Halide Maker Does Deep Dive Into iPhone 16 Pro Camera

[MacRumors]

Each year, the developers behind well-known iPhone camera app Halide take an in-depth look at the new camera technology that Apple has introduced. This year, Sebastiaan de With took more than 1,000 photos with the iPhone 16 Pro to examine changes to the camera setup, Apple's image processing, and more.

Apple added an upgraded 48-megapixel Ultra Wide camera to the iPhone 16 Pro models this year. De With found it to take photos that have "impressive sharpness," but Apple did not add a larger sensor, so you're still not going to get the level of detail that you get with the Wide camera, which has a much bigger sensor.

For macro photos, the 48-megapixel lens "does wonders" for up-close shots. In prior iPhones, the Ultra Wide was cropping in from a 12-megapixel photo, which meant you ended up with an image that was approximately three megapixels. With the 48-megapixel lens, cropping in provides a true 12-megapixel image with more detail.

As for the Main camera, which Apple now calls the "Fusion" camera, it is using a sensor that is the same physical size as the iPhone 15 Pro sensor. While both the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro have a "Fusion" camera, the iPhone 16 Pro has a larger and higher quality sensor. As with the iPhone 15 Pro, the iPhone 16 Pro combines pixels and can produce better 24-megapixel and 12-megapixel images using that data, in addition to full 48-megapixel photos. Processing is about the same as last year, and there is little difference between images captured with the iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 16 Pro with the standard Wide camera.

There are some notable internal changes that speed up image capture. The Apple Camera Interface provides faster sensor readout times for improvements to QuickTake. QuickTake also supports 4K Dolby Vision HDR, which is a noticeable improvement, according to de With. Capturing 48-megapixel ProRAW images is also a lot faster with quicker shutter speeds, and there's little delay.

For those interested in more info on everything new with the iPhone 16 Pro related to photography, including Camera Control, the Telephoto lens, Night mode, and more, the full Halide review is well worth a read.

Article Link: Halide Maker Does Deep Dive Into iPhone 16 Pro Camera

 

[Jumpthesnark]

Thanks for the link. They did a great job in breaking it all down so photographers can understand what's under the hood. There's a lot more to the imaging system, lenses and camera control than I realized from reading here and elsewhere. And the photos are from places I am deeply familiar with and that I recognize instantly - they were even lucky enough to get a rainbow out at Joshua Tree! They did a real solid review, and (some here will be completely shocked to see) they discuss camera control with nuance and appreciation for how it actually works.

 

[transpo1]

Sorry, but this is one of the most confusing articles Macrumors has ever written:

Apple added an upgraded 48-megapixel Ultra Wide camera to the ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ models this year. De With found it to take photos that have "impressive sharpness," but Apple did not add a larger sensor, so you're still not going to get the level of detail that you get with the Wide camera, which has a much bigger sensor.

As for the Main camera, which Apple now calls the "Fusion" camera, it is using a sensor that is the same physical size as the iPhone 15 Pro sensor. While both the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro have a "Fusion" camera, the iPhone 16 Pro has a larger and higher quality sensor.

What does that even mean? As far as I am aware, and according to the Apple tech specs, both the Wide and Ultra Wide on the 16 Pro are 48MP. Only the normal Wide lens on the 15 Pro is 48MP.

 

[tweaknmod]

As someone who goes out of their way to keep their tech clean: I hate that photo.

I can feel the grind of someone putting a cable in that charging port… &)@€>*#!!!

 

[mikethebigo]

Those monsters putting it face first into scratchy sand

 

[hagjohn]

I really like Halide. I upped the quality and pics (from both camera app and Halide) and have great pics from my vacation in Ocean City, MD, in early Sept, on my 15Pro Max. I can't wait to use it on my iPhone 16 Pro.

 

[techyOS]

Sorry, but this is one of the most confusing articles Macrumors has ever written:




What does that even mean? As far as I am aware, and according to the Apple tech specs, both the Wide and Ultra Wide on the 16 Pro are 48MP. Only the normal Wide lens on the 15 Pro is 48MP.

