Is the new iPhone 14 pro max as good as a camera?

[dazed1]

Interested in 50mp binned mode. 200mp raw file will look absolutely awful with colour noise all over. It’ll barely be usable but 50mp mode might be great as it’s a 4:1 bin. It’s stupid though.

 

[JT26]

Possibly. But I have reservations. I don’t think the phone will have the power to allow for computational photos in 200mp mode so it may just be a single 200mp shot, which to me is a waste of time.

If the iPhone only allowed a single 48mp image it would not have bought it.

 

[dazed1]

Possibly. But I have reservations. I don’t think the phone will have the power to allow for computational photos in 200mp mode so it may just be a single 200mp shot, which to me is a waste of time.

If the iPhone only allowed a single 48mp image it would not have bought it.

 

[JT26]

I am sure it is fast just processing 200mp multiple times a second and then perfectly blending them into a seamless perfectly exposed HDR image, I dont think will be possible. Even the iPhone 14 Pro with probably the fastest processor in a phone, takes a fair while to process the ProRAW 48mp shot. And that is a quarter of the pixel count.

I honestly dont think its possibly quite yet. 50mp in android, sure

 

[phouphou]

I have a Leica Q2 and an iPhone 14 Pro Max.

The images from the iPhone are infinitely better than those of the Leica when I only have my iPhone with me!

define better.

better jpg engine? 100% yes

as soon as you do work on RAWs (which you should) i doubt the phone can produce better results in more than 1 of 100 typical scenarios.

EDIT:

didnt read the infinte part, so missed the irony ..

 

[Mackiesback]

My original post simply says the iPhone 14 pro IS the best on the market, but is it as good as a real camera? and the answer is still No.

And this is a revelation how, exactly?

I really don't get why people take whatever the latest cell phone camera is, shoot some pictures and then put them under a microscope. Who actually does that in real life? When you see ads on your tablet or in a magazine do you zoom in on the images looking for flaws? Have you ever handed a phone or tablet to someone to show them a photo and then have them zoom in on it 100%? Is that the purpose of photography? Too see what a cable looks like on a hanging potted plant at 100%? To me that is a complete disconnect with reality.

In many of not most cases when doing testing like this, a traditional camera has a pretty good chance of winning, but you say your dedicated camera is flat out better. I say its better at many things, but not all. I publish tech manuals and in many cases the phone is a better choice for my authors. Always good exposure, always deep depth of field, and ease of use with the phone would put the Leica on the shelf for these guys.

So you have conducted a test displaying images in a way nobody would ever use them, without considering use cases or exploring what the iPhone is actually pretty good at, and come up with this conclusion.

Um....ok.

 

[Bob A L]

Great comments and I agree completely.

 

[Mackiesback]

I've been reading how the iPhone 14 pro max has the best camera in any phone and its 48mp output is on par with a real camera. So when I took delivery of my own iPhone 14 pro max, I was interested to try it out and compare its 48mp raw photos to the couple of Leica cameras that I own.

48 mega pixels. First I took a photo on the iPhone without zooming and then shot a similar one with my 48mp Leica Q2. When you look closely at the photo, you can clearly see that the clever, computerised trickery to upscale a 12mp sensor to 48 megapixel photo that Apple uses is ok, but its not as good as the real full frame sensor of the Q2.

Point being, neither of these is worth a hoot and nobody looks at images this way.

 

[LEZ90]

My original post simply says the iPhone 14 pro IS the best on the market, but is it as good as a real camera? and the answer is still No.

And this is a revelation how, exactly?

I really don't get why people take whatever the latest cell phone camera is, shoot some pictures and then put them under a microscope. Who actually does that in real life? When you see ads on your tablet or in a magazine do you zoom in on the images looking for flaws? Have you ever handed a phone or tablet to someone to show them a photo and then have them zoom in on it 100%? Is that the purpose of photography? Too see what a cable looks like on a hanging potted plant at 100%? To me that is a complete disconnect with reality.

In many of not most cases when doing testing like this, a traditional camera has a pretty good chance of winning, but you say your dedicated camera is flat out better. I say its better at many things, but not all. I publish tech manuals and in many cases the phone is a better choice for my authors. Always good exposure, always deep depth of field, and ease of use with the phone would put the Leica on the shelf for these guys.

So you have conducted a test displaying images in a way nobody would ever use them, without considering use cases or exploring what the iPhone is actually pretty good at, and come up with this conclusion.

Um....ok.

My post was a reply to the "iPhone is now better or at least as good as a pro camera" posts I see.

If I worked in an industry where the requirement was for an over sharpened, over saturated photo with poor colour representation, a portrait mode that cuts off your ear, and there was never a requirement to zoom in to crop the shot, the phone would be perfectly acceptable for me. Unfortunately I don't.

For making calls the phone wins every time but taking shots that are realistic looking (and I can zoom in and crop) - the camera wins.

 

[LEZ90]

nobody looks at images this way.

I'd say the opposite. Virtually every photographer or publisher zooms in and crops the image to what they need - its rare to find someone who never crops a photo.

 

[JT26]

But I guarantee my iPhone 14 Pro blows your V Lux out the window at 24mm

 

[Mackiesback]

My original post simply says the iPhone 14 pro IS the best on the market, but is it as good as a real camera? and the answer is still No.

And this is a revelation how, exactly?

