One Crazy Camera

Okay, I've only had my new iPhone 13 Pro for the better part of one day, but let me show you a couple of things. First, this is Butters, cowering under my desk because of the fireworks. In this top frame, I did my best to reproduce the actual visual impression of the actual light. This is cleaner and a bit more contrasty than my eyes see it, but it's fairly close. This top picture is intended to give you an idea of the light level:

The picture, in other words, was taken more or less in the dark.

Next, fixed up in Adobe Photoshop 2021:

Click on it to see it larger. (Seriously, do, and look how pretty.) It takes an astonishing amount of correction for a small-sensor file. I'm not at the limits yet here.

This is a ProRAW .dng file, by the way. That's my leg on the left, and the edge of the desk at the top. [UPDATE: And at the bottom left, that reddish area, that's my finger! Yikes. I haven't done that in many years. I'll have to get used to these three big ol' lenses on the back of the phone.]

Finally, this will be a 100% detail after you click on it to enlarge it. Keep in mind the blogging software blurs images slightly, which affects the rendering of hairs; the original is a bit sharper than you'll see. I haven't done any noise correction (noise doesn't bother me; I actually like it). I did "level up," though:

I imagine you'll say, "I've seen better," but stay in context—this is a phone, taken handheld, using lots of IS, under very dark conditions!

Here's a detail of a test shot made in daylight. This will also be 100% after you click on it, hopefully. Something a little funky is going on at the top edge of the sunlit portion of the solid stem of the lamp, but I don't know what.

I would normally "unsharpen" this a bit to get rid of the edge artifacts, but I wanted to process it minimally for you. (And sorry about all the dust on the speaker. I'm a bad housekeeper.) It's an 800-pixel center section, also of a ProRAW shot. Pretty good for a tiny sensor.

This is a SOOC JPEG, not ProRAW, again adjusted to show the actual dusk light according to my visual impression, with no adjustment for the haloing. And this has some digital zoom added over the longest focal length module (I don't know how to find out how much). Plus Butters was tugging at the leash when I took it. Really pretty impressive that I got a shot at all, much less that it looks this decent.

Here's a rather tough lighting and color-depth challenge, which the camera + software has handled with remarkable aplomb. Note that the sunlight tree behind the campfire is just a little out of the d.o.f.:

I think I needed to twiddle the black point just a skosh, here. But for digital rendering of the colors of fire, that's pretty strong, you've gotta admit. Again, it's a phone. This is also just a JPEG, not a ProRAW.

That's enough, for now. Color me impressed, out of the gate. Pretty amazing camera system.

Hopefully I'll be back later today with Stephen's portfolio. But tomorrow, at the latest? Never make promises, Mike....

Mike

Book o' the Week:

The Mindful Photographer by Sophie Howarth. I only know of Sophie Howarth from her time as a curator at the Tate Modern in London, but my impression then was positive. Her brand new book (it only came out a few days ago) is about slowing down as a means of enjoying photographing more. It's said to contain a curated collection of photographs along with anecdotes and explanation.

The book link is your portal to Amazon from TOP, should you wish to support this site.

Our link to B&H Photo

Original contents copyright 2020 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Richard Man: "Keith Cartmell wrote: 'How much of the image quality (and I admit these are pretty good quality images) comes from computation photography techniques, rather than the optical qualities of the lens and sensor technology?' A lot. You can see it in action especially in low light photography. Just a gut guess (I am a Silicon Valley tech geek by days), Apple probably has more software people working on just the computational photography aspect than all other non-phone camera companies (e.g. excluding Google and Samsung) combined on their respective cam processing pipes."

David Brown: "I have an iPhone 12 Pro and am equally astonished at the camera(s). If the ergonomics were better, I would be tempted to use it even more. However, as it is, in extreme wide angle and low light, it is hard to beat."

TC Lin: "People call it a 'tiny' sensor, but it's actually larger than the sensors of a lot of the older digicams that we used to use in the early part of the century, e.g. the Canon Powershots et al."

John Merlin Williams: "Just wait till you try 'Portrait' mode! When you view the image after taking, click 'Edit' in the bottom right of the screen. In the next view, you should see an f-stop number (my iPhone 11 Pro defaults to ƒ/4.5)in the upper left of the screen. This is the effective f-stop setting of the preview now on your screen. Click that 'ƒ/4.5' button and a 'Depth' slider bar will appear at the bottom of the screen. Scroll back and forth from say, ƒ/1.4 to ƒ/16 to change the effective aperture—and prepare to be amazed."

Ed Kirkpatrick: "I think it's a camera that makes phone calls...."

Dave: "...And how is it as just as a phone?"

Mike replies: Improved in at least one way I've noticed: the speakers, both the earpiece and the 'speakerphone' mode, are much better.

Comments

[Richard Man]

The iPhone 13 Pro is quite a fine camera. You might be interested in this post: https://richardman.photo/2022/07/aquarium-cfv-ii-50c-with-different-lenses-vs-iphone-13/

[Timothy Auger]

As you say. 'I would normally "unsharpen" this a bit to get rid of the edge artifacts'. This is my main moan about photos coming off my iPhone 12 Mini. The sharpening is excessive. They look better if sharpening is dialled down a bit using a filter in Lightroom.

[Andy F]

Something else that phone can do amazingly well is multiple-second exposures hand held. While you're exposing it overlays a crosshair to help you keep the camera still, then merges the result at the end. It's really impressive.

