Just got my new pro max and am wondering if i should stick with 12 megapixels or go with the default 24. I wont be doing raw so 48 is off the table.
What are the pros and cons?
What are the pros and cons?
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iPhone 15 Pro Max So is everyone sticking with 12 megapixels?
- Thread starter stlredbird
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I was just searching the threads to see if there was a way in settings to choose the 12mp size to be the default instead of the having the default set to 24mp. I’m assuming there is. Is that correct?
One con for 24mp would definitely be storage. My GF is getting the base 128GB 15. I’m going to have here test a few pictures with 12mp vs 24mp settings to see if there’s a noticeable difference. If not, I’ll likely suggest to her to set the default to 12mp.
One pro for 24mp seems like it might be in zooming in? With 24mp starting point, seems like you’d still have decent mp’s even after zooming in….more head room to crop.
Welp... I maxed out my settings and I can't upload any pics to this site at all. Even non RAW and just normal 24mp are too big to load here. I have to take a screenshot and load that...
The photos look great on my phone and MBP M2 Max, I just can't share them...
Settings fwiw:
The photos look great on my phone and MBP M2 Max, I just can't share them...
Settings fwiw:
Under settings it say 2 MB photo size for 12 MP, vs 3 MB for 24 MP. With such a small difference I see no reason to not go with 24 MP as the default. Keep in mind, even if you set it to 24 MP, there are many circumstances where the photo will still be 12 MP, depending on how the photo is taken - such as night mode, using zoom, etc. In other words, if you use certain settings or I think even change from the 24mm lens, it will go down to 12 MP. So again, I see little reason to not go with 24 MP as the default in my opinion.
I think I’m with you. The 24 MP only really goes to the 1X zoom and the file size difference isnt much so I’ll just stick with the default.
The full file will be stored locally until it has to be offloaded to make way for others. So by going with 24MP over 12MP then you may end up with slightly fewer locally stored. But as soon as you tap on one which has been offloaded to iCloud it'll immediately download again, so you're unlikely to notice I'd say.
AFAIK any of the zoom levels below 2x that use the main camera (1x, 1.2x, 1.5x) give you a 24MP output file. It's only when you get to 2x that it crops to the centre part of the sensor to do the zoom so gives you 12MP output.
I think the Apple terminology makes it confusing. If you are at 24 mm (1x) and tap 1.2, it just uses the 28 mm lens -- and 1.5 is the 35 mm lens. Right? It just gives you a less wide angle lens? So it is changing lens, but not really zooming -- but it has the same effect as a small amount of zoom I suppose.
And yes, just using the alternate lens choices will still give you 24 MP.
When you shoot at 24mm it uses the full 48MP sensor, with quad-Bayer sampling. This means it combines the full 48MP plus the 12MP which results from the quad-Bayer sampling and produces a hybrid 24MP image. When you zoom to 28mm or 35mm it simply uses a smaller area of the original sensor to produce the image and does a similar combination of the quad-Bayer sampled pixels and the actual area of the 48MP sensor. By the time you get to 2x you're using the central area of the sensor and so it's a genuine 12MP image I believe (but due to not being able to use the quad-Bayer you get less colour resolution as the sensor is being used pixel-for-pixel).
Can somebody please explain or link some additional info about this.
What is the difference between 12MP and 24MP at 1x zoom? Besides the obvious pixel count and file size. Are there any benefits in terms of image quality when selecting 24MP?
What is the difference between 12MP and 24MP at 1x zoom? Besides the obvious pixel count and file size. Are there any benefits in terms of image quality when selecting 24MP?
I’m no photo pro, but as a consumer that is also a tech enthusiast, I feel the shots from my 15 Pro Max, using the default 24MP setting are better than last year’s 14 Pro Max 12MP shots.
Images seem a little (but appreciably) brighter, sharper and clearer. I use the standard photographic style as well. For those reasons, I’m sticking with 24MP, but would use 48 before going back to 12.
Images seem a little (but appreciably) brighter, sharper and clearer. I use the standard photographic style as well. For those reasons, I’m sticking with 24MP, but would use 48 before going back to 12.
I also notice that if you shoot in 4:3 aspect ratio it will be 48mp maximum but if you shoot in 16:9 it’ll max out at 36mp.
Yes, there is a noticeable difference.
I just picked up a regular 15, and still have my 13 Mini.
I went out for a hike on Sunday, and took both phones- took quite a few pictures with both phones, and compared them on my iMac when I got home.
The overall picture as far as color, lighting, exposure, looked almost identical between the two.
But what was different, due to 24mp on the 15 vs. 12mp on my 13 Mini was the detail- you could slightly notice the additional clarity on vegetation and the crushed rock trail in the pics from the 15, and when zooming in a couple of clicks on each- the 15 shots still looked clear with good detail, while the 13 Mini became a bit of a mushy mess at that point when really looking at those details.