Yes, you’re correct. If you’re asking about the first quote, it’s just that because the sensor on the ultra-wide is smaller than the normal wide lens, you’re not getting the same level of detail with the ultra-wide camera (ex: 48MP on an iPhone’s wide lens is much worse than 48MP on a $3,000 mirrorless).

 

[Manzzle]

From what I understand from a pro photographer who made this youtube video on this misleading topic, The 48MP is a lie, It's really still just 12 Megapixel.

Watch the video when you can.

 

[frost_horizon]

From what I understand from a pro photographer who made this youtube video on this misleading topic, The 48MP is a lie, It's really still just 12 Megapixel.

Watch the video when you can.

That is correct. This is not real 48MP sensor. It is 12 MP sensor where each pixel is divided by 4 subpixels and those subpixels being upscaled to real pixels in the resulting image. This process is very doubtfully leads to any quality improvements, maybe in some rare cases, but definitely leads to more space taken by photos.

Even the newest mirrorless cameras typically have sensor about 24MP. It is meaningless to have 48MP in camera sensor smaller than the finger nail.

But the most stupid thing that is the iPhone saves even cropped photos as 48MP ones, wasting more space.

 

[Silent_Tone]

I know this will likely be frowned upon, but IMO even the Pixel 9 base takes better / more realistic unedited photos from the UW and W lenses. Great article and break down of the technology though!

 

[needsomecoffee]

From what I understand from a pro photographer who made this youtube video on this misleading topic, The 48MP is a lie, It's really still just 12 Megapixel.

Watch the video when you can.

Not being an intensive iPhone camera user, I was somewhat shocked by this video which appeared in another MR thread a few weeks ago. Apple (and others) have been gaslighting everyone re: camera quality. This video VERY CLEARLY both explains and provides proof of this. Sad that as consumers we have to ALWAYS be on guard re: gaslighting. Sad that Apple does this. But of course consumers are not the focus, only shareholder value. Oh well, Tim is a billionaire so there is that at least.

 

[840quadra]

This year, the ultra-wide is the same physical size, but they crammed in more photo-sites. In ideal lighting, you can tell the difference. In low-light, the expected noise reduction will result in the some smudgier images you'd also get from the 15 Pro.

Actually the 15 pro does far better in low light with the ultra wide than does the 16 pro. I have noticed on many shots in various lower light situations. The 16 pro produces poor quality / muddy low light photos with the ultra wide camera.

I noticed it myself when taking some lower light photos for a "before remodel" documentation of my townhome. Having access to a 16 pro, figured I would use the ultra wide camera when I noticed blotchy photos with poor detail and sharpness. I searched the web and confirmed that Tony Northrup himself commented on it in his 16 pro video review.

Hopefully it is just a software thing that will be adjusted / fixed later!

These are crop images from 3 different phones taken handheld at as near as possible the same location with identical artifical lighting.

Full 15 pro Image JPG version for web.



15 Pro

Note the detail on the Microwave clock, The red growler you can see reasonable detail in the patterns around the logo. Same with the white growler to the far left.

Overall noise is acceptable in the image.


16 Pro

Note the lack of detail in the clock, lack of detail in the red & white growlers. Overall there is more noise and less detail. There is also a strange green tint to the overall image.


13 Pro

Image is darker than the newer phones, but decent detail if not slightly over-sharpened. This shot lacks any detail on the red and white growler on the left.

And before anyone asks, yes this is prior to remodel, and yes I can't wait to get rid of the popcorn ceiling .

 

[contacos]

As someone just taking the occasional shots for social media or photos when I am traveling, the cameras have been good for so long, I can hardly tell a difference between my iPhone 12 Pro Max and iPhone 16 Pro unless it’s about zooming, which only speaks for the camera over the years as a whole

 

[svish]

Article was a good read. Nice to know about the changes in iPhone 16

 

[Artsketch]

That is correct. This is not real 48MP sensor. It is 12 MP sensor where each pixel is divided by 4 subpixels and those subpixels being upscaled to real pixels in the resulting image. This process is very doubtfully leads to any quality improvements, maybe in some rare cases, but definitely leads to more space taken by photos.