Also, if you're after a bit more control over the camera while shooting, the Halide app is nice, and has features like an RGB histogram, manual white balance, and a box for helping you hold the camera level.

[Lan]

Congrats!

Look for Polycam app and try the LiDAR 3d scanner built into the 13pro.
Wait until you try that!

[Mike Ferron]

Few know the technical reason why late model iPhones take such nice looking images. I’ll share the secret. Magic gremlins in the processor are responsible for the surprising quality. Actually what I like is that the images are delivered via cloud to both my iPad and iMac for larger screen viewing and editing.

[Clyde]

Now turn your iPhone into a camera. This ships in about 2 weeks (I have no connection other than ordering one during the Kickstarter). https://shop.fjorden.co

[Kodachromeguy]

Remarkable. But I'm confused. The "experts," especially the ones on an infamous D reviewing site, claim that any sensor smaller than "full frame" is incapable of serious photography. So your results must be impossible or some sort of trick.

[David Robinson]

I've downsized to the 13 pro from an 11 pro max already a very decent phone.
Happy with the size except the smaller keyboard is challenging and has led to more typos, combine that with auto correct and some sentences end up being little short of gobbledegook.
Could be my technique (technique might be embellishing it).

The camera is a treat, lots of fun at twilight.

Took a shot at my local servo, lights of the servo, traffic and traffic lights in the background, sun just below the horizon, was very impressed with the clarity and camera's capability to deal with various sources of light and dark.
Completely agree with your statement,
"I've seen better," but stay in context—this is a phone, taken handheld"

This phone takes better images than some photos that are considered classics, there are other reasons classics are classics but nevertheless.
David.

[Keith Cartmell]

This might be throwing a big log onto the fire and creating lots of sparks, but here goes. How much of the image quality (and I admit these are pretty good quality images) comes from computation photography techniques, rather than the optical qualities of the lens and sensor technology? In other words, the camera computer deciding what 'should' be there as opposed to the image created by lens and sensor. Then again, there's always some computation in a digital system, so maybe the question doesn't matter any more because it's just more of the same.

[Kenneth Tanaka]

I’m very glad you updated your iPhone, Mike. As you can now see first-hand the change in imaging tech since your old phone has been truly remarkable. I encourage you to experiment not only with its enhanced abilities to -describe- under newly expanded boundary conditions, but also to express in new situations. Don’t be a slave to the purism of the holy grail of raw image files! Learn to work -with- the camera system’s formidable built-in AI tech to achieve results that might have otherwise required long post sessions on PS or LR. I really think you’ll enjoy it.

(p.s. Poor Butters! July 4th is the worst holiday for many pets.)

[darlene]

So nice to see your photos. Really like the house in dusk photo.

[Michael Matthews]

There's no getting around it, Apple has made amazing strides in upgrading all aspects of iPhone photography. It used to be that a 100% view would just present mush. And looking at the same images anywhere near pixel-level was like looking at a bowl of multicolored Froot Loops.

Other phone/camera manufacturers may have done as well - I don't know, having no experience with them.

I have a lot of nostalgia for the old days, when a photographer was a specialist with equipment and skills far beyond ordinary mortals. But it's far past time for us older types to wave goodbye to history and embrace the new and all it has to offer.

[Herman]

Soon the choice for a camera will be either for a smartphone digital one or a film camera.

[RubyT]

I was recently forced to upgrade my phone as well, and the Pixel 6 Pro camera has really freed me to hike with less weight. It's amazing what is possible now.

[Dan Khong]

Mike

Got new toy, eh? That should keep you company for a while.
You mentioned, "Something a little funky is going on at the top edge of the sunlit portion of the solid stem of the lamp.." I would not have noticed if you did not bring attention to that.
When it acts funky, it is possible that the prototype of iPhone 13 is a.k.a iFone 13.
Share more images. I have a funny feeling that your blog has caught the attention of the big wigs at Apple.

Dan K

[BWJones]

Apple has a crazy good algorithm for sharpening animal fur. I can *always* tell the iPhone images of animals from even the sharpest Leica glass I own, and not in a bad way. Computational photography is here.

[Kye Wood]

Just the guts. I like these sorts of posts. No fluff and on brand.

I'm shocked at how usable those images are. So! So that's why people buy Apple phones. Ah.

Still too expensive on my value metric scale though. I'll drop 5K on a guitar and not blink. 2K on a chainsaw - who cares. But the cost of an iPhone, when it's something you can destroy by dropping it out of your pocket - nope. Bridge too far.

[aaron c greenman]

Enjoy! And yes, amazing…..

ACG

[John Krill]

How large of prints can you make from these images?

[That's a good question. We'll see. --Mike]

[John Y]

Hi Mike,

Are you familiar with the Dall-E-2 AI project? If not, Google it.

AI is now at a stage that the computer can “improvise” and make up the details and contents in photos and we can’t tell the difference. That’s what Super Resolution in Photoshop is doing, what AI noise reduction is doing, at a very primitive level. Dall-E-2 takes it to a whole new level.

I can only speculate. I think this kind of technologies are employed in our phone’s cameras as well. Some details we see in the final photos are actually not captured through the lens. Just like Steve McCurry crossing the line, this is flirting with the red line defining what photography is.

[Speed]

Re: Prints ...

Far better than expected.

I have printed 13 inch by 19 inch with surprisingly good results. Available-light images made when the light available wasn't much, require a steady hand (better yet a tiny tripod) and some fiddling in-phone.

Black and white prints can be stunning.