iPhone 15 Pro cameras: MISLEADING & DISAPPOINTING
2024 ж. 24 Мам.
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We're HUGE fans of Apple and the iPhone, but the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max cameras are a huge disappointment. Much of the specs Apple bragged about in their presentation are misleading because Apple used math deceptively to overstate the capabilities of the camera. Tony Northrup covers all the new features in the iPhone cameras and tells you what you can ACTUALLY expect from them.
0:00 Introduction
1:17 "7 Lenses" is a lie
2:27 The 120mm lens makes pictures WORSE
5:14 Bloated 24 megapixel files boost iCloud revenue
7:38 Apple uses crop factor to overstate power
10:05 Apple's monopoly blocks me from Android
11:25 Summary
I am so happy someone is calling them out. I’m a photographer and I see right through them. The average consumer doesn’t even understand what they are selling. They just throw a bunch of fancy terms and words out there and hopes the consumer just wants to keep up with the Joneses. And these iPhone reviewers are full of it. I subscribed. Great work!
Same with the Apple Watch Ultra. Not even close to the best sport adventure watch but the kool-aid drinkers think it is.
Software manipulation.
I wonder if it would be effective to use all the sensors the phone has to gather detail, and basically paste the image taken with the 77 mm lense onto the 24mm image, and feather edges, it would basically make a very slight blur vignette. I don't know if anyone has tried this but I think it would work pretty well.
It's called an iPHONE. not an iCAMERA!
Yeah same here. I don't have family members who will do "interventions" so I'm still with pixel, for now :)
This is exactly what I was thinking when they presented the "120mm" telephoto. Thank you for sharing this information Tony, you are the best!
Seriously! Was just thinking that. I thought I was losing my mind watching all the coverage when no other content creators were calling this out. Leave it to Tony to actually call it like it is
@@roland.boyden It would be very interesting to see the tiny size of the sensor in that so called "120 mm" too
Read my mind...not going back to apple anytime soon. Better faster slimer....every year. Cellphone technology has peaked!
10:20 Explanation for people outside of america. People in america use iMessage, which nobody else in the world uses. They don't know WhatsApp, which allows flawless communication between all phones. So they have the impression, that they are locked.
@@__Mr.White__true. I use iMessage and WhatsApp and etc etc. I’m not in the USA. I can communicate with Android and Apple users no problem. Don’t understand why he thinks he’s locked?
The iPjone 15 Pro Max has 3 cameras: 13 mm wide angle 12-megapixel, 24 mm 48 megapixel main , and 120 mm 12 megapixel telephoto. These are NOT ZOOM LENSES. These are FIXED lenses. However, because the sensor pixels can be combined to achieve 24 megapixel photos, the 24 mm main can emulate 28, 35, and 48 mm 24 megapixel FIXED lenses. Like all fixed lenses, any other zoom setting will crop the sensor output and achieve lower resolution photos.
At least one guy who checked it out as it really is and summarizes it here.
Finally, You are the first person I saw on KZhead who is calling out Apple on their bullshit. Great video, All other famous youtubers (I call them Apple marketing team) are out there completely misleading people. Thank you and keep going and stay with the truth.
I have always been leery of phone camera claims because they are either cropping or doing stuff by software to achieve the effects. Not like using a real zoom or macro lens on a camera.
You came out with this same video last year and you are now doubling down on a factually wrong opinion. The 48 mp files contain significantly more detail than the 12 mp shots of the previous phones, the same way the 200MP shots on the s23 ultra contain more detail than their 12mp bins. Users will absolutely get benefit from the 24 mp files. No, phone mp are not 1:1 with the benefit you get on larger sensors but to say there is no more detail is ludicrous.
yeah this video is complete nonsense lol
Well, your theory got proved wrong with the first REAL reviews of the 15pro models. Apple doesn't just make a digital crop for the 28mm, 35mm and 48mm FL. They use their new photogenic engine, Deep Fusion and their algorithms to process a 24mp image that has more detail than just a digital crop done in post processing. Yes, the reviewers say that there is a bit of a trade off in IQ, the more you get to the longer FL until the real 120mm kicks in. So the smaller 15pro does better images in this range than the pro max. But the difference doesn't seem as big as you suggest. Much better than just a digital crop done in post processing.
Thank you for calling this out, I knew something smelled fishy while I watched the event last week! I don’t really use my phone cameras to begin with so I’m not too bothered, I too essentially switched from Android to Apple last year mostly for convenience since I own other Apple gadgets (yes, the “iSheep” reason) but at least I’m honest about this with myself/others. And yes, I do miss Note/Ultra phones! What is more perplexing is seeing other “professional” KZhead photographers perpetuating this 7 lens myth, it is quite shocking!
As long as you're not a sheep for mandates, illegal lockdown and con man zelinsky
Just buy a normal DSLR bro. You get what you pay for.
@@l4kr I don’t use phone cameras, I have plenty of Canon mirrorless cameras and lenses! 😬
I switched to iPhone too a couple years back for very similar reasons. I use an iPad for editing on-the-go and wanted to start using AirDrop with it and a much older Mac. It is very clever how they hook you into their ecosystem slowly through convenience and family/friends all being on the platform already. I’ll always retain a soft spot for the innovation of Motorola and LG in their android heyday though haha
Apple should be punished!
You're only partially right... The 28mm and 35mm are not just crops. What Apple calls "photonic engine" mixes in detail information from the 48MP sensor and you actually get more detail at 35mm (1.5x) than at 24mm (1.0x). I have the 15 pro max and this was the first thing I tested when I got it. Because they are using the photonic engine for everything now (before, it was only on main camera at 1.0x zoom) you also get better detail at, let's say 2.9x then on the 14 Pro Max. From 3.0x to 4.9x the 14 pro max will have more resolution, but with a worse sensor then the main, so the image might still be worse then on the 15 pro max if you have low light... From 5.0x on, the 15 Pro Max obviously wins. Lastly, the standard 24MP images are really more detailed then the 12MP on the 14 Pro Max, even with the same sensor, again, because of Photonic Engine mixing in detail.
This.
Exactly. But what youtuber these days would actually do research and give actual facts?
@@l4kr Right? It’d be good to at least have the actual phone in hand before making a review saying it’s bad…
@@capones77how many lenses in the main camera of 15 plus?
