Taking my iPad for a walk...

I have long been a proponent of the simple fact that the best camera in the world is the one that you have with you.  While I wait impatiently for my iPhone 6 (damn you Verizon!) I have been playing around with the new iPad Air that I recently received for work.  Its camera is not the best out there in phones or tablets, but I have found that it is remarkably good.  It has a better exposure system than most point and shoots, and while the lens is pretty much a wide angle, it is pretty sharp and it focuses and exposes well.  Some of the Apps are even more fun and add versatility to the camera--particularly for black and white photos.  Heck, I even bought Photoshop for it!

So today I went for walk in Hartwick Pines State Park, a small gem of a park about 40 miles away.  It is supposedly one of the largest old-growth forest in the state, and it is accessible and beautiful.  We have had a few inches of snow each of the last few nights and the forest and trails were perfect.  Candy coated trees everywhere, and the 30 degree temps made it a great day for a walk. I took two "cameras," the iPad and a near top of the line Canon 6D.  My apologies for yet more scenic pretty snowy trees with a path leading the way to unknown destinations, but it seems to be a theme of late--I probably should see someone for help in learning where the path/roads go, but in the mean time, here you go.  By the time you see them in this blog post, I think you would be hard pressed to tell the photos apart.    The camera in the iPad is that good.  Just a note, the square ones were taken by that, but can you tell the difference between a $3,000 camera and lens combo and the $399 iPad?  You can, but you have to look very closely.

I have laughed at people who have depended on their phones or tablets to capture life's important moments but I can see the appeal.  I easily could have done this whole blog from my iPad, but I do type and write more better with a laptop.  What was funny today was that people laughed at me.  Several people saw me taking these photos and they commented that people don't even have cameras anymore.  I didn't say that I have enough cameras for everyone, but it is true.  Minolta is out of business, Yashica/Contax  and Olympus are struggling, and sales of any camera below about $500 are shrinking every year.  Why buy a camera when your phone is a camera, too?

Well, I am not giving up on cameras, but I could see a project with just an iPhone 6.  And some European city/country.  Damn you Verizon!