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Photographer Austin Mann Tests the iPhone 12 Pro's Camera
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I suppose it depends what your goal is. For me it has never been about creating tack-sharp photographs for the sake of being able to produce them. Photos that are more about technical aspects I usually find rather boring. Photos that move me stir my imagination releasing some kind of narrative.
But that’s the question isn’t it? Only Apple knows for sure. With the 6 series phones OIS came to the smaller phone 1 year after the larger phone got it. Is that because it took them an extra year to figure out how to fit it in the smaller phone or was it a marketing decision? If the 13 Pro has some fo the features the 12 Pro Max had and the phone design is mostly unchanged then it will look more like a marketing decision than a space issue.
If it were a longer exposure, I doubt that the water would be as transparent as it is.
People often use 'tack sharp' pejorativly. As I said, if you prefer the stylistic effect of heavy noise reduction that's different discussion.
You love the technical aspects of photography. And that's fine. What I love about photography is communication.
Indeed. That’s the most important. The emotions.
I guess you all know one of the most recognised photo in the world, the tank man, is not sharp (and have substantial grain). It doesn’t need those to be great photography.
Excellent example.
The photographs of Robert Frank in his book The Americans, a look at America in the 1950s and its disparities, from the point of view of a Swiss photographer, is another. They speak loudly due to their content and what they reveal.
Good example. A camera is a tool, and a means to an end. Storytelling is what we’re looking for in photography, as with other art forms.
Having said that, I do prefer shooting with a full frame camera. Simply because it allows for a higher floor and ceiling in terms of processing and IQ, particularly for larger prints. Of course it doesn’t mean I don’t use my phone often for photography.
Did I say I have a problem? To recap, what I've said in a nutshell was:
1. I'd like to see comparative shots of handheld night mode (3-5")
2. Users would benefit from a simple disclaimer of what additional equipment was used
Absolutely not. Every single person would want their "meaningful" photos taken with the best possible camera they have with them at that exact time. Many "memorable" photos are ones that are not planned for.
If you wonder the night photo you posted using a tripod? No, it doesn’t. (I don’t know the background but I’m sure I can take that with an iPhone 11 Pro without a tripod, with 12 Pro Max sensor shift, even better.)
With today technology, no. 10 years ago, yes.
If that’s the kind of photography you’d like to take I recommend 12 Pro Max. The sensor shift will worth the added cost in no time.
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That's true and I've been pondering the upgrade. It's not outside my price range, my qualms are more about the size of the Max. But that's a matter for another thread.
I'd like to see a true representation of what we are getting then some professional edited version.
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Gotta love these posts of pro photographers with 37 followers on Instagram trying to be edgy.
I feel what I said came across wrong.
I was not implying the photo's had lots of editing in something like Photoshop to give them that look or they were in any way constructed.
What I meant was that, there is obviously some modern computational/processing work, type effects being applied to them to enhance the colours and light levels to give them the modern look/style we've grown to want from our devices these days.
That was not what I would call a "night mode" shot in the samples. That was perhaps a rather early twilight mode at best. If you have that much blue sky then it isn't night yet. To me, night mode is after twilight when stars should start appearing in the sky photos, assuming the camera can handle true darkness. They should call that mode dark room mode as that is what it is really for...
Thank you, Austin.
An outstandingly good camera test. Up to now I have used the app "NightCap" for star shots, with which you can push ISO properly.
But what you see now from Apple is really outstandingly good.
Unfortunately the resolution of Austin's stars photo is not good. It is always exciting to see what software can do with these singular points of light. You can easily overdo it.
I hope Apple has done everything perfectly.
An outstandingly good camera test. Up to now I have used the app "NightCap" for star shots, with which you can push ISO properly.
But what you see now from Apple is really outstandingly good.
Unfortunately the resolution of Austin's stars photo is not good. It is always exciting to see what software can do with these singular points of light. You can easily overdo it.
I hope Apple has done everything perfectly.
When you see the Austin's time-lapse shots, you know that you are talking wrong.
It's not that easy, believe me.
I suspect that Apple also uses its OSA to laterally delimit details and thus develop sharp contours. This would be a completely new approach in imaging technology.
At least the iPhone 12 Pro Max will have the necessary jump in hardware for this, and therefore the iPhone will then again be significantly better than any other competitor.
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If that was my main concern I'd be shooting with medium format instead of APS-C, which I feel provides the best combination of easy carry and IQ over a small sensor. A larger sensor is just as capable of capturing photos which communicate while maintaining IQ you can later apply a lot of noise reduction to.
But photography is subjective and means different things to different people, but given the opportunity to choose between two almost identical photos, most people will not chose the smeary one.