Hi Tony, great video with some really useful information. As someone who is not technologically well-informed when it comes to photography, from what I gather, the iPhone 15 / Pro / Pro Max isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. With that being said, what is your recommendation on the iPhone with the best camera? I am currently using an iPhone 11 and would like to upgrade soon (as my camera isn’t working as it once did and Apple are telling me there is nothing wrong with it, even though I have another iPhone 11 for work and the quality is distinctly different. Frustrating!) Like you, I am a longtime Apple user and am satisfied with every other feature and function the brand brings, but recognise their cameras have always been inferior to the competition. So with this latest release, do you recommend the better value upgrade lies in the iPhone 14 / Pro / Pro Max? Any guidance from yourself or viewers would be greatly appreciated!!
The best value is the 15. Better screen than the regular 14, and pics on par with 14pro, maybe even better. The megapixel crop essentially gives you a 2x zoom, compared to the 14pro 3x. It’ll also be much lighter than the 14pro. If you want the bigger screen, the 15+ is the best value, and gets great battery life.
I just googled what a quad Bayer sensor was and then all the research led me here. Thank you for explaining!! I’ve been learning a lot more about photography this last year. But all my BS sensors went off during this Apple event.
Thank you for your honest review. I have question, Did you try to connect a video capture card ? Its working as camera monitor ? Like the Sony xperia 1v Thank you
Thanks so much for this. I haven't seen anyone else talk about it. I was watching the presentation saying "no, that is not a 120 mm lens!", etc.
This has been a very frustrating problem ever since I upgraded from my iPhone 6 to 12Pro. The way the auto settings deceptively crop and process your images is so annoying to deal with and results in poorer images. The most common problem is when I select the 2x lens and iPhone actually crops in from the 1x lens, with no way to disable or force it unless I use a 3rd party app. If apple keeps wanting to boast about these “pro” camera features, they need to implement a “pro camera app” for people who don’t want to deal with the automatic nonsense!
My 11 pro max took as good or better pics than my current 14 pro max in daylight. The processing it does I wish was an option to turn off. Not gonna upgrade until maybe the 16 pro max.
With the comparison photo between the 14/15 pro and the 15 pro max, would you get the same result of the 15 pro max image if you used a regular 15? If the 15 pro max image is using the main 48MP lens, just like the 15's have?
This is wrong about the megapixel crops because they are using 48mp as the standard so the crops go down to 24 and 12mp respectively
I've been tempted by the 15 Pro Max but will pause for more real world reviews to come in from non-influencers. Thanks Tony.
Wait and get you s24 ultra. Don't waste money on apple stuff
samsung crap? no thanks.@@sercan272727
@@travelinghybridshooter4122agree, these days any reviewer with 100's of thousands subscribers are all offered financial incentives, so all their reviews are basically adverts to sell a product. This is a great video giving the other side, however even this video isn't balanced. The truth lies somewhere in between however with social media, exaggerated polarised viewpoints are the fashion, being considered and balanced giving both sides is considered boring and won't attract many views.
@@sercan272727😂
@@sercan272727well it’s rumoured that Samsung cuts off the 10x optical zoom and Switches to a 5x optical zoom like apple. 😅 and titanium is probably also coming to the s24 Ultra which is nice
The default image size is 24MP on the main camera now, not 12MP. There are lots of camera phones on the market that have a 5x zoom lens without having an additional 3x lens. I mean you could make exactly the same complaint about the S23 Ultra saying that any zoom level between 3x and 10x is a digital crop of a tiny 1/3.52” 10MP sensor. There are many ways to skin a cat and the only way to have continuous lossless zoom is to have a proper variable zoom lens. One day we might have that on phones but for now you will just have to suck it up and accept that some zoom ranges will be sharper than others. You are also forgetting that Apple has a 2x lossless zoom on the main sensor so that negates some of your conplaints along with the new ISP that combines 12MP computational photography with a 48MP high res image to make a 24MP final product. Let’s wait and see how it works in reality before you get your panties in a bunch.
Sony Xperia 1 V
Yeah in a week we know more. I ordered a 15 pro not max this time. 3x camera is better for portrait photos, it’s lighter and smaller for better reach ability.
@@dommert5907 Yep it’s a pretty cool phone but on auto it’s apparently not that good and it runs android so, meh.
@@Todestelzeryeah apple needs to “lighten up” literally… they need to stop using lead in there phones… my iPhone 14 Pro max is a brick!!! Hurts my fingers
The point of this complaint is that there is no middle focal length between the main sensor and 120mm. So you have more crop. The most common focal is between 35mm and 100mm. Which means a 77mm is way more practical
Hi I need unbias advice, i only Money for iphone 15 pro max or a6700. I have iphone 11 and a6090. Should I upgrade to 15 promax or buy the a6700?
Thank you Tony, you saved me from a big (& expensive) disappointment. Well presented, shame some KZheadrs are happy to play up the hype.
Tony I gotta say thank you for pointing out these things and I love when you get like this. I had a nice chuckle when I saw the 7 lenses slide.😂 But as far as aperture goes, are they only giving the aperture relevant to the physical aperture on the phone lens and not the equivalent focal length? Because I'm guessing this would technically mean all phone manufacturers are doing the same right? As far as my iPhone friends and family and coworkers, they learn to adjust.😌
Thank you for pointing that out. I am not the only person who is thinking that Apple went a step back with its big iPhone. I use the 14pro and S23 ultra combo, I don’t think iPhone can replace the Samsung.
Però può farlo SONY
Thanks for all this info. I was 'thinking' of getting the 15 but after this...I'm keeping my 11. I too am a photographer but never dived this deep into an iPhone camera. If I need 'reach', I whip out my real cameras.
Thanks for pointing this out. I didn't know Apple removed the 3x optical zoom on the 15 Promax
Well you totally changed my mind about ordering a 15 Pro Max. I’ll hang onto my iPhone 13 Pro. Great, practical review and yeah I am totally pissed at Apple for under-delivering on this release.
After going all in on mac from pc this yr I am moving from Android to the iPhone 15 pro. For me I want small, light, usb-c and a OS that is Intuitive with my macbook pro m2 max. If I had a iPhone 13 I would upgrade just for the chance to have usb-c with faster speeds and a lighter build with titanium. Just this veteran Android users point of view.
