February 2022 — The previous phone, an iPhone 6s, was barely able to hold a charge from breakfast until lunchtime, and Faire Spouse's was also acting up. So-o-o Ye Olde Photographer and Faire Spouse splurged — she now sports an iPhone 13, and YOP has a iPhone 13 Pro. The basic camera resolution is pretty much the same as the 6s, but it has a lot of additional features, including three lenses on the back which appears to provide some optical zoom capability.

Battery life appears notably better than the 6s, and in general the little widget seems to work better as a phone (!), including it has 5G capability. Remarkably, the sales guy did not push more than the 128 Gbyte memory, which in hindsight may have been an oversight on the part of YOP, as he seems to be shooting more video of late. But a bit of discipline in expunging rejects and old files will probably work well enough.

Most of the previous apps crossed over OK — GPS locations, weather reports, email, etc., as well as some interesting light meter apps for those of us who still shoot film, also. Alas, the shopping list app bit the bullet. YOP found another that even looks much like the previous one, but it has some subtle but annoying quirks.

As travel has loosened up, Ye Olde (aging) Photographer combined some functions by acquiring a sturdy monopod (Manfrotto Element MII) with a tilting QR mounting. That can serve as a walking stick *and* a photographic device. In addition, a Ulanzi ST-25 adapter (pictures below) was added to the collection. This can securely mount the phone horizontal or vertical on a tripod, and addionally includes a tiny BlueTooth button that attaches to the adapter but is easily removed to use as a remote. (As he writes this, the BT failed to connect, but now it appears the battery may be dead. We shall see ...)
Here's a video of a May 28th steam pass in Leesport, Pennsylvania, using the phone on a tripod so YOP could fiddle with another camera.

Considering the possibility of shooting video with the phone on a steam rail excursion, YOP further invested in a metal knurled cylindrical grip, a metal non-swiveling clamp adapter, and a wrist strap and D-ring, such that physical control can be maintained whilst shooting out of the open window in a moving train! It had its proof-of-concept tests on July 2nd and worked out well. An example is found here. YOP rode some steam excursions behind this exact locomotive in 1961 and 62, so it was quite exciting to do it again 60 years later. The operating group, the Reading, Blue Mountain & Northern is an actual railroad, not just a tourist line. They invested five years and 2.4 million dollars in some major restoration of #2102, this 400 ton 4-8-4 locomotive. Whoo hoo!