapted really quickly to just using my phone, I wonder every day if I should sell all my camera gear and just use my phone.
I don’t think I am at that stage yet and will keep it and see what use to get next year but I can see some changes on the horizon.
I would miss my long fast lenses for wildlife etc but I have not missed them for 18 months and if i see wildlife I just enjoy my time with it without a camera !
In the time I have spent not using a camera and just my Phone I have noticed Canon and Nikon have now started to move in to Mirrorless properly and have some great kit but have a long way to go before they catch up with Fujifilm and Sony. Its quite funny how you could be tempted to jump systems from one year to the next but its just a fools game. Its better to find a system stick to it and hone your craft.
I was tempted to Leica last year but to be honest a really good smart phone will do me for now.
Who knows what another 12 months will bring I guess we will have to wait and see.
I opened a new YouTube Chanel this week but have not posted any videos yet but once I do I will write a blog about it. I closed my old account for many reasons and was going to use Vimeo but changed my mind due to cost etc so will stick to YouTube and Instagram, I just need to decide what to do with the new Channel.
Have a great week cant believe its August already !
Lighttraveler 
August 8, 2020 at 1:57 pm
The quality is amazing, I’m impressed with the result!
Good luck with your YouTube channel. 🙂
August 8, 2020 at 2:10 pm
Thanks, I deleted my last channel and wiped it clean it was all Fujifilm related and people only followed it for reviews etc and I am board with that now. Hopefully my new one will be more interesting to a different audience. We shall see.
August 9, 2020 at 3:39 pm
All the best with the new channel Matt. iPhone images are excellent! If it works for you at the moment, why change? There is time and reason for everything.
August 19, 2020 at 1:53 pm
Nice blog mate. I’ve been using my Huawei P20 pro a lot in recent months as it also has a pretty fab camera and I love the dedicated B&W sensor! Have started to experiment with legacy lenses on my Fuji. Look forward to seeing you back on youtube in the future.
August 19, 2020 at 2:07 pm
Cheers buddy ! Not going to get going on YouTube until I am on the road more. Can’t think at home but when out walking and travelling I get inspired hopefully next year.