I really don't get why people take whatever the latest cell phone camera is, shoot some pictures and then put them under a microscope. Who actually does that in real life? When you see ads on your tablet or in a magazine do you zoom in on the images looking for flaws? Have you ever handed a phone or tablet to someone to show them a photo and then have them zoom in on it 100%? Is that the purpose of photography? Too see what a cable looks like on a hanging potted plant at 100%? To me that is a complete disconnect with reality.

In many of not most cases when doing testing like this, a traditional camera has a pretty good chance of winning, but you say your dedicated camera is flat out better. I say its better at many things, but not all. I publish tech manuals and in many cases the phone is a better choice for my authors. Always good exposure, always deep depth of field, and ease of use with the phone would put the Leica on the shelf for these guys.

So you have conducted a test displaying images in a way nobody would ever use them, without considering use cases or exploring what the iPhone is actually pretty good at, and come up with this conclusion.

Um....ok.

My post was a reply to the "iPhone is now better or at least as good as a pro camera" posts I see.

For some people's uses. it is.

If I worked in an industry where the requirement was for an over sharpened, over saturated photo with poor colour representation, a portrait mode that cuts off your ear, and there was never a requirement to zoom in to crop the shot, the phone would be perfectly acceptable for me. Unfortunately I don't.

Ok, update on your personal use requirements noted. For the record, I am not having the issues you are, but noted.

For making calls the phone wins every time but taking shots that are realistic looking (and I can zoom in and crop) - the camera wins.

 

[Mackiesback]

nobody looks at images this way.

I'd say the opposite. Virtually every photographer or publisher zooms in and crops the image to what they need - its rare to find someone who never crops a photo.

Photographers create images for an audience. Of course they will dissect their work. More accurately stated perhaps, the audience never looks at images this way.

You are looking at all of this through a very narrow window.

 

[WoodWorks]

nobody looks at images this way.

I'd say the opposite. Virtually every photographer or publisher zooms in and crops the image to what they need - its rare to find someone who never crops a photo.

Yes, photographers will often crop their shots. But nowhere near to the extent you did. And the only thing you showed us in your ‘test” is that, as @apoc put it so plainly above, you clearly don’t know the basics of this phone. So no matter how far in you crop, you’re not showing us anything of any value. In your zeal to show how useless this phone is for photography, you pretty much ended up just shooting yourself in the foot.

Maybe next time, RTFM first.

 

[LEZ90]

But I guarantee my iPhone 14 Pro blows your V Lux out the window at 24mm

Is your iPhone 14 pro different to my iPhone 14 pro max then? Because if it’s the same then it’s overly sharpened and saturated.

 

[LEZ90]

nobody looks at images this way.

I'd say the opposite. Virtually every photographer or publisher zooms in and crops the image to what they need - its rare to find someone who never crops a photo.

Yes, photographers will often crop their shots. But nowhere near to the extent you did. And the only thing you showed us in your ‘test” is that, as @apoc put it so plainly above, you clearly don’t know the basics of this phone. So no matter how far in you crop, you’re not showing us anything of any value. In your zeal to show how useless this phone is for photography, you pretty much ended up just shooting yourself in the foot.

Maybe next time, RTFM first.

I you read my review I said it’s the best camera phone on the market, and would be absolutely fine for most people. Is it as good as a dedicated camera though.. no.

 

[JT26]

Go check out my comparison to a Ricoh GR (https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/66539101) which is by far and away better in terms of resolution and lens quality than the V Lux or FZ1000, and it’s comparable if not slightly better than it,

48mp ProRAW files aren’t at all oversharpened, it is the software you are using like photoshop or LR that is defaulting to sharpening it… as I have said.

Yes the other 12mp files are over sharp but not the main 48mp image.

I would say oversaturated either.

 

[LEZ90]

Go check out my comparison to a Ricoh GR (https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/66539101) which is by far and away better in terms of resolution and lens quality than the V Lux or FZ1000, and it’s comparable if not slightly better than it,

48mp ProRAW files aren’t at all oversharpened, it is the software you are using like photoshop or LR that is defaulting to sharpening it… as I have said.

Yes the other 12mp files are over sharp but not the main 48mp image.

I would say oversaturated either.

I’ve already said, I’m not using any software or custom settings in these examples.
All devices are are set to fully auto and not manipulated in any way, therefore the overly yellow and poor colour representation of the iPhone compared to the Q2 and V-Lux is correct.

--
Leica Q2 & V-Lux 5
Insta: @LesFieldPhotos
500px: @LesFieldPhotos
www.lesfieldphotos.com

 

[JT26]

Just hear me out a second...

When you shoot the 14 Pro in ProRAW Mode, the image is a DNG, which is a RAW container. You have to use software to develop the DNG for editing or showing in a comparison like you have, you may not know you have developed it but you will have done.

All I am saying is that LR and Photoshop have default sharpening applied that you have to slide down to 0

Raws also generally have a baked in JPG which no doubt will have extra sharpening and processing

Go back into LR or photoshop and go to details and get rid of the sharpening

 

[LEZ90]

Just hear me out a second...

When you shoot the 14 Pro in ProRAW Mode, the image is a DNG, which is a RAW container. You have to use software to develop the DNG for editing or showing in a comparison like you have, you may not know you have developed it but you will have done.

All I am saying is that LR and Photoshop have default sharpening applied that you have to slide down to 0

Raws also generally have a baked in JPG which no doubt will have extra sharpening and processing

Go back into LR or photoshop and go to details and get rid of the sharpening

Image pulled straight from the synced image in the apple photos app on the Mac for the iPhone, no additional software used at all.