I know this camera issue is real but many of us are just happy that we can ditch the lightning cable and finally use USB-C with all our devices now. I know for many this is a non issue but I for one cannot stand having to carry multiple cables as my RODES, Kindles, Macs, etc all use USB-C. I can carry one cable and be done.
I ordered the 15 pro to replace the 13 pro because my battery life sucks now and I don’t want to pay for a replacement. I was really bummed last year with the changes to the camera so I didn’t even consider it. Hopefully it isn’t as bad as it sounds in the 15P
@@hovan2yourjunk I ordered the 15 Pro to replace the 13 Pro as well. My battery life sucks as well, plus my 3x camera broke a few days ago.
10:20 Explanation for people outside of america. People in america use iMessage, which nobody else in the world uses. They don't know WhatsApp, which allows flawless communication between all phones. So they have the impression, that they are locked.
Thanks Tony, I think you just saved me $1200 that I can now spend on a new lens for my Sony A7R. It's sad how Apple has been more and more deceitful, and less innovative. Tim Cook is never going to be a Steve Jobs.
I agree - if I want to take my best images then I use my Sony APSC cameras and lenses.
Tim Cook even said himself that he doesn’t want to be like him cos he knows he is just a shadow of him and it’s all about share holders and corporate profit ever since Steve’s departure from this planet. Not to mention that all crucial engineers has had already left sensing this
I had no idea the apertures on the 15 Pro Max were so incredibly low. Which iPhone has the lowest apertures but still resolution that I can use to print an 8x10 or 11x14? I also am stuck with Apple bc of all the features my friends and family use (shared albums, etc.), so I can't move to Samsung. 😞
Although Tony spoke mainly about stills, I found this video super informative. I have an iPhone 13 mini and was thinking about getting the 15 Pro. One drawback was the idea of shooting video in ProRes but couldn't understand the value in huge files. Sure, you can create beautiful video with ProRes but how many people are going to see the results (on KZhead or company websites)?
Thank you for this Tony. I was on the fence because I have an iPhone se 2nd gen and before that I had an iPhone 7. I wanted to upgrade to the pro max this year, but the only real upside I can see now is being able to record directly onto an ssd. I’ll either wait another year or get the base 15 plus.
That can’t seriously be the only upside you see when you have an iPhone SE… that phone has one camera, it can only digitally zoom, and the sensor is much tinier compared to the 48mp one. Even getting a Pro Max that’s a few generations old would be an upgrade.
@@myNEONCITYya, one REALLY GOOD LENS. I have done side by side images on the SE with newer iPhones and the se beats them all - the newer cameras look very “digital” like earl6 digital cameras. The se looks super smooth, sharp and with no digital artifacting. So I haven’t missed upgrading my se so far. It’s the sweet point that they stupidly left in the dust. My only complaint is the wide angle distortion you see if you are too close - everything looks taller and narrower, but to your average person, no one would notice that.
@@btpuppy2 Beats them all? Not in any capacity. You just prefer the look of the SE’s photos, which is fine, but saying it’s better is kinda crazy. In anything but the brightest light, the SE just doesn’t compare well to the newer phones.
@@myNEONCITY yes, I prefer a sharp, natural looking image. Coming from someone who shoots the highest end digital as well as film cameras (I’ve got 3 Rollei TLR’s) as well as other medium format cameras. I know what I like.
@@btpuppy2 Shooting on the best cameras and then preferring the photos of the most inferior iPhone camera that Apple has to offer is kinda astonishing tbh
Thanks for this honest post! Just ordered the 15 Pro mainly because of the smaller size and it looks like that was a better choice.
I was considering upgrading from 11 ProMax to the new 15 ProMax but now I don’t think so. But not sure which ProMax I should purchase, perhaps the 13 or the 14. Any suggestions?
48mp photos are definitely worth the upgrade
Thanks for clarifying. I'm absolute confused. Got a Xperia 5II and want so switch to iPhone because of my Mac and iPad - you know... So the 15Pro has: f/2,2 13mm f/1,78 24mm f/2,8 77mm 13mm and 77mm have 12 MP. Did the 24mm has 48 MP? Can I get a Image from the Sensor with 48MP at 24mm??? All the zoom and croping f*** me up! I have a EOS5DMKIV and lenses from 16 to 600mm - and the only "digital zoom" I use is in Lightroom or Photoshop by cropping my images. I use real opitcal Zoom - did the iPhone has a real optical zoom or 3 prime lenses?
Finally someone mention the bloated file. I also wonder how much heavier {may be 8msignificant but I am waiting to find out) the auto portrait may be because of the additional depth data. And the zig zag path of the telephoto, surely that is a recipe for much glare and ghosting etc?
Thank you for this video! Scrapping the 75mm for a 120mm was shocking to me. 120mm is so much less useful than 75mm. It's not even close.
I agree, but regarding the cropping, even Leica has the Q2 model that crops. This channel here is a mess
@@gigamoment yes, but the Leica Q2 crops from a 28mm F/1.7 full frame lens, whereas the iPhone is cropping from a 24mm F/6.2 FF equivalent lens. So to get ~75mm on both, the Leica Q2 will take the photo with an equivalent F/5.1, which is acceptable. The iPhone will now have an equivalent F/18.6, which is awful. The previous iphone 14 pro 77mm F/9.8 FF-equivalent lens is 2 stops more than the 15 pro's cropped 75mm F/18.6 FF-equivalent lens. So Tony is spot on.
@@wheatstone4487 It's not exactly that. iPhone has a NPU which is a lot more sophisticated than that of Leica. That makes the crop of iphone to be much more detailed.
@@gigamoment I have an S23 Ultra and even the 2x cropped 50mm-equivalent photo from a 200MP sensor with neural processing looks noticeably worse than the 75mm 10MP telephoto lens. No amount of neural processing is going to make up 2 full stops of light (at least not today, maybe in the future).
Which iPhone would I want if I were planning to upgrade my 11 ProMax mainly for the camera?
15 pro unless you want the 5x and are willing to compromise from 77mm to 120mm - in that case the 15 max
I had a Pixel 7 Pro but rarely used the telephotolens. Why? Because the focal length wasn't very useful. 3x is way more useful in everyday situations! I loved the setup on the iPhone 7 Plus - 24 and 70mm. I rarely use wide!
