iPhone 16 Pro Max: One Week Camera Review

[wbeasley]

Anyone else edited a photo and when you Save it, it seems to alter the settings (not back to the original but somewhere in between).

If you edit it again, the changes are still then until you tweak and save it again... and it seems to do the same thing.

I'm wondering if there's an interaction between the Styles applied and the manual edits...

Will try replicating it as this was just a quick observation last night...

 

[GermanSuplex]

Waiting on Apple Intelligence is one thing, but not being able to enjoy the new camera button because of bugs stinks. It also feels half-baked.

I’m surprised this hasn’t made the MR news section yet, it’s a widespread issue, at least as far as it usually takes to be mentioned on MR.

 

[svish]

Good video. Looks like camera control button will be useful in certain cases.

 

[Steve686]

Why not just make the action button the camera activator?

3 quick presses of the action button. Then the volume up or down button, or even the action button, can be used as the shutter.

I just don't get the whole 'add a button' for basically one function.

 

[Col795]

Will you be returning your phone to Apple for a full refund?

That’s what i did. 🤷🏽‍♂️

 

[vladi]

Camera button without half-press AF/AE lock makes little sense.

 

[smoking monkey]

Other reviewers are finding the low light wide angle images worse than the 15. That shouldn't be the case. It means Apple has screwed up something. Most likely a software issue. Hopefully.

I thought this phone had a lot of great small improvements, but these camera upgrades are very ordinary overall. It really does feel like an S upgrade without all the A.I. to go with the phone.

I'd cancel my order if it wasn't for the fact I have to hand my phone down.

 

[w_aldo]

Purist here, hardly ever take any photos or videos in portrait except for portrait mode photographs. All my consumption is on windscreen TVs and computer so it doesn’t make any sense.
Would be nice to allow the phone to always record in landscape mode even when you’re holding it vertically, I have an app called Horizon that does that.

Also hoping that they allow us to reprogram the camera button into other applications like a task switcher, imagine if you could switch between apps by just sliding your finger. 🙄

You wouldn’t be able to make use of the entire camera sensor by doing what you ask. The reason the image/video is taller when you hold your phone vertically, isn’t because of some arbitrary reason - it’s due to the fact that the sensor is quite literally oriented that way. So the tradeoff for you not wanting to simply turn your phone sideways is a huge resolution reduction, as it’s limited to the shortest axis of the sensor, rather than the longest. You’re basically cropping a landscape section out of a portrait image.

 

[ManuCH]

Camera button without half-press AF/AE lock makes little sense.

It will arrive in a future update.

Other reviewers are finding the low light wide angle images worse than the 15. That shouldn't be the case. It means Apple has screwed up something. Most likely a software issue. Hopefully.

I thought this phone had a lot of great small improvements, but these camera upgrades are very ordinary overall. It really does feel like an S upgrade without all the A.I. to go with the phone.

I'd cancel my order if it wasn't for the fact I have to hand my phone down.

I have no idea what those reviewers were doing, but I found my 16PM wide angle performance to be way better than the 15PM in low light. The camera upgrade is a really good one. Give it a try!

 

[rmariboe]

So in conclusion; the camera button is a useless gimmick and the cameras are practically the same as the 14?

 

[rmariboe]

You wouldn’t be able to make use of the entire camera sensor by doing what you ask. The reason the image/video is taller when you hold your phone vertically, isn’t because of some arbitrary reason - it’s due to the fact that the sensor is quite literally oriented that way. So the tradeoff for you not wanting to simply turn your phone sideways is a huge resolution reduction, as it’s limited to the shortest axis of the sensor, rather than the longest. You’re basically cropping a landscape section out of a portrait image.

