So, I’ve returned from a recent trip to Seattle and decided to take the plunge. I ordered a new iPhone 11 Pro to replace my old, trusty iPhone SE, which had seen better days. The poor little SE was unable to hold a charge (bad battery) had an old raggedy case, and the headphone jack was acting weird, not to mention it was just getting up in years. Rather than wait for it to actually give up the ghost, I decided I would try for a replacement. As I was flying back from the Pacific Northwest, they announced the new iPhone 11 Pro line. Talking to a few folks on the plane, we all had the same impressions. The old iPhone in our pockets had lasted long enough and, yeah, it might have been time to order a new one, yet somehow the iPhone X and XS had left us more than a little bit, shall we say, cold. There just wasn’t anything all that compelling about upgrading. Nothing forcing us to do it, no attraction there. Just no love for the 10 is how I would best describe it.
Fast forward to the iPhone 11 Pro announcement and things just seemed to line up for the better. For starters, the iPhone 11 Pro has three cameras, one of which is a telephoto. I always love telephone shooting, it’s just part of the way I see the world, so this was a big draw for me. The iPhone 11 Pro also has something called, “night mode” which, if you know me, you know I do a lot of night shooting, so this too was calling my name. Also, while still “big” or at least a lot bigger than my SE, the new iPhone 11 Pro didn’t come in gigantic size, it looked to be just a bit larger than the SE, although everything is larger than the SE these days. Couple this with the dead battery and issues in SE-land and, my friends, there is your upgrade. I took the plunge and ordered the iPhone 11 Pro in something called “space green” with a forest green case.
The phone itself has shown up and I’ve famously started using it, although I have yet to really put the camera through its paces. The upgrade process has been a bit of a chore, with all kinds of bad things happening to me along the way. I still don’t have a fully functional Bluetooth setup (still working on that) and, I must confess, it has taken me way longer than I would have liked to perform this upgrade. The phone itself is much larger than my SE and a lot heavier so it’s making me miss that little phone I could easily tuck into my pocket. It feels a bit like a brick. OK, maybe a flat brick, but a brick nonetheless. This will take some adjustment on my part, for sure and I must confess I’m not quite there yet. Every day brings me a bit closer to getting more comfortable with it, with the feeling of holding it in my hands. (I’ve no choice but to adjust to it, just going to take some time is all.)
I have yet to put the camera through its paces but, what little I have seen leaves me wanting to play with it a lot more. It’s way better than the SE camera. At this point, it’s probably safe to call this new iPhone 11 Pro a camera with a phone attached. The camera is all that from what I’ve been able to discern. Honestly, I can’t wait to really put it to the test, open the taps, and see what it can do. The phone part? The rest of it? Yeah, it’s there and almost gets in the way of the good stuff.
If I had to sum it up, if you asked me for a review, why, that would be it right there. “Nice camera and, oh yeah, there’s some kind of phone thing like attached I think….” Frankly, I can hardly wait to make a video.
Bottom line? The upgrade process has been most cumbersome, the phone itself looks nice, but I’m so used to something a lot older and smaller so it’s going to take some adjustment on my part to get used to the feel of it. I think it’s got a better camera, can’t wait to make a video, want to do some night shooting with it, and have a bunch of things in store. For now, it’s shiny new and I’m still getting used to it, kind of like breaking in a new pair of hiking boots or the like. My feet hurt a bit here and there, might even be a blister or too left in the process, but I can sort of see how this movie is going to end.
Until next time…
PS No, this one not taken with the new iPhone 11 Pro. This was shot with the Canon 5DS from the top of something called a “Great Wheel.” Walkabout lens that was spinning around a wheel for a time, myself attached at the back enjoying the view. No “Notes from the Road” or Top 10 list for Seattle this time, as it was a quick trip.