I actually use the zoom on my Ultra often but the use-case is not for "photography". I'm an IT guy and often there is equipment 20-30 feet in the air that have difficult to read labels. So yeah most of my zoom pictures are me using the zoom as ghetto binoculars.
If they wanted to stick to 3 lenses for both the pros it woulve been perfect to fir the pro max with a variable 3X-5X lens similar to the sony phones
Thank you for explaining this so well! I heard several phone reviewers talking about how great the new 120mm lens is and that it means “you won’t need portrait mode anymore because this lens will produce great out-of focus backgrounds in-camera”, which is of course complete nonsense! Even they have fallen for the marketing!!
Shoot I can't lie I fell for it too.smh
Since Jobs first took over it's been nothing but a marketing company trying to extract every last penny from their customers. The last time I gave Apple any money was for an Apple ][, and they aren't doing anything to change that.
@@user-yu8zi1qw1vJobs was one of the founders of Apple and he has been deceased for quite some time now. Tim Cook has been the CEO of Apple since Steve Jobs Death.
It is great!
Apple release a phone, also Con Man Zelinsky asks for another 25 billion. 🤷
I desperately wanted to upgrade to the 15 Pro Max but I just can’t with them getting rid of 77mm for the 120mm (I’d rather just use a Moment lens for telephoto)… and the file size thing is terrible… I have an issue with phone storage space already and I’m not about to make it worse
Can you explain what "getting rid of 77mm" means to a layman using the iPhone terminology? I don't get it, the iPhone now has a true zoom lens out to 5X no?
@@tonyoramos1 The iPhone doesn't have any "zoom" lens, as zoom would imply an optical zoom. In fact, iPhone has 3 fixed length lenses. All the focal lengths between those 3 lenses (13mm, 24mm or 120mm) are calculated digitally. That means, that if you zoom in anything between 25 to 119mm, you are essentially only getting a cropped version of the 24mm image.
On my iphone 6 I loved working with olloclip and I see it's still a thing to use. So I could go for the pro instead of max and use some extended lenses again. But on the other hand I thought you didn't need this on today's phones so it's a bit of a bummer 😕
Just took a 35mm shot in RawMax and it is indeed sharp and detailed. 33.9MB file at 4284 x 5712. Now I loved my Xperia 1 V camera, but my 15 Pro Max is well ahead in terms of quality! Much cleaner images (and yes I used Manual & Shutter Speed Priority RAW on Xperia). Don't get me wrong, I dislike that the iPhone is getting these results with software, but when they are that good and the RAW files are giving me so much to take into LightRoom - can't complain. I found the Xperia to blow out highlights all the time and was there was so much noise in low light. Loved the natural colours and S-Cinetone in video, but for out of your pocket shots - this iPhone has impressed more than the Sony/Pixel/Samsung phones i've tried
You are the ultimate source for all things photography. Please help a lay-person understand the difference between an iPhone's cameras and dropping $5K on the Canon EOS R5 Cinematic, or Nikon Z7 II for example. My iphone can shoot in cinematic mode, so why spend thousands on a mirrorless camera? Please help me understand IF there is a difference and if it's worth it. Why spend multi-thousands when a phone camera can shoot cinematic 4K content
For aperture, they are using it conceptually in terms of light per unit area rather than total light. From a signal standpoint, 48 megapixels spread across a full frame sensor, means that each larger photosite will be gathering more light since they are physically larger, hence why even with the latest tech, if you look at the raw files from newer iphones, and devices like the pixel 7, the raw files have a lot of noise at their lowest ISO, and the lens lacks the ability to resolve the amount of detail to offer even 12 megapixels. Usually the lenses that show signs of resolving to that level, are often prohibitively expensive for full frame and medium format cameras (the ones that work well in the high res pixel shift mode). Sadly that level of manufacturing doesn't make its way down to the $20 smartphone camera modules.
Aperture is a dimensionless parameter. There is no total light, this is another made up marketing term.
But the problem is that most of people don’t use raw photos
Whole lot of “yes and no” here: 1:20 - Yes, calling them different “lenses” is misleading, but it’s not _entirely_ inaccurate. Fundamentally, yes, it’s cropping, but the main sensor has twice the resolution of the final 24Mpix image. (Yes, it is a 48Mpix sensor; more on that below.) Yes, they’re cropping, but they’re cropping into a higher-resolution source image than the final output image. 7:36 - As with DSLRs and digital cameras in general, these focal lengths are reported as 35mm-film-camera equivalents. Of course it’s not a 120mm lens; everything is scaled down equally - the focal length, the sensor, the (effective) aperture. The images it captures are equivalent with what you’d get from a 120mm lens on a 35mm film camera, in scale. Nevertheless, you are _absolutely correct_ that there is a “dead zone,” so to speak, in the ~90-119mm focal length range on the 15 Pro Max! Images taken at 120mm look far better than images taken at 119mm! As for the “pixel-binned” 48Mpix sensor, we need remember that _our eyes are much better at discerning detail by virtue of changes of intensity than changes in hue_ . The developers of the NTSC TV standard, a long time ago, quantified this: They found that, breaking an image into a B&W intensity-only image, with an equal-brightness hue-only overlay, they could make the hue-only image _much more blurry_ than the intensity-only image, and our eyes just didn’t notice any appreciable difference. I don’t claim to understand why they chose their “quad-pixel” Bayer pattern, but MaxTech and others have clear demonstrated that the 48Mpix images _do_ contain more detail than on the earlier 12Mpix sensor. Our eyes are simply not evolved to see detail from changes in hue only. I’ve blown up 12Mpix images to 18x12 poster size, and gotten quite acceptable results. A 48Mpix source image would be crisper, no doubt, but the 12Mpix image looked actually quite good.
Thanks, Tony, for the insight. I almost ordered the 15 PM and now so glad I didn’t. I’m like you in that my family and friends all have iPhones. Getting an Android now would be a hassle. I’ll just keep my current iPhone until it quits.
Isn't the main sensor 48 MP? So the image is downscaled from 48 to 24 instead of being upscaled from 12? I guess I'm not understanding that part..
