Since I got my iPhone 17 Pro Max I have thought about using it for some filming, video blog type things. I know I could do that selfie thing and hold the camera in my hand, but I also wanted to do some pieces to camera, where I am not holding the phone. I knew I would need some kind of external (and probably) wireless microphone.
I had a look around, and decided to try something cheap first and then potentially get something better (more expensive) at a later date. I got the Mini Wireless Lavalier Microphone.
I like the fact it came with some windproof heads for the mics as well.
Since I got my iPhone 17 Pro Max I have thought about using it for some filming, video blog type things. I know I could do that selfie thing and hold the camera in my hand, but I also wanted to do some pieces to camera, where I am not holding the phone.
I looked online and decided to get a tripod mount for the phone, I already have a tripod, so this would be something I could use with that.
Apple started back in 1976, though I am old enough to remember 1976, my personal history with Apple begins half way through their fifty year history in 2001.
I have already written about my computing for personal and professional reasons, the iPad, and the iPod; this post is about the iPhone.
I have used a range of iPhones over the years, some through work and those that I bought for personal use.
I now have an iPhone 17 Pro Max and the main use case I got for this was the photographic capabilities which have made dramatic improvements over the years.
I have also used the iPhone 13. It’s interesting that in the early iterations of the iPhone there was often very good reasons for upgrading, with the more recent versions, the improvements have been marginal at best. You notice the improvements when jumping from something like the 13 to the 17.
I didn’t buy the first version of the iPhone, mainly as it didn’t have 3G, which I felt was important for how I was using a phone.
I did get the iPhone 3GS. I liked it, but it was a secondary phone and I kept the Google Nexus One going for a few years.
Through work I then got an iPhone 4. The iPhone 4 is what the iPhone should have been from day one. Finally, the iPhone came of age. It is one of the best phones I have ever used. The camera was better than ever before, and the phone also came with a front facing camera. At the time the iPhone 4 was one of the best phones I had ever used, and I was really pleased with it.
My next iPhone was the iPhone 5S. I also had a work phone in the iPhone 6 Plus for a while, and I replaced my dependable Google Nexus One with an iPhone 6S Plus. Later in a different job I had the iPhone 8, but the iPhone 6S Plus kept me going for a few years.
I then had an iPhone 13 for a few years, but now I have the iPhone 17 Pro Max, which I am hoping will last a few years.
I recently upgraded my phone to the iPhone 17 Pro Max, I went with this model for two core reasons, one was the bigger screen, I like a phone with a big screen, two was the photographic capabilities of the Pro Max compared to the other phones in the 17 range.
The power of the iPhone camera system gives you a wide range of focal lengths with exceptional framing flexibility — from sharp close‑ups to sweeping wide shots that let you capture more of a scene without stepping back. And get up close like never before with 8x optical-quality zoom on iPhone 17 Pro — the longest zoom ever on an iPhone.
The 17 Pro Max has the following capabilities:
48MP Pro Fusion camera system
48MP Fusion Main
48MP Fusion Ultra Wide
48MP Fusion Telephoto
Compare that to the standard 17 which has:
48MP Pro Fusion camera system
48MP Fusion Main
48MP Fusion Ultra Wide
The iPhone Air and the iPhone 17e have the following:
48MP Fusion camera system
48MP Fusion Main
Over the years I have made extensive use of the ultra wide capability on my old iPhone, but one thing I missed was an optical telephoto lens. I knew I could zoom in digitally, but that wasn’t the same as using a telephoto lens.
So, I did want to give it a go, so when I was down on Weston beach I took a photograph of the Grand Pier.
Then I zoomed in…
Now this isn’t even the full zoom, but I was impressed with the results.
I recently bought an Ultra Compact Power Bank to replace my existing power bank and to use on long day trips. I wrote previously about how on my day trip to Venice I only planned to take my phone and the power bank. I also thought I should be able to charge my Apple Watch as well if that ran out of power.
Now the power bank worked a treat in charging the phone. Towards the end of that day I noted that my Apple Watch was down to 1%. So I retrieved the USB-C watch charging cable from my bag, plugged it into the USB-C port on the power bank and watched the watch literally not charge.
This time, when I went to Copenhagen, I took the USB-A charging cable that came with the watch and this (having tested it earlier) worked a treat in charging the watch.