I thought he meant it should stick to landscape mode even if turned vertical - like if you go to image adjustments and turn the picture/video 90° after recording 🤔
Horizon is a stabilizing feature at best 😅

 

[ThailandToo]

I have noticed that when I use landscape using camera control that it kinda lags and when click the picture u have just taken a black square shows up goes away. Is this happening with anyone else or is it just glitchy and needs an update. Ill see if I can take a screenshot

I hate it so far. Apple really messed this thing up. I mean to not have the full controls of the camera control button at launch is a joke. I really hope they allow us to map it to whatever we want. I agree, that software glitch is really bad where it randomly shows a black image over the right side of the phone during photos. Bad software and poor implementation.

 

[ThailandToo]

You already can?

Not on the camera control button

 

[ThailandToo]

Sod vertical videos, horrible format that should have been discouraged from being used a long time ago. For the next model move the camera closer to the edge so it's more usable in the correct orientation for shooting things with.

As for others uses that was suggested, using it as an app switcher by gently double tapping it outside the camera app to bring up the apps and quickly scroll through them would be very nice. It could still be used as a camera button by pressing it fully when not in the app switcher but it would give it some more useful functionality.

I agree it’s really bad no matter the orientation. It’s just not high enough for vertical shooters. And it’s not close enough to the edge for real photography.

 

[rubberfish]

the camera button isn't meant for portrait use!

 

[GuruZac]

Are the photographic styles only available on the 16s?? Seems a simple software hack, however, it's not available in my 15 Pro Max settings and I'm running 18.1 beta 5.

 

[sjdigital]

I’m curious - a couple of people have started their posts “I’m a photographer” (not “I’m a professional photographer”), the implication being that in consequence their opinions offer more insight than those of us who aren’t “photographers”. But what constitutes being a “photographer”?

 

[ManuCH]

I’m curious - a couple of people have started their posts “I’m a photographer” (not “I’m a professional photographer”), the implication being that in consequence their opinions offer more insight than those of us who aren’t “photographers”. But what constitutes being a “photographer”?

Well, the definition is: "one who practices photography. Especially: one who makes a business of taking photographs".

So technically, anyone who practices photography could define himself as a photographer, as it's not a protected title as far as I know.

I guess someone who defines himself as a photographer on these forums is just someone who sees photography as one of his bigger hobbies or passions, getting deeper into the subject and not just randomly taking snapshots. Or maybe some of them even do it for work. Who knows.

In any case, any opinion offers good insight, that's what a forum is for.

 

[mecloud]

I solved the one thing that was bothering me about the camera control button by changing the setting for it to launch the camera to a double click.

 

[whitby]

I’m curious - a couple of people have started their posts “I’m a photographer” (not “I’m a professional photographer”), the implication being that in consequence their opinions offer more insight than those of us who aren’t “photographers”. But what constitutes being a “photographer”?

Assuming that this is a real question, my guess would be that people who mostly use a conventional camera to take photographs may calls themselves 'photographers' as opposed to the people who just use their phone to 'snap' pictures. Lack of real control in the phone and the quality of the lenses etc. plus their tendency to take a picture they think you want, will move people to use a dedicated camera which has far more control and is less likely to process the picture (photographers often take pictures in RAW and post process, a feature that Apple have introduced in their iPhone, but the sensors and lens range and quality in a phone are still a major limitation).

That distinction means that they are more likely to expect the placement and operation of a shutter button on the phone to mimic that of a dedicated camera and that they primarily use a camera in landscape mode and only use portrait mode for subjects that lend themselves to it and portraits, rather than use portrait for everything (which to me is really irritating, especially for video, which I abhor, as I do not see the world through a slit and all my display devices are in landscape orientation (laptop, desktop monitor, TV etc.) - rant over).

Professional photographers and/or prosumers are people who make all or part of their living via photography/videography (I might have made that word up) and are likely to have the deepest knowledge of photography and/or video.