Wondering too. Could be 48 real mp instead of 12 quad beyer. Then again, if it really is 48 wouldn’t they market it as 192mp?
if its a real 48mpx sensor making 24mpx images they would get better results outputting a 12mpx image since the 24mpx one would need to be downscaled by some algorithm to merge each 2 pixels and that would change the image ratio so it would have to create artificial detail. A sensor is a 2d plane and can only be divided by 4x each time. But making a Quad Bayer sensor, taking a 12mpx photo, and upscaling it back to 24mpx is equally as bad... Idk at this point, all the options are bad since they are giving a division by 2 in the jpgs so there needs to be aditional "crappy" processing. Only the raw 48mpx are usable or the 14 with 12mpx jpegs
Thank you for the content! It's time for a upgrade I'm still using 12 Pro Max. But I'm going with the smaller Pro.
I’m so upset by the lack of innovation that I’m sticking with my iPhone 11 Pro Max. I did a side by side against the 14 Pro Max last year and sent the 14 back because the low light performance was much WORSE than the 11 Pro Max!
@@espedale The main camera or the tele lens? Main camera is unlikely because the sensor got better stabilization and is larger. Tele yes, bc the 3x zoom is only 2,8 vs. f2 in the 11pro and 12pro (which I have).
@@bernios3446 That was the surprising result. I compared the 11 Pro Max vs 14 Pro Max under the exact same low light conditions and the image produced by the 14 Pro Max was less focused with much more noise. I shot and compared multiple times and continued to get the same result. I was so upset that I sent back the 14 Pro Max the very next day after seeing no significant improvement in the quality of images in natural daylight. I realize the specs are in the favor of the 14 Pro Max, but the proof is in taking actual images.
@@espedaleNO MATER how you twist it and turn itt, there is NO WAY the main lens of 11 Pro has better night performance than the main lens of 14 Pro. I have them both and can prove it to you with real-world, side by side comparisons.
@@iTheGeo I could really care less what you think. Clearly, you are not a detail-oriented person, judging by your spelling. Why on earth would I trust your evaluation? I have nothing to gain by lying about the comparison.
Tony, thank you for the feed back, which iphone you recommend? I have android, never iphone but all my cousins in the U.S and in Dominican Republic use iphone not android
Good video. Especially the f-spot part. I was trying to wrap my mind about it in smart phones in general. Especially now that I have started using better interchangeable lens cameras. Apple has been the marketing king for decades so none of this should be surprising.
First of all, Apple did say "...like having 7 lenses.." they never said it's actually seven lenses, so I don't understand why Tony is so upset. Secondly, having 7 different focal length is very convenient and this time with a press of a button on screen you can chose any of them! Thirdly, Tony made a mistake, a rather big one, there's no 12Mp sensor that will be cropped, but there's 48Mp slightly bigger sensor that is going to be sensor cropped. So his file size calculations are roughly 4 times smaller than it's actually going to be. In any case, you can go from 13mm to 24mm, 28mm, 35mm, 48mm and 120mm and all of these will have at least 12Mp, while at 24mm you will have 48Mp. Consider it as a 3 lens setup: 13mm wide, 24-48mm main lens, and 120mm tele. What not to like? As a bonus lenses now get antireflective nano coating, and Apple wizardry when making stacked photos that combines 48Mp details with 12Mp low light binning into 24Mp output file for 24mm main lens. Plus cinematic mode is now improved to all lenses. Log file available also. Of course Tony "forgot" to mention all this haha. I think Tony needs to calm his tits down before bashing Apple and will wait for full review next week when a proper tests will paint better picture rather than listening to silly accusations with flawed math haha.
The iPhone is trash period. No innovation whatsoever. 23 ultra camera s**ts on the iPhone camera
Tony already explained the "7 lenses", but it seems you're the one who doesn't understand. You can resize any image to 100 different focal lengths if you want to in any phone, you've been able to do that for ages. Just zoom in or out and crop to your liking, that doesn't mean you have "like 7 lenses", it's just BS marketing from apple. And yes you will loose quality with each "crop", so it's a gimmick. 12mp is probably enough for social media like Instagram and such, but it's far from being 48mpx. And it's also nothing new, 14 pro and 14 pro max already had 48mpx.
Let just put it this way. I have 7 focal length on my 11 pro max too with just my finger pinching in. In fact I have 100 focal length on my iphone 8. Exept I don't and this "apple focal length" is just rubbish marketing.
Yeah, this guy doesn’t understand the issue of the sensor sizes and the associated lens achieving a “virtual” lens through crop. He seems to think the physics is the same as maintaining the same sensor and swapping out real lenses 🤣
@@tallonhooks3883 ya like the fake moon pics .
Spot on, Tony. Thanks for your analysis. I’m staying with iPhone, but won’t be upgrading to 15. Apple, don’t be mad - learn something from Tony. Thank you.
Still love the XPERIA Mark III's 70/105mm optical solution the most. Very practical with relatively good results without any cropping.
I really love my Xperia 1V. Excellent camera in such a small package that fits in your package. I also have the S23U only for the zoom.
@@josh3326 Nice combination. I use the XPERIA 5 Mark III mostly for bright situations (landscapes/street). For macro & lower light I pick the OnePlus 11.
Thanks for sharing. I think the same and could not decide between Pro and Pro Max because of 3x sacrifice while I'd like to get bigger screen. I do not FULLY agree regarding the 24PM storage story since the 24 MP file size is not that bigger compare to 12 MP.
it definitely felt like a lot of fluff this year, like they are running out of stuff to upgrade so they're sneaky snakey marketing the heck out of mediocre changes and basically false advertising
Might be mediocre changes but definitely NOT mediocre prices
While I didn't realize the 5X wasn't necessarily what it claims, I did realize the "7" lenses was basically a lot of crops. I still bought it - the 1 TB version too. It's a massive upgrade to my iPhone X and iPhone 11 Pro and will become my main camera. Both video and stills. I'll keep the other two as B and C cameras. The USB C port(10 Gb/s) was the biggest reason to upgrade for me If Apple had crippled it to USB 2 speeds or even old USB 3 (5 Gb/s) speeds, I may have skipped it. Thunderbolt was a pipe dream and not realistic. So many people don't understand how the data is allocated and what the reality is for file transfer speeds. Not what speeds most computers have that don't have a TB port. I could have gone with the regular Pro as I prefer the smaller screen size, but I did want the extra reach. As far being locked in to the ecosystem, no one hassles me. Well no one important in my life does. And I do like the functionality of that ecosystem. I didn't necessarily NEED it, but with the X (which is still my phone) on its last iOS, and the 11 Pro probably two years out with the same, this seemed like a good time to get a new phone :)
Don’t listen to him he’s mistaken. He took 12mp in his calculations while in reality for focal length below 120mm it’s going to be main 48mp sensor that is used, not 12 mp😂 he’s confused
@@danguelph2676He’s not confused, you are. He already addressed the 48mp vs 12mp pixel binning thing and was clear that going from 120mm to a lower focal length involved cropping in with the 48mp standard lens. His point about the aperture formula does not involve resolution at all.