Even the newest mirrorless cameras typically have sensor about 24MP. It is meaningless to have 48MP in camera sensor smaller than the finger nail.

Of course, you can't compare the 48MP of Sony's tiny quad-bayer iPhone main sensor with a 48MP full-frame camera. This is a common misunderstanding of a quad-bayer sensor. Unfortunately used misleading in marketing. They are real 48MP tiny little pixels, i.e. photo diodes, which are not quadrupled but combined with pixel binning to 12 MP to achieve better light sensitivity. If the light is sufficient, you can get slightly more resolution in 48MP than in 12MP from the main sensor. I have taken pictures of test charts and thousands of shots in museums and there is a difference, not huge but still significant, in resolution between 12MP and 48MP ProRAW shots from the 14 Pro sensor. For taking pictures of paintings, the 14 Pro in 48MP ProRAW is just enough for me to use it for this purpose instead of my full-frame mirrorless, the 12MP of the 14 Pro is not enough to recognise fine craquelure and the weave of the canvas when zoomed into the picture on a large monitor. On the new smaller ultra-wide sensor 48MP are only usable in bright daylight.

 

[SmugMaverick]

The guy who makes this app is one of the biggest SHILLS I've ever seen in my life.

he was tweeting how the capture button is the most amazing thing ever and any phone without one is broken 🤣

Rubbish, no thanks.

 

[MGrayson3]

A "48 MP" Bayer sensor isn't 48 MP, either. It has 24 million green pixels and 12 million each of blue and red. The data is interpolated into a 48 MP image, but it's just software.

As someone famously said "now we're just haggling over the price."

Sensor size is much more important than pixel count.

 

[gphome]

It still irks me a bit that they are calling the main camera on the 16 pro a "fusion camera" as if its a new thing when it was on the 15 pro. I mean all corporations over market their stuff I get that, but its something else to take a feature from last years models and re-market it as something new! Not a fan of that Apple, and a bit misleading

 

[BorisDG]

It still irks me a bit that they are calling the main camera on the 16 pro a "fusion camera" as if its a new thing when it was on the 15 pro. I mean all corporations over market their stuff I get that, but its something else to take a feature from last years models and re-market it as something new! Not a fan of that Apple, and a bit misleading

It's new IMX903 vs IMX803 on 14 Pro/15 Pro.

 

[Artsketch]

It's new IMX903 vs IMX803 on 14 Pro/15 Pro.

Where did you get this information from? Maybe the used the same name. The IMX903 was used for a 1.14" sensor with transistors and photodiode layers separated.

 

[unchecked]

Yep. The main gripe they have is the hiding of so many camera features inside one not-button. Let’s see how Apple addresses that issue.

 

[BorisDG]

Where did you get this information from?

Are you living under a rock? It's in various teardowns, websites and even from iOS code itself. How do you think the sensor is able to do also 4K 120FPS and double the shutter speed?

 

[GuruZac]

I know this will likely be frowned upon, but IMO even the Pixel 9 base takes better / more realistic unedited photos from the UW and W lenses. Great article and break down of the technology though!

Pixel 9 Pro cameras (processing really) are better for most shots in most conditions in the reviews I’ve seen. Photo preference is subjective, but the iPhone takes consistently good photos. I just don’t think they have anything on the Google or Samsung. Haven’t in years though.

 

[GuruZac]

A "48 MP" Bayer sensor isn't 48 MP, either. It has 24 million green pixels and 12 million each of blue and red. The data is interpolated into a 48 MP image, but it's just software.

As someone famously said "now we're just haggling over the price."

Sensor size is much more important than pixel count.

100%.

 

[Artsketch]

Are you living under a rock?

Under my rock it was rumoured by everybody that the IMX903 was a 1.14" sensor with transistors and photodiode layers separated. Smart marketing move from apple.