Our Family Day in London with the Samsung Galaxy S6

If you follow me on social media you may have seen that I was hugely excited last week to be given the opportunity by Three Mobile to review the brand new Samsung Galaxy S6 phone. In addition to letting me put the S6 through it’s paces for a few days, Three Mobile also very kindly gave us a day out in London where we visited the Natural History Museum and their wonderful “Sensational Butterflies” exhibition.

The Samsung Galaxy S6

WP_20150618_11_50_36_Pro (3)A little bit about the phone first. It is really slim and light though a bit longer than my current phone. I tend to carry my phone in my pocket and I was concerned it wouldn’t fit, but actually, although taller than my current Nokia, it is slimmer so fit a little better if anything, result!

It runs on Android, and being a Windows Phone user this did take a bit of getting used to but is much more user-friendly than the last time I used Android (we are talking a few years ago now) and I soon got to grips with it. I also found the phone very fast which is nice as being nearly 2 years old my phone can be a bit sluggish!

The best thing about the S6 though has got to be the cameras. Yes, plural, because both front and back cameras are very impressive. The back camera is a whopping 16megapixel and the front is a lovely 5megapixel. I love a good family selfie so it nice to be able to take a quality shot with the front camera for a change. To show you the difference here is a couple of selfies taken with the front camera on my current phone compared with the front camera on the S6. I have no make up on so apologies but you can see the difference. The third shot has “beauty mode” switched on which kindly smooths your skin out for you – definite improvement I think! 🙂

Samsung Galaxy S6 Front Camera

I also loved the speed of the cameras. It loads super fast even when the screen is timed out, and, best of all it takes the photo almost instantly when you press the shutter. Kids move around seriously fast and I often find with my current phone that by the time it has focussed and taken the shot, I have missed the moment. This happened a lot less with the S6 which is a HUGE plus in my books.

That’s about as technical as I am going to get as I am not that technical! So that you can see for yourself how great the cameras are, here is our day at the Natural History Museum.

Our day at the Natural History Museum

We set off on the train to London first thing in the morning. Monkey was so excited to be on a really fast train and loved every second of the journey, especially the tunnels.

on the train 1

We had hoped LM may nap on the train but it would seem she was too excited too as was not remotely in the mood to nap. We had a lot of fun keeping her entertained instead.

On the train 2

Getting around London on the tube with two tots, a buggy and our bags was interesting. The tube was absolutely packed, and we were squeezed in like sardines! Monkey was such a good boy but LM was not a fan…. though she was charming everyone by making sneaky grabs for people’s jumpers and sunglasses etc! Thankfully everyone she chose to grab was friendly and in a good mood.

We finally arrived at the Natural History Museum which is such an impressive building, and after a cheeky selfie (though I really need to have a bit more practice with my selfie stick) we headed inside to see the huge Brontosaurus.

natural history museum

We were concerned Monkey may be a bit wary of the dinosaur but he loved it and decided it was smiling hehe. We just had time for a quick cup of tea and slice of cake before heading out to the Sensational Butterflies exhibition.

Sensational Butterflies

In the grounds of the Museum is a tropical tent housing lots of beautiful butterflies who are free to fly and roam as they please. As you go through you follow the trail which charts the life cycle of the butterfly, from caterpillar to cocoon to butterfly, while all the way you are surrounded by butterflies fluttering past.

Butterflies 1

Unfortunately Monkey had a full on freak out about the butterflies. He found them really scary flying so close to us and one landed on my back which really set him off. LM seemed to love watching them flutter past though! I managed to get some gorgeous shots but we did have to rush through a bit to get the screaming, clinging mess of a toddler out of the tent :/

Butterflies 1

It was such a shame as it was a wonderful exhibition and lovely to see the butterflies up close and learn more about these gorgeous insects, but that’s kids for you, always unpredictable. I was glad that the camera was so fast to load and at taking photos, I would have liked a bit more time in there to play with manual mode – but was dead impressed with the shots captured with the auto focus.

The Museum

After calming Monkey down we headed back into the museum for more of an explore.

in the museum

Sadly the queue to see the dinosaur zone was massive so we went for a walk around the mammals instead. Monkey had a few initial jitters about the stuffed Lions and Bears but once he realised they wouldn’t move he relaxed and he loved it – he even told the Polar Bear that he loved him… bless him, such a softy.

in the museum 2

We had a great time wandering around and looking at all of the animals, skeletons and the other models. Monkey loved this big rotating earth and I love this picture of the two of us, again I am just so impressed with the photos we took on the S6.

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LM dozed off on our walk round (thank goodness) then we headed for some lunch. The service and speed in the restaurant were great considering it was a busy Saturday but it was pricey and the food wasn’t very good quality. We were hungry though so scoffed it down. Hubs had fun taking photos of the four of us in the huge mirrors in the restaurant.

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After lunch we checked on the queue for the dinosaurs again but it was even more massive so after a bit of a wander in the museum we headed outside to the ice cream van we had seen earlier – only to find that they had turned the ice cream machine off! We couldn’t believe it! We had promised Monkey an ice cream by this point and as the afternoon was getting on we decided to make our way back to the station. We found an ice cream along the way then had another hot and busy journey on the tube back to Kings Cross where we got the train home.

journey home

It was a long day and very tiring but so much fun too and I am proud of us for stepping out of our comfort zone and taking the kids on the train and tube on such a busy day. It proves we can do it, though I am not sure we will do it again in a hurry.

