“This June my dream of travelling to Ladakh is finally coming true. Which DSLR camera should I buy?”
Before getting into the nitty-gritty of technical specs and lens performances, our first question always is – why do they want to buy a DSLR. Usually, the answer is – to have memories from the trip stored forever.
If they do not intend to pursue travel photography as a serious hobby or a profession, we advise (sometimes to their disappointment) against a DSLR camera.
On our recent travels around South India – a whirlwind tour of 5 days driving almost 3000 km – we travelled only with our smartphone, the Asus Zenfone 3s Max. From shooting landscapes on-the-go to quick portraits, capturing the awesome food that we devoured or quirky gems along the way – the precious memories were well captured.
“What do we use for taking photos then?”
Using the South India trip as a backdrop and the photos from our Asus Zenfone 3s Max, allow us to illustrate why a smartphone camera is perfect for travel photography!
1. Full manual control, just like your DSLR
These smartphones offer a real manual mode, giving you full control over the ISO, shutter speed even the colour temperature of your photos. You can see the results live on your screen as you change the values.
You can even control the focus points, just like you can in the DSLR lenses. The focus area can be seen live on your screen, giving you a clear idea of what the image is going to look like. Once you are happy with the result, you can lock the focus and shoot.
ISO: 100, Shutter speed: 1/1600
Want to shoot a little under? Or a little over? Don’t know what that is? Just play with these settings on the screen and see the live results. And instantly start sounding like a cool dude!
ISO: 750, Shutter speed: 1/13
We could’ve gone higher on the ISO but then the image would’ve become noisy and the details would be lost.
With such easy access to controls, the Zenfone 3s Max can also be a quick learning tool to understand the more intricate details of photography in manual mode.
“Manual mode sounds awesome, but there’s still a learning curve there. Can I take images in the dark without adjusting the ISO and shutter speed?”
2. A ready night mode or a low light mode for capturing details in the dark
There is a certain charm to being out after hours in a new place during travel. The street markets or the beach come alive in the dark which just isn’t possible during the daytime.
The Zenfone 3s Max comes with a ready Night and Low Light mode to capture images at such times. Just make sure the camera is held steady and forget about any other setting.
“Yeah okay, but I want those cool close ups with the background blurred”
3. Depth of field results are easy to achieve
The relationship between aperture and shutter speed has most novices confused. It takes patience and efforts to learn and master it all. Why should one spend hours trying to get it all when all you want is a beautiful photo of the flowers you are seeing before you?
“Hmm…sounds convincing. What about capturing the details?”
4. Super resolution is your magic keyword!
The super resolution is something like your macro photography without the use of powerful macro lenses. It will make your food photos look yum – what with the detailed texture of the pastry you just devoured. Seen some weaves that absolutely stunned you and want to capture the details of the design? Or was the bug in the garden too beautiful to be a bug?
Use the Super Resolution mode in the Zenfone 3s Max and just see the magic – really we have no other word for it!
“I have heard this phrase post processing. Will I need to learn all that?”
5. Inbuilt panorama and HDR modes
It’s common to have a varying light on the landscape in front of you. Like, the mountains could be covered in clouds and the lake in bright sunlight. Light isn’t always evenly spread throughout the frame that you want to capture. In such situations, photographers take multiple shots of the same frame using different settings and then stack those in layers in Photoshop.
Same for pictures of those sweeping landscapes. Multiple shots are taken in one go then stitched all together.
“Look I just want to take a picture of the damn tree and that lake”, we hear you say!
HDR mode comes to the rescue here. It’s as simple as choosing the HDR mode in the camera of the Zenfone 3s Max and letting it do the rest.
Choose the panorama mode for taking a picture of the entire landscape in front of you, the entire lake, the entire room or even the entire Qutub Minar!
No stacking and stitching required!
Have we convinced you to skip an expensive bulky camera? Instead, opt in for a mobile camera of the quality of Zenfone 3s Max for your travel photography?
“Yeah, so you don’t use a DSLR at all for your travel photography?”
Well, there are a couple of things we should clarify:
1. Our equipment weighs over half the weight of our luggage and is sometimes the most expensive part of our travels.
We spend hours “making an image”, not just taking photos. We might spend an entire day in one location, just to get a photo to our heart’s content.
2. Unless you want to invest that kind of money and effort into your travel photography, we do not recommend investing in a DSLR camera.
You need a DSLR camera for travel photography – is a myth we want to bust. A mobile phone will give you all the images you want to capture to bring back memories of your trip.
When you travel, focus on the experience, not on the screen.
Also read Taj Mahal photography tips