My main use case is when travelling with just my phone or attending a conference with just my phone.
If I have my laptop with me I can usually use that to charge the phone. My phone can usually hold a charge for most of the day, but I have found now and then something I am doing kills the battery.
On my day trip to Venice I only planned to take my phone and the power bank. I also thought I should be able to charge my Apple Watch as well if that ran out of power.
Now the power bank worked a treat in charging the phone, I was down to 25% battery so plugged the phone into the attached cable on the power bank and it recharged the phone.
Towards the end of the day I noted that my Apple Watch was down to 1%. So I retrieved the USB-C watch charging cable from my bag, plugged it into the USB-C port on the power bank and watched the watch literally not charge.
It wasn’t critical I had my watch charged (I had my phone) but it was annoying that the charging didn’t work. I hadn’t tested charging the watch before I left, but had for the phone.
When I got home I checked the process, this time using the USB-A charging cable that came with the watch, and this time with the power bank it did charge the watch. So, maybe next time I will take the USB-A cable.
I have bought an Ultra Compact Power Bank to replace my existing power bank. My original Power Bank was 20000mAh which I had bought four years ago. It got considerable use and now no longer holds a charge. So, I knew I needed a replacement.
This one was smaller at 10000mAh, but it was also a lot smaller and importantly lighter as well. I also like how it came with included cables.
My main use case is when travelling with just my phone or attending a conference with just my phone. If I have my laptop with me I can usually use that to charge the phone. My phone can usually hold a charge for most of the day, but I have found now and then something I am doing kills the battery.
I was listening to MacBreak Weekly and there was a discussion about Adobe’s Project Indigo.
I went to the website and it looked really interesting in what they were trying to achieve with the app. They describe it as a computational photography camera app
The app takes multiple images which can then reduce imaging noise or add more detail.
At left is a single-image photo taken by an iPhone under 1/10 lux illumination. (It’s so dark you couldn’t find your keys if they dropped on the floor!) At right is a handheld photo taken by Indigo, which has captured and merged 32 images (sometimes called frames) to reduce imaging noise.
I thought to myself I would like to try this app, and after installing it on my iPhone, found that my phone wasn’t compatible.
So, I need a new phone…
In the meantime check out the article and see actual full size images created by Project Indigo.
I usually blog about my roaming experiences when I travel abroad. Sometimes I have issues, but more recently things have gone very smoothly.
I had visited Amsterdam nearly two years ago, back in October 2023, then I had no issues with roaming. I was visiting the Netherlands again, though this time I was attending a conference in Delft.
When I go abroad the process I use is go into Settings -> Mobile Data and turn off virtually all the apps which could use mobile data. I would turn off mobile data for virtually all my apps and also specifically iCloud Drive and iCloud Backup. I am pretty sure they were the culprits for my excessive data usage whilst in Portugal. This time, as with my recent trip to France, I only turned off mobile data for iCloud Drive and iCloud Backup and a few data heavy apps.
The hotel I was staying at had good wifi, and the conference venue at TU Delft had eduroam. Having said that I did make use of mobile data when I was in coffee shops, on the train, and walking around various Dutch places. I was impressed with the mobile data speeds that were available.
I was there for five days and when I landed back in Bristol, I had not used up all my data.
Last year I blogged about some mapping issues I was having with Apple CarPlay on the Ora Funky Cat.
I have noticed a glitch with Apple Maps on CarPlay on the Ora Funky Cat ever since I upgraded to iOS 18. Starting CarPlay, opening Apple Maps I am in completely the wrong location.
Over the next few months I would have the same glitch with Waze and Google Maps. I would start the car, CarPlay would start and though I knew where I was as far as the car was concerned I was about 100 miles to the east.
Usually within a few minutes the error would correct itself and I would find that Waze would place me in the right location. It certainly was annoying, also when I actually needed the sat nav to work it was quite frustrating. One solution was to disable CarPlay and either use the built-in navigation (which worked fine) or use the phone separately and balance it on the dashboard.
This also impacted on Google Maps timeline, which would often show me having travelled a hundred miles in just a few minutes!
I kind of just lived with it.
I have noticed over the last few months that the glitch seems to have resolved itself. I’ve not updated the car, so it must have been an iPhone update. Whatever, now I have a sat nav works just fine, which is nice.
