Q: Are the 12mp cameras the same?

[The.Glorious.Son]

Man...that is about the oddest thing I have ever read in regards to photo-anything. So, assuming you have a real camera, IE one that is not on your phone and you can adjust the aperture on your lens, are you saying you never stop down? And it is not a telephoto Broseph, it is actually about a 56mm lens, hardly a telephoto in it's own right but considerably more "telephoto" than the standard 29mm F1.8 on both phones.

Since I always have a camera with me where ever I go, Leica M3, M6, Rolleiflex, I hardly use the camera on my phone but if it were the sole reason I would be buying a phone, having something other than a 29mm 1.8 would be pretty useful I would think.

But that is just me, an actual full time working pro for the past 30 years.

Hello. I am wondering if with your photography knowledge and experience, if you could help me understand something (I apologize up front for my ignorance). I was under the impression after the unveiling that the telephoto lens of the plus would really only come into play when zooming or the brokeh effect software option to come later. If that is correct, then that would suggest to me that the main wide angle lens would be used solely at all other times.

If the wide angle lens is used solely on the plus for pics other than brokeh and zoom, then it does become a good question of, are the wide angle lenses of the 7 and 7 Plus the same? If the 7 was indeed given a better single wide angle lens, would it not produce better photos than the plus when zoom and brokeh are not in effect? Sorry if I didn't word things correctly. I am struggling here. The camera really is the difference between me getting the 4.7" or 5.5".

 

[lagwagon]

Hello. I am wondering if with your photography knowledge and experience, if you could help me understand something (I apologize up front for my ignorance). I was under the impression after the unveiling that the telephoto lens of the plus would really only come into play when zooming or the brokeh effect software option to come later. If that is correct, then that would suggest to me that the main wide angle lens would be used solely at all other times.

If the wide angle lens is used solely on the plus for pics other than brokeh and zoom, then it does become a good question of, are the wide angle lenses of the 7 and 7 Plus the same? If the 7 was indeed given a better single wide angle lens, would it not produce better photos than the plus when zoom and brokeh are not in effect? Sorry if I didn't word things correctly. I am struggling here. The camera really is the difference between me getting the 4.7" or 5.5".

The 28mm lens in the 7 is identical to the 28mm lens in the 7+.

The reason why only the 7+ gets the portrait mode (adding fake bokeh) is because it has two lenses and uses them together to do some depth mapping to mask out the subject and blur the rest, creating the "shallower depth of field" effect.

 

[The.Glorious.Son]

The 28mm lens in the 7 is identical to the 28mm lens in the 7+.

The reason why only the 7+ gets the portrait mode (adding fake bokeh) is because it has two lenses and uses them together to do some depth mapping to mask out the subject and blur the rest, creating the "shallower depth of field" effect.

Thank you for that. I was caught up in the leaks ahead of the launch that seemingly suggested the 7 was getting a single shooter that might be better than that of the dual set up. I am torn on the sized phone I want, and I am struggling to rationalize how much I would use the depth effect or zoom.

 

[Macshroomer]

The 28mm lens in the 7 is identical to the 28mm lens in the 7+.

The reason why only the 7+ gets the portrait mode (adding fake bokeh) is because it has two lenses and uses them together to do some depth mapping to mask out the subject and blur the rest, creating the "shallower depth of field" effect.

Exactly.

If I upgrade from my 6 and I am not sure I will, I would get the regular 7.
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I am torn on the sized phone I want, and I am struggling to rationalize how much I would use the depth effect or zoom.

Regardless of depth effect, I would think the 2x setting on the 7+ would yield some very nice image quality and going effectively from a 28mm to a 50mm is not an insignificant difference in what kind of photo you get. Sometimes a wide angle includes too much and a 50mm really allows one to shed distracting elements without getting rid of the feel of a scene.

This is why a 35mm FOV is very popular for photojournalists and street photographers, it presents a great compromise in regards to the above.

 

[deadsoul]

I have a Nikon D810 and just bought the Nikon 105mm f/1.4E ED and I use the aperture all the time. I just think the tiny iPhone optics at f/2.8 will only be good in brighter conditions. My comment was specifically about the f/2.8 iPhone lens. The 6s camera already produces that aggressive noise reduction (watercolor look) in low light, the f/2.8 is going to be really much worse, I would think...

iPhone 5s was way better taking photos, not that stupid agresive noise reduction

 

[skidu]

This is why a 35mm FOV is very popular for photojournalists and street photographers, it presents a great compromise in regards to the above.

I remember the 4s actually had a 33mm focal length, almost wish they kept it at that since I'm not a massive fan of the perspective distortion at the wider focal lengths. Maybe the iPhone 8 will come with a 35mm/85mm dual lens combo!

 

[TommyA6]

The lenses are the same. The only currently unknown detail is sensor size. It would be a huge shame if 7 plus ends up having a smaller sensor than the regular 7. You'd basically have to choose between 2x optical zoom and bokeh and better low light photography. It would make no sense though, and they probably have the same sensors.

