iPhone 11 Pro iPhone 12 Pro Camera Spec Opinions

[Londoner1982]

With the competition having high resolutions and 5x and 10x zoom this year, what do you think Apple will do on the iPhone 12 Pro Camera?

I think it will be the same as this year, same resolution and same 2x zoom.

I think the only added features will be night mode on the ultra wide and a TOF sensor on the back.

Thoughts? And what would you like to see?

 

[The Game 161]

be surprised if more zoom isn't added

 

[Dulcimer]

IMO, likely upgrades based on current rumors and competition:

• Greater optical zoom. I’d expect another level of zoom (3x? 4x?) to keep up with competition.
• Improved Night Mode. Both via upgraded SW and AI HW processing as usual and enabling it in ultra-wide mode. Hoping to see more natural night shots.
• ToF Sensor. The rumored ToF sensor might be useful for better AF and/or editable depth-of-field after the picture has already been taken.

What I’m really hoping for:

• Increased sensor size. Computational photography has enabled amazing progress in smartphone picture-taking but some good-old-fashioned physics will always help.

 

[Mike82]

I’m hoping for (and mostly counting on) the same improvements Dulcimer mentions. Bigger sensor and ToF are the most important to me. Night mode on the ultra-wide is pretty much a given I think.

 

[JPack]

I think 80mm telephoto (3x) zoom is realistic. It's what the competition offers on their base models. I doubt a periscope lens is in the works for iPhone 5G.

The ultra-wide camera needs significant improvement. Right now, it captures a lot of noise compared to the main camera.

 

[Mike82]

I think 80mm telephoto (3x) zoom is realistic. It's what the competition offers on their base models. I doubt a periscope lens is in the works for iPhone 5G.

The ultra-wide camera needs significant improvement. Right now, it captures a lot of noise compared to the main camera.

Yeah, I might be cynical here, but I think Apple used a pretty mediocre ultra-wide for the 11 so they could tout the much improved one on the 12.

 

[JPack]

Yeah, I might be cynical here, but I think Apple used a pretty mediocre ultra-wide for the 11 so they could tout the much improved one on the 12.

I think it's just a matter of Apple being behind in camera tech.

Flagships with ultra-wide cameras and night mode features were available at least 6 months before the launch of iPhone Xs. Similarly, we saw astrophotographer-level night mode features 6 months before iPhone 11 was launched. I think it's probably why Apple is moving to 2 iPhone launch events per year. The tech is coming out faster than Apple can respond and implement it.

 

[Mike82]

IMO, if Apple is behind in anything, it’s because they choose to be/don’t care enough. They have all the money and resources one could ask for. I don’t believe for one second the ultra-wide in the iPhone 11 is the best they could do when they launched it.

 

[44267547]

IMO, if Apple is behind in anything, it’s because they choose to be/don’t care enough.

I would question how closely you follow Apple, because they are conservative on just about every feature they ration on a year-to-year basis with the iPhone release. They’re smart and strategic on how they release certain features one year, following by adding-on other features to the iPhone camera the following year. They do that simply for boosting incentives to upgrade, being the camera is the number one thing they highlight during the keynotes.

What you see from competitors is not comparable to Apple, as competitors release more significant camera upgrades, but usually are not as executed as well as the iPhone camera features are.

 

[Mike82]

What exactly are we disagreeing on? Because it seems to me you’re saying the same thing I am in different words.

‘They’re smart and strategic on how they release certain features one year, following by adding-on other features to the iPhone camera the following year.’

Yup. Ultra-wide one year, much better ultra-wide with night mode the next. I’m not saying it’s not smart, only that it is fully intentional and not directly related to what is technically possible.

 

[JPack]

IMO, if Apple is behind in anything, it’s because they choose to be/don’t care enough. They have all the money and resources one could ask for. I don’t believe for one second the ultra-wide in the iPhone 11 is the best they could do when they launched it.

Like Apple's in-house LTE modem that they've been working on forever? Or their 5G modem that won't come out until 2022 at the earliest?

For Siri and computational photography, I doubt Apple is trailing Google and Huawei by choice.

 

[Mike82]

Siri is what it is because Apple values privacy more than Google and Huawei, so yes, that is clearly a choice. I don’t think Apple is trailing those companies in computational photography at all. More so in camera hardware, but again, that is a choice. They could use bigger and more expensive sensors, but it would eat into their profit margin.

 

[sean000]

I think they will go retro: A single lens, f/1.8 or faster, with a monochrome sensor and virtual physical/external manual focus ring.

I joke... but it's because I drool over the idea of the Leica M10 monochrom even though I'm quite happy with the monochrome results I get from both my iPhone and my Olympus gear (sometimes with the help of Nik Silver Efex Pro)

 

[Dulcimer]

Based on the article on the front page today, it looks like larger rear camera sensors might be in the cards. Definitely happy about that.

 

[The Game 161]

IMO, likely upgrades based on current rumors and competition:

• Greater optical zoom. I’d expect another level of zoom (3x? 4x?) to keep up with competition.
• Improved Night Mode. Both via upgraded SW and AI HW processing as usual and enabling it in ultra-wide mode. Hoping to see more natural night shots.
• ToF Sensor. The rumored ToF sensor might be useful for better AF and/or editable depth-of-field after the picture has already been taken.

What I’m really hoping for:

• Increased sensor size. Computational photography has enabled amazing progress in smartphone picture-taking but some good-old-fashioned physics will always help.

thought the rumours lately has been bigger señsors...
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Based on the article on the front page today, it looks like larger rear camera sensors might be in the cards. Definitely happy about that.

only just saw your reply

if it is true then image quality will certainly be even better