The phone isn’t out yet and no one has seen photos yet. This guys doing this whole video on assumptions. He has a photo up there labeled iPhone 15 pro max without shooting it with the 15 🤦♂️
@@CharlesWatson13I totally agree with you. Not until someone in the real world have it tested and measured. We can’t say they were lying or telling the truth. Just as the OP stated. iPhone 11 is the last guy that can be saved. In terms of generous upgrading or even support. Of course anyone can use their devices till the next century. But you’ll floating into the abyss at that time.
@@CharlesWatson13 Apple can't defy physics. It's easy to see it will be a downgraded experience.
I need to buy a new iPhone do you recommend 14 Pro or 14?
Can you share the files that were taken at 28mm and 35mm vs the 24mm to show that it is a sensor crop with very small megapixel.
I’m a photographer, I use a Nikon z7. I have to say that I was very impressed with the 48mp RAW (12mp) images that the iPhone 14 Pro produces, especially as it’s a phone. All the images it produces are much better than the iPhone 13. I’m waiting for my iPhone 15 Pro to be delivered, hopefully they’ll be a genuine improvement.
If you know photography , Can you please help me understand that 77 mm image is better on 15 Pro Compared to Pro Max ? It would help me to take decision.
Beh, non lo è
@@vishalbajpai9381I’ll help. The 15 Pro has a 13mm lens, a 24mm lens and a 77mm lens. The 15 Max has a 13mm lens, a 24mm lens and a 121mm lens. To achieve 77mm on the Max, it uses the 24mm lens and digitally zooms to a crop. So the actual 77mm lens on the Pro is going to be better. However, the Pro falls a far second for anything 121mm and after. So you’ll have to ask yourself how far you really want to zoom and how important everything from 24mm to 121mm is to you. I personally haven’t decided yet.
iphone doesn't support real raw its software fake raw
First time owning an iPhone (15 Pro) and I'm impressed with the image quality that I felt like I will have to shelve my mirrorless cams for the meantime lol.
I was looking forward to your comments on this as when they said 7 lenses it blew my mind how they could come up with such a lie. If we want to crop something we can do it at any time… this was ridiculous from Apple. 🤣 Thanks for adding more details and light to the topic
Don’t forget though; all these lenses come with “optical quality”. 🤡
@@starbase218😂
As per John Siracusa on atp cropping before and after shooting are not the same.
Yes you can crop and still have detail if you take the photo in raw where you have 48mp. But if you are in the normal mode which is what 99% of people are in when they use the camera app the photos on the 14pro are 12mp and 15pro are 24mp. Go and crop using that normal mode without raw and it wont be the same thing. So in theory if apple uses the 24mm lens/camera and crop it 4 times (apple using all of the 48mp's in the background with out you knowing) it WOULD end up being like a 96mm lens at 12mp. I will be comparing this on my channel comparing the 14 vs 15 vs my Sony a7rV at 61mp
@@NateGigovic Hi! This is exactly the problem! 99% of users do not have this knowledge and we can't assume that they will. Additionally, it is not practical to use raw all the time for all the time for 99% of the people... 1) because of the limited storage on the device and the high cost for the increased storage, 2) the extra step for regular users trying to get raw files out of their phones and 3) due to iCloud storage again cost....) Bottom line, apple is using marketing terms and looking at revenue with their misleading claims (including when they say 7 lenses). We completely understand your point but good luck explaining this to the other 99% my friend.
thanks, convinced me not to upgrade from my 10xs at this time. Also how much is Square space once you have to pay?
Upgrading from an iPhone X, I was considering the pro max, even though I prefer a smaller phone. So glad I decided on the 15 pro, as it seems that for most shots, it will be a better option.
I am in the same boat with the Xs
The 15 Pro is your better choice for photography and on a financial level.
You only forgot to mention that there is a mode that enables 48MP HEIF photos so the crop is really not that bad from 24mm to 48mm, you end up with 12MP in the worst case, it is a “sensor crop”. I only wish instead of changing the telephoto they ADDED an 8x telephoto.
Surprised he didn’t mention this! Kind of changes his argument.
Exceptional video Tony! Glad to know I was not the only “crazy” person watching the launch of the new iPhones.
Thanks for a helpful, informative vid. It’s refreshing to get an objective, knowledgeable perspective rather than the platitudes from influencers masquerading as reviewers who don’t want the tap turning off on their freebies.
Bloated Files? You can choose 12MP or 24MP in the settings for output just incase you didn't know.
Hi! Can u tell me the difference between these 2 settings and which setting should I keep it in for saving space on my phone?
Thanks for highlighting the issue with the 77mm vs 120mm. 77mm is a wayyy more useful focal length to have optically. Will be sticking to the regular Pro.
Don’t listen to him, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He mistakenly took 12mp in his calculations while in reality it’s going to be 48mp sensor not 12mp 😂 4 times difference 😂
@@danguelph2676the telephoto 5x lens is 12mp. The main camera is 48.
@@danguelph2676lol you don't know what ur talking about it's actually a 12 mp sensor because it's a quad Bayer sensor it bins to 12 but apple decided to bin theirs with 24 mp which is actually counter productive with low light shots.
@@BLAKEEATS1988The 48MP files are indeed quite more detailed than the 12MP ones. One reviewer compared the iPhone 14 pro with the canon R10 (which has 24MP), and concluded they both had the same amount of detail.
Ouch. Having everything from 25mm to 124 mm being a crop of the 24 mm main lens is pretty brutal. Apple definitely should have kept the 3x and then added a 5x on the Pro Max. The seven lens marketing is very dishonest.
It's equivalent. So you'll be getting those "other lenses" but with smaller effective sensor size as you increase focal length equivalent Of course there won't be any negative words during a marketing release. No one does that
Agree on your concern about 24MP and space. Apple needs to make the phone software capable of dialing images back to 12MP by default if you choose.
