A Mirrorless Camera in your pocket?
The Triple Lens System is a MONSTER Compared to My Poor iPhone X
Some of you may be irate at the idea of a smartphone replacing a real camera. The rest of you are probably asking “what’s a mirrorless camera?” To the former: yes, I understand that physics are real (along with other forms of science) and that there are hard limits on how good a lens and camera sensor can be when both are smaller than your big toe. To the latter: real cameras are still a thing, but I was curious to see just how close the iPhone Pro Max could take me, especially since its huge screen makes for the world’s greatest viewfinder.
In daylight, these cameras can absolutely compete with my Fuji XT1 for typical viewing
As other reviewers have mentioned, these cameras produce phenomenal pictures. This is the first phone I’ve owned that is capable of taking pictures that I’d swear came from a proper camera. That said, there’s still two big differences between this and a dedicated tool. The first is that the tiny photo receptors in these image sensors can only soak up so much light, and have to rely on AI tricks to compensate. The second is that this camera is all about “automatic” photography.
Some Sample Shots, Mostly with the Seriously Epic Macro Lens
In daylight, these cameras can absolutely compete with my Fuji XT1 for typical viewing on an average size print or screen. At night, sometimes the AI trickery produces something BETTER than my mirrorless camera (which lacks the sophisticated machine learning involved). Other times, it produces utter garbage (particularly on the light starved telephoto lens in semi-dark conditions). Generally, still subjects taken with night mode and a steady hand look like magic, moving subjects without night mode look harsh and waxy.
There are some wonderful third-party apps that unlock the power of your iPhone camera by letting you dial in settings like ISO and shutter speed like you would on a traditional camera. I chose to try out Halide (the developer gives you a seven day free trial, and the choice of a reasonably priced subscription (or, radically, the option to buy it outright).
The moment you open this app, you realize it’s meant to look and function like a real camera. And it does, albeit with some of the limitations of real cameras. Halide lets you do everything from the critical manual exposure settings, to manual focus, and even the option to view a live histogram as you shoot. It also lets you opt for RAW (read: uncompressed) photos. My favorite feature is an “instant raw” button which tweaks the slightly flat looking raw data file to match the more vivid output of a traditional heic/Jpeg, but retaining the option to tweak to hearts delight.
The one downside of this system, is that Halide lacks access to some of Apple’s AI processing capability, so using its automatic mode didn’t match the results of Apple’s built-in app in very low light.
I’ll end the camera discussion with this: pro photographers often work with two or more cameras at once. Usually there’s a “best quality” setup for the most critical shots, and then there’s often a smaller backup body in case the main camera fails or isn’t setup for other shots in the moment. I’m going to treat the iPhone as that second camera, capable of taking a quick macro, perfectly stitched panorama, or long exposure shot. And the truth is, for pure convenience’s sake, it’s the camera I’d reach for most of the time regardless.
TL;DR Do I Regret Moving to the iPhone Pro Max?
In a word, no. In two, hell no.
The combo of massive screen and silky smooth pro-motion scrolling makes every web page and app I use feel transcendently immersive. The cameras exceed what I thought would ever be possible in a smartphone.
Frankly the jump to the iPhone 13 Pro Max from my iPhone X may well be the single best phone upgrade I’ve had.
While not a uniform success, the phone absolutely takes on new roles (chiefly NAV system, intermittent iPad replacement and legitimate camera) that no iPhone has filled for me previously. Frankly the jump to the iPhone 13 Pro Max from my iPhone X may well be the single best phone upgrade I’ve had. For those coming from much smaller phones like the iPhone 7 or 8, you may find the increase in size and sheer heft to be a deal breaker. Coming from the X, I barely notice that heft-increase, but I notice the pros every time I pick up the phone. It’s exceeded nearly every hefty expectation I had for it.