 

[AndyDeng]

Hey all, do any of you know if the iPhone 7 & 7plus cameras are the same? I know you the 7 was redesigned and new, but I wonder if the plus model has the same f/1.8 camera and sensor. I would think they would be, but I read where the 7 had a larger sensor than that of the plus because of its dual lenses. Can this be confirmed?

Thanks guys.

I'll give it a bold guess that the 1/2.6'' sensor is all same since 28mm lens is same with both 7 and 7+. (And Phil says 'iPhone 7 has the exactly same camera /picture quality' somewhere in the Keynote)

And the 56mm camera on 7+ will be 1/3" since the the tele camera is very hard to use a sensor as big as 1/2.6" (Still 1/3" is AMAZING for 56mm!!!! I don't think it's ever in market before.)

 

[AndyDeng]

Beat me if Im wrong!!

 

[bchreng]

So it's the portrait mode that adds in the bokeh? Or would that bokeh be somehow added in when tapping to focus in the regular photo mode? I like take pictures of food and was wondering if the 7+ dual cameras would help take even better pictures than the 7?

 

[The.Glorious.Son]

So it's the portrait mode that adds in the bokeh? Or would that bokeh be somehow added in when tapping to focus in the regular photo mode? I like take pictures of food and was wondering if the 7+ dual cameras would help take even better pictures than the 7?

From what I understand, I think after the software update comes there will be an actual selection, just like we have now with Slo-Mo, Video, Photo, Square, and Pano. So you would select that option to switch into the brokeh mode.

 

[Setarip]

LOL, calling a 56mm lens a telephoto vs the "normal" perspective of a 50mm lens is indeed, only a bit of a stretch.

Well played!

You do realize that if the sensor is 1/3", the 56mm has a crop factor of 7.2, or the 35mm(full frame) equivalent of a 403mm zoom. The smaller the sensor size in comparison to a 35mm sensor, the more the image looks "zoomed in" with the same focal length lenses.

Inversely, if your sensor or in my case with my medium format film camera, the larger the sensor the wider the same focal length lenses appear. I believe a 56mm lense on my Agfa super isolette looks to be roughly a 35mm focal length on a 35mm frame.


Edit: I just realized Apple is using the term "equivalent" with their focal lengths. So yes, a 56mm is hardly a telephoto lense. In comparison to the standard 28mm on cameras sure, it's kinda "zoomy". 56mm is like a typical prime lense on slr's. It's a "do-all" focal length/lense on slr's.

Edit #2: A thought about the 56mm lense being "only" f/2.8. Typically the faster the lense, the less detail can be resolved. I can guarantee the f/2.8 will be the sharper lense. Usually stopping down one or two stops from the largest aperture nets the highest lp/mm resolution in a lense.

 

[Macshroomer]

A thought about the 56mm lense being "only" f/2.8. Typically the faster the lense, the less detail can be resolved. I can guarantee the f/2.8 will be the sharper lense. Usually stopping down one or two stops from the largest aperture nets the highest lp/mm resolution in a lense.

First of all, these lenses do not stop down, exposure is controlled purely by electronic shutter duration and shifting of the sensor's ISO sensitivity. Second of all, not all lenses are created equally, my Leica 35mm 1.4 Asph FLE at 1.4 is considerably sharper than my Leica 35mm F2 version 4 at even 2.8.

These are just not typical camera lenses, I am not sure why enthusiasts keep thinking they are. These are purpose built, sensor and microprocessor specific optics that overcome the typical laws of physics that are otherwise the baseline of how cameras work.

 

[Setarip]

First of all, these lenses do not stop down, exposure is controlled purely by electronic shutter duration and shifting of the sensor's ISO sensitivity. Second of all, not all lenses are created equally, my Leica 35mm 1.4 Asph FLE at 1.4 is considerably sharper than my Leica 35mm F2 version 4 at even 2.8.

These are just not typical camera lenses, I am not sure why enthusiasts keep thinking they are. These are purpose built, sensor and microprocessor specific optics that overcome the typical laws of physics that are otherwise the baseline of how cameras work.

Of course they don't stop down (now THAT would be a sweet feature on a smartphone). And yet again, that makes sense when you are talking high end glass as well. I guess I'm generalizing about the sharpness. I would guess that the 2.8/56 lens would be sharper than the 1.8/28 lens, but I could be wrong.

I definitely do not buy the "DSLR quality" pictures either. I am however excited at what the new iPhone + offers because I take way more pictures with my current iPhone than my SLR and medium format combined. (Edit: I am a film junky btw, my phone IS my digital camera)

If I were to design the next iPhone camera...it would most certainly not focus on making the lens faster. (Unless the quality was to increase), I would prefer a larger sensor. I am curious as to what the new sensor size is (1/3" or 1/2.3"?) or maybe larger? That would make a bigger difference in quality than increasing lens speed by 2/3 of a stop.