There is an option in the start but I keep it on as it is just a mb more
@@abearah9255 yeah it's not the double & the 15 actually has a 48MP camera, not 12MP like 14
Hello and thank you so much for the great and detailed (enough) review. I suspected some of this but took the bait anyway. Not I am worried because that telephoto is critical for me. Can I suggest, for those of us like me, that you create a video on HOW TO BEST USE the iPhone 15 Pro Max camera lenses? Like, what will give you the best result from each lens and how to do it. For any camera app developers how about a setting called FUApple that forces setting to those that use each lens properly. I would not have upgraded if I had seen this first for both practical and principle reasons.
Thanks so much Tony for the through and clear explanations. Sadly, it confirms what I had already expected. Wouldn't it be nice to expect that for $1600 one could get a smart phone from Apple that provided camera lenses fitting to that price point... and actually get it?
Yeah they assume buyers as fools, almost same camera same i14 phone just telephoto lens is add on in 15 pro which we will use rarely as its just 5x zoom only
They never said it had 7 lenses. They said “ it’s like having 7 lenses” very different.
Which phone has the best camera? That’s all I want to know, I will deal with the operating system later. I am just looking for the best images possible on a device which can make phone calls, send text messages, browse the web, run widely available brokerage apps, astronomy apps, Google Maps, GPS navigation.
Hey Tony, I sent this youtube link to Tim Cook. They have the money and the engineers to put the best camera in the phone, it's awful they let the marketing people make the choices instead of the engineers. Thanks for your great work.
I sent it to Tim too! hopefully, he sees it and act on it.
Ugh those horrible crops ! You're absolutely right - but at least my terrible iPhone files keep me using and enjoying proper cameras - even my 40 yr old SLR makes nicer pics that you can blow up larger without looking like a crude paint effect
Yes it is cropped but with their pipeline stuff don’t they still mix in some of the 48mp detail on each “focal length”?
The 1.78 aperture in the 1/1.28“ sensor size translates which has 3.5x crop factor translates to a 6.0ish aperture on FF. actualy the background blur look almost identical to my 2.8 12-40 Olympus at 12mm. Think they aren’t lying. The main sensor has an équivalent of 24mm f6, not f10.
Yikes. I just bought the iPhone 15 Pro Max!!! Do you suggest I cancel it and get the 14??? Desperate for your advice.
You normally have 14 days with Apple to return it, no questions asked.
Ur buying a phone for a camera?
In part yes. But I tend to use, almost exclusively my Fuji XT3 and X-T2 and Ricoh GRiii@@RyanREAX
I've seen a handfull of reviews of the 15s low light photography side of things. On many instances, the pics from the 14 and Galaxy 23 look much better. I'm a android user myself and was planning to make a switch to ios with the 15 but now, I'm in doubt. Respect, for being forthcoming Tony.
I can here because I was thinking of switching to Apple from my Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, but am shocked at how bad the iPhone is. I shoot a lot of photos on the S22 and I think a lot of them are over compressed, except when using RAW. I can’t believe people pay for cloud storage, my Galaxy links seamlessly with my Microsoft account with its free cloud storage. Almost all of my family and friends use Samsung or Pixel phones. I really can’t understand why so many Apple professional photographer users accept that a good chunk of the screen is missing where the sensors are, it’s so amateurish and arrogant of Apple to maintain this terrible design flaw and spin it out as a feature.
@@sandyfordd1843 What free cloud from Microsoft?
@@sandyfordd1843 Nice to hear someone from the same side of the page when it comes to phones. However, in terms of cloud storage (correct me if I'm wrong) Microsoft offers only 5gb of free storage and so does Apple icloud. Google on the other hand provides 15gb of mixed storage. Honestly, I prefer icloud because they offer a free option to E2EE encryption under their advance settings. Other big name cloud storage companies don't offer E2EE partly because they use our personal data for their own data mining purposes. Also, most of the time these companies shy away from questions relating to E2EE. I mean since majority of the phones these days don't offer a sd card option so that in itself levels, the playing field. Which ever phone you buy sooner or later you will require cloud (except Sony for time being). If only the ip15 pro takes photos to my liking I would jump instantly for an iphone and their cloud service. I hope Apple can release a camera update/patch to correct the shadow areas and brightness. Right now if I compare the ip15 to a s23 or p8 pro iphone looses by miles in handling shadow areas. Anyway, these are my personal thoughts. To each his own. ✌️
So if I am still using the 13 Pro Max, there is no need to upgrade?
Tony, what would you reco b/w iPhone 15 or iPhone13 Pro Max based on camera and bang for buck?
Tony you give this speech every year, yet every year you upgrade. I've been listening to you since the iPhone 12 release and have not upgraded but now I will. I want a better camera!
No no no. Wait until Apple releases a mirrorless camera with a built in iPhone.
I am definitely not going to defend Apple by default, but in this case, you're wrong, Tony. According to an apple contact via the Waveform podcast, the "fake" focal lengths are actually 24mp output of a combination of all available lenses, and the middle zoom ranges will do the same. So it's not going to be a degraded image to the extent you're assuming. That being said, of course native focal lengths are better, but to assume that they aren't doing anything to improve the output to be useable would be unfair.
Yeah, I thought it was strange that Tony was so off. He's usually not this dishonest
Correct. This video is nonsense
A 2x crop on a 48mp sensor would give you a 12mp image. Anything past a 40% crop would give you less than 24mp.
Nice video. What do you think, should I buy an 15 pro or an older Lumix S5 if I want to make youtube videos? Mainly vlogging. I like that the iPhone is so convenient. Will the audience see the difference?
So i should go for the pro instead of the pro max? Its gonna be my first iphone, and i want the best camera i can get in their lineup. This video only made me conflicted on what to choose
They should add the 3x lens to the pro max in addition to the 5x lens. 85mm is a useful focal length
they will do it when you bought enough new iphones in between
Totally agree with you. The biggest feature of the iP15 is USB-C which other makers are using years now plus some small tweaks. Apple presentation of the iPhone camera was a joke.
Even here apple infuriates with no fast charging
@@GreenhornPhototakerand USB 2.0 transfer speeds
@@Nickporter17at least the Pro models have 20x improved speed compared to lightning
@@Felix-md4og stop simping for apple. Look at modern android phone transfer speeds.