I loved giving the S6 a real test out and it has really got me thinking about what phone I am going to go for next. I’ve always loved the Windows Phone OS but I found Android to be really user-friendly and the cameras are just amazing on the S6. I use my phone largely as a camera since becoming a blogger so it really is important to have a good one. There are things about the Windows phone OS that I would miss on the move to Android…. but not as much as I thought, so I may have been converted as the camera is such a big temptation.

I really cannot fault the Samsung Galaxy S6 at all as it was so fast and just so easy to use and I think the pictures speak for themselves. I was using it all day, taking tonnes of photos and a few videos, and the battery lasted well until we got home which I did find impressive. I think I will be hard pressed to find a better option when it is time to upgrade my phone in a few months’ time!

Is your phone your main camera? Are you a lover of Android, Windows, or Apple?

I was loaned the Samsung Galaxy S6 for a few days and Three Mobile gave us tickets to London and entry to the Sensational Butterflies exhibition for the purpose of this review. All opinions and images are entirely my own.

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24 thoughts on “Our Family Day in London with the Samsung Galaxy S6

  1. We recently went to NHM and loved it. Like you guys though, the dinosaur queue was insane so we opted to skip that part. It’s always an experience travelling into London with littles, but I’ve always found they tend to do us proud! Fab pics xx

  2. We still haven’t made it to the NHM but it’s on our list! Just don’t think I can face it in the school holidays…we’ll get there eventually, hopefully before they leave home 🙂 As for phones I’m using an Android at the moment, it’s ok. I think phones are phones are phones personally but then I’m not that technological!

  3. I do love the Natural History museum but it does get really rammed sometimes, especially the dinosaurs – I haven’t made it to the butterflies yet. When you think about it from a little one’s point of view, it’s pretty weird to see all these huge animals and skeletons! I definitely think it’s worth pushing yourself to do things like tube journeys (which I’m admittedly a bit rubbish at) rather than missing out. And I’ve got a Samsung S4 mini, which is starting to be a bit slow and annoying, so really interesting to read about the S6 as it seems to solve a lot of the problems – the slow camera especially. Hmmm. Upgrade time perhaps! #mondayescapes

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  5. My hubby is a huge samsung fan, I love my iPhone. However those pictures are amazing quality. I may be converted. It looked like you and so much fun in London. Lot’s of smiles and happy faces. #Toddlerapprovedtuesday

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  7. I’m really impressed with the quality of the photos. I’ve never had a Samsung phone myself but have been considering a Samsung tablet recently.
    Thanks so much for sharing your review on #TriedTested this week x

  8. We love the NHM. I have a degree and work in earth sciences so as soon as the kids were old enough they had their first visit!
    Love the phone. You can’t beat a good quality front facing camera for a cheeky selfie!
    #twinklytuesday

  9. How cool!!

    I knew this museum was awesome!
    Last time I went to London was a long time ago. I went with my little sis, and we wanted to visit the museum badly, but when we got there is was closed… until today I want to visit it 😀 next time!

    Thank you for linking up with #MondayEscapes 😀

  10. I have always had Samsung phones until now, I have an Asus Zenfone5 but I am due an upgrade later in the year so will definitely look into one of these. The quality of the pictures is fantastic! x #TriedTested

  11. The camera is awesome on the Samsung and beauty mode really helps! haha. I’d have had a total freakout too in the butterfly house but would have pretended not too. I’m such a wuss. You were very brave taking 2 kiddies on the train to London on a SATURDAY! Hats off to you! Looks like a good day if a little tiring. Thanks so much for linking up to #bestandworst hun and see you again xx

  12. What a great opportunity to get the chance to review that new phone.
    The photo quality looks fantastic!

    I had the S3 and I had quite a few problems with it. But I did like the photos it took. I not have the iPhone 5s. I am not sure which other phone I would have next though.

    Also, looks like you had a fab time xxx

  13. Well done to you for braving taking the kids on the train and tube. My kids were much bigger when I first braved it (although I was without husband, there are three of them and we live over two hours from London!). Your photos really are fantastic.
    I’m an iPhone person and mainly use the camera on my phone, but like to use my DSLR when I know the photos are going to be ones I’d like to keep!

  14. I’ve not taken N to NHM yet, but he loved the science museum on our last trip, and enjoyed the Oxford NHM, so when we eventually get there I’m sure it’ll be a hit.

    I love Samsung phones. I’ve had my S3 for over 3 years now, and it’s been brilliant (although seriously slow now, and even with a new battery it hasn’t solved the battery charging issues). I was holding onto it waiting for the S6 in the hope it would be smaller than the S5. It’s not unfortunately, but I’ve just ordered one which should arrive in the next couple of days. I love the cameras on the Samsung, and several people have comments on some of my older blog photos to say they can’t believe they’re phone photos. And the S6 camera’s moved on a lot since then.

    #loudnproud

  15. What great photos! It sounds like the Galaxy is a really great phone and it certainly sounds like it has a great camera. I regularly use my iPhone for pictures – it is so much quicker for social media purposes. Love the Natural History museum too 🙂 Thank you for linking to #PoCoLo x

  16. Love all the photos! I still haven’t graduated to a real smartphone, although my oldfashioned one is modern enough to have a (very poor) camera. Thanks for linking with #TwinklyTuesday.

  17. What a lovely day out! The phot feature on the phone sounds perfect. I find with my iphone I am often getting blurred photos of kids because they are never still! Thanks for sharing on #FamilyTested

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