A sucker for toys, Ye Olde Photographer has sunk even further, having snagged a pair of iPhone 6s models for Faire Spouse and self as part of a package. The previous 5c gave a good enough account of itself, and is still working, but Faire Spouse's iPhone 4 was getting a little flaky. YOP opted for the 128GB version, as his old 5c's 32GB was more than half full and the 6s has more pixels = larger files. These phones occasionally disappoint, but in general aren't at all bad for quick snapshots or simple documentary records, especially shots of stationary objects in decent lighting. For the 6s the rear camera is 12 Mpixels (4032 x 3024); the front camera — you know — for selfies — is nearly 5 Mpixels (2576 x 1932), which is more resolution than Ye Olde Photographer wants to see himself in anyway! The good news is that even in an OtterBox case, the beast just fits in the BlueTooth connected selfie stick acquired for the 5c. That is just barely fits, any further size increase will require a new stick — or giving up the whole silly idea, likely the better option!

It appears battery life may be slightly better than the 5c, with it when really exercising the camera, the battery would not last a whole day. And unlike all his stand-alone digital cameras, YOP notes the phone battery cannot be swapped out. One has to recharge the phone, that is definitely a negative when traveling. If he's really going to be documenting a trek, he would lean to the Canon G15. YOP has acquired a 4600mAh charger backup for when he is really worried about battery capacity.

And of course one must admit the device can be useful to get GPS locations, weather reports, email, etc. And golly, it can even be used as a phone! There are some interesting light meter apps for those of us who still shoot film, also.

January 2017: The selfie stick used with the previous 5C phone would barely stretch enough to clamp around the OtterBox case on this 6S. That, combined with the bulky fitting not able to fold back on the stick to put it in a pocket, prompted a new acquisition. YOP splurged on an iOttie "MiGo" selfie stick. This is a much better design that has the camera clamp fold back over and around the end of the stick. This reduces the overall length to about 9 inches which allows it to fit in YOP's hip pocket or an inside jacket pocket. The telescoping sections lock/unlock by twisting slightly and the device design appears to be well thought out. It got a major use at the Women's March in Washington DC on January 21, 2017 and did well. YOP has not yet had it long enough to have any sense of its long term reliability. It uses BlueTooth for connectivity.