@@Nickporter17 Yeah I know, but I didn’t transfer data with a cable for years. So it doesn’t matter for me. The missing 120Hz on the normal iPhone 15 is the big issue that makes me buy the 15Pro.
Also as a tip if you save your photos in a shared album they don’t count towards your iCloud storage.
Thanks for this video. I’m on an old phone and am trying to decide what phone to upgrade to.
Thanks, Toni, for this so objective review. I get rid of the IPhone dependence some years ago, and I fell so much happy since I decided to stop contributing to that fund raise :)
Great, I did the same 👍
I’m doing the same after 12 years with Apple. Another BS tactic is that the iPhone 15 and 15+ or actually $30 more than advertised. The iPhone 15 is not $799, it’s $829. You get a $30 discount they activating through one of their partner carriers. for a price to be discounted it Hass to be discounted from an original price. But they advertise $799. So if you want to buy an unlocked phone it’s $829. They straight up lie and mislead.
Excellent review, thank you for your honesty!
What's the equivalent aperture of the S23 Ultra? :)
Thank you so much. I was upgrading from a 12 pro max. Having watched your video, I tested and confirmed your observations in the store and shocked some Apple employees. The 5x (which is a digital crop) on the 15 pro has much better image quality/resolution than the native 5x lens on the 15 pro max, which gets mushy when compared to 15 pro at same magnification side by side. I ultimately went with 15 pro and am feeling a retro nostalgic satisfaction with the smaller size and more comfortable ergonomics. The candy bar with the better camera setup and usb-c port is fantastic.
Thank you for the warning Tony! I love iPhones but I certainly don’t want to be ripped off!! I’ve been listening to you for 8 years now, I like the way you explain how photography works 😃😃😃
I wish Apple could provide bigger sensors for ultra wide and telephoto lenses. Other than that I am extremely happy with 14 Pro when shooting with ProRaw files
You have watched the vid haven't you? He was very specifically talking about not being happy with the iphone 15 pro, not the 14...?!
@@orange25i yes I watched the video. iphone 14 pro and 15 pro shares same main camera sensor, ultra wide camera sensor, and 3x telephoto sensor. I mentioned iPhone 14 pro here because implicitly I wouldn’t upgrade to iphone 15 pro unless apple gave us bigger sensors for ultra wide and telephoto models
@@orange25i another implication is if people shoot proraw, they will be happy with either 14 pro or 15 pro
I am very happy with my iPhone 12 mini, love the size, the cameras play absolutely no role in my selection of iPhone brand
My biggest issue with this video is that the “7 lenses” thing is not misleading. It’s not just a crop, it’s a 12mp crop in from the main 48 megapixel camera. The 2x is 12mp, and the other “lenses” that are between 1x and 2x are all using that same 48mp sensor. So while yes it is a crop it’s still very high quality and you’re still getting 12 mp of resolution or more with those in between lenses. And how could you call the 2x camera 3mp when it’s pretty clearly stated as 12mp because of the quad pixel technology and resolution. Not to mention the large sensor size and aperture of the main camera makes it better than the 2x optical camera that was found on previous iPhones. I also think Tony’s take is just a fundamental misunderstanding of the different way smartphone cameras work from traditional cameras.
Tony, I think you are spot-on and am grateful to hear the honest criticisms you've made. I've never understood the Apple fandom. I had to use Apple products from the mid-1990s through 2013 as part of my work and never found the experiences to be enjoyable. In fact, they were mostly frustrating. I have family members who keep pushing Apple on me, and I respond, flatly, no way. I am happy on the phone end with my Android devices, and on the computer end, Windows wins over Apple hands down. I have never, ever encountered the headaches with Android and Windows devices that I experienced daily with Apple products. That Apple is now resorting to deceptive marketing comes as little surprise.
As a pixel 7 pro user, I noticed the gap between the 1x and 5x immediately. Considering that switching lenses during video recording on iphones have been really impressive, i am interested to learn how the new pro max is gonna do.
Not too well
Picked up a iPhone 15 pro max and camera quality is very underwhelming compared to my pixel 7 pro which I traded in. Regretting my decision already
@@mraz1183Likewise, I think I’m actually going to return my 15 pro max and go back to my pixel 7 pro. Even the screen on my year old pixel pro is much more vibrant and clear. I feel like apple is 5 years behind
In what way, might I ask? I’m considering the Pro Max but I might do the Pro instead of the telephotos really is such marketing crap. Is that where you felt the Pixel pulled ahead?
“If” the telephoto…” my bad
Anyone who watched the event can get a sense of apples priorities lately (talking about the 30 minutes spent on becoming fully carbon neutral, environment, mother earth etc) its clear thats where the money is being spent and not on any meaningful upgrades to its product lineup
Super bummed that they got rid of the leather cases!!! I have a feeling the FineWoven will be a disappointment…
They don't spend a dime on enviroment. It's a pure marketing lie. Take a simple example - a titanium frame. No technical advantage, but the use of difficult to process and expensive to mine and smelt metal. They used steel - it's kind of much easier on environment. Better - they could use aluminium - the most environment friendly metal (smelted in countries with cheap - read - water, geothermal, wind energy). So, why use titanium? It puts the competition in the costly race, and Apple has the highest margins (read - they rip their customers the most). They started it with unibody aluminium macs - when the rest used much cheaper plastics. They created a design fashion which is costly. Same with glass-backed phones. All these ideas are marketing, which rises the cost of the product and has obvious bad environmental impact.
@@hovan2yourjunk Because plastic is much cheaper, and now, they can sell it for more again as "enviromently friendly". Much higher margins than with leather.
@@AndrewSienxso true. If they cared for the environment they wouldn’t make older iPhone obsolete too soon forcing you to buy a new one.
You make a lot of good arguments, and I believe them. I was pretty convinced originally that the 48MP is worth upgrading from an iPhone 12 Pro max. However, after watching you video I'm having serious doubt. Would you recommend upgrading from iPhone 12 Pro max?
According to me i think you should save the money and wait until they release a better iphone in the future as the iphone 15 pro max and 12 pro max dont have any major differences.
Thank you, sir. I was considering upgrading for my 13 Pro Max but after your video, I’ll wait another year. Other than the camera there was no reason at all for me to upgrade.