 

[sjdigital]

It is/was a real question! If someone is a professional photographer then, fine, preface your thoughts and observations by making it clear that you’re coming at it from the point of view of a professional. But just because someone, for example, shoots RAW - “I only shoot RAW” - or uses lots of post processing - “my Lightroom workflow” - or has a “real” camera - usually the inevitable DSLR - I don’t see that that necessarily makes them a “photographer” with the implicit inference that therefore their views are of greater value that someone who doesn’t describe themselves thus.

it’s not a big deal - I just find it amusing and typical of the responses you find on camera/photography forums although there it often gets upgraded to “I’m a serious photographer”. 😄

 

[whitby]

It is/was a real question! If someone is a professional photographer then, fine, preface your thoughts and observations by making it clear that you’re coming at it from the point of view of a professional. But just because someone, for example, shoots RAW - “I only shoot RAW” - or uses lots of post processing - “my Lightroom workflow” - or has a “real” camera - usually the inevitable DSLR - I don’t see that that necessarily makes them a “photographer” with the implicit inference that therefore their views are of greater value that someone who doesn’t describe themselves thus.

it’s not a big deal - I just find it amusing and typical of the responses you find on camera/photography forums although there it often gets upgraded to “I’m a serious photographer”. 😄

Sorry, did not mean to imply you were joking but sometimes it is difficult to tell. 🙂

I agree that the term photographer tends to be used so that the user can somehow impart some degree of expertise that should be respected. For me anyone who takes photographs is a photographer be it a pin hole camera or very expensive camera. If you engage in photography you are, therefore, a photographer. However I think if we can determine whether the commenter is used to a conventional camera, we can see why they take the position they do.

I also agree that professional photographers should identify themselves as they have a very different set of criteria for their equipment. I sometime get a little irritated that You Tube reviewers will only judge a piece of equipment based on their professional use and needs. Some can back out of their professional needs (e.g. wild life, street, panoramas, astro) and give us a review that allows us to see whether it suites our particular needs and not whether or not it is good or not for their needs. However if we get to know a reviewer and their penchant for a particular style of photography we can always ignore them if it is of no interest. We do not have to watch. 🤣

Me, I am enthusiast/prosumer photographer with some reasonable, for me, equipment that suites my needs, so when I comment I am looking at it from a specific point of view which may or may not be applicable to the reader. e.g. my comment about videos being taken in portrait mode. If all I did was take videos for Tik Tok and You Video shorts I may have a different view, but I don't and hate the fact that I am forced into a compromise on the location of the shutter button on the 16 Pro Max. I will put up with it, but it is still compromise. However I am not an expert and never claim to be. I have a lot of experience but that does not make me good or an expert.

Anyway, appreciate your willingness to engage and, again, I was not trying to imply anything and treated this as a fair and reasonable question.

 

[M1 Max]

w

Also hoping that they allow us to reprogram the camera button into other applications like a task switcher, imagine if you could switch between apps by just sliding your finger. 🙄

You can swipe between apps with your thumb already. Also, you can pull up the app switcher in 1 gesture with your thumb. Master this please and feel the force of iPhone X.

 

[Taipan]

Can someone explain to me why combining 4 pixels of a 48MP sensor leads to better results than having 1 pixel on a 12 MP sensor? I don‘t get it. If they take up the same space, they get hit by the same amount of light. Why does this improve low light quality?
The only thing I can imagine is that software can weigh the 4 pixels differently when combining them. But I don’t see how this can be used to deal with low light conditions.

 

[vladi]

Can someone explain to me why combining 4 pixels of a 48MP sensor leads to better results than having 1 pixel on a 12 MP sensor? I don‘t get it. If they take up the same space, they get hit by the same amount of light. Why does this improve low light quality?
The only thing I can imagine is that software can weigh the 4 pixels differently when combining them. But I don’t see how this can be used to deal with low light conditions.

It's a complex issue. It has to do with limited sensor size, glass quality in phones and what people expect from phone photography. As of today, all of the main shooters are equipped with quad bayer sensors. There is no single phone today that has traditional bayer sensor on its main camera. There are few phones that still use bayer sensors for ultrawide and telephoto but not on the main shooter.

Quad bayer sensors have a lot of tricks up their sleeve to help mobile manufacturers with their cameras. The biggest one being on chip HDR frame stacking of two (and now probably more) images with different exposure before image even goes to soc for further enhancement.