Android Authority have done a really great post showing a load of sample from the Pixel 7 Pro. It’s good to see the photos from different scenarios and as I’ve experienced in the past with my last Pixel (3A) it’s a really good point and shoot alternative.
The only thing missing for me is astrophotography, although there are some good night pictures.
When I’ve been testing the ProRAW capabilities on the iPhone 14 Pro I’ve found it difficult and slow going from the 48MP image to editing in Photos and sharing. On doing some research it seems I’m not not alone.
Improved digital workflow support: Attention to digital workflow is critical, and in my opinion it’s this area that needs the most improvement. I’ve wasted 5+ hours just this week trying to get photos/videos off my iPhone using a combination of Apple Photos and Image Capture so I can back up, review, and share.
The above quote is what Austin Mann had to say about it. I’m nowhere near this level but it’s amazing how quickly I ran into it.
I’ve been camera testing a little today with the iPhone 14 Pro and I’ve started to really look at the new 48MP ProRAW format. What I have discovered is that for the first time in over a year of ownership of my 8GB M1 MacBook Air I’m feeling that lack of RAM (I think!).
I let iCloud do it’s sync then started to edit the RAW images that I took on my morning walk. I was editing them in Photos as I don’t have access to an Adobe subscription and the lag I was experiencing was something I hadn’t seen on the Air before. I was playing with the sliders and they would take sometimes 30 seconds to take effect. I had to also close Photos a couple of times to get it to take notice of my changes.
This isn’t a complaint but an observation, it’s an amazing laptop.
So, experienced photography fan I have some questions
(I’m not aiming to get an M2 midnight MacBook Air as much as I am tempted 😀).
On testing out a few phones over the last couple of weeks I think I’ve come to the conclusion that as someone with a DSLR, that loves using it I’m less reliant on my iPhone. Even testing the new iPhone 14 Pro it doesn’t come close to what I do with my now 8 year old Canon 70D.
If you’re like me and still carry your digital camera with you on trips or just want to get out and take some photos then I have reached the conclusion that I can carry whatever smartphone suits my lifestyle.
After using the iPhone 13 Mini now for months I’ve come accustomed to it’s small profile. It’s pocket friendly, has great battery and a really good camera. No matter how big the lenses are on the new iPhone (and on the 14 Pro they are massive), it’ll never reach what a dedicated camera can do.
This made me realise, why am I working for my iPhone rather than it working for me.
Yes, I love the bigger screen on a 13, 14 or Pro but using it on a day to day basis (for me) is a pain. The compromise I feel in carrying it (well, so far in my testing) isn’t worth the hassle because I’m not seeing enough of an improvement in the camera over my current 13 Mini for those day to day uses.
If you’re using a smartphone as a supplement to your existing camera setup, pick the one that fits into your lifestyle.
I’d love to hear from you on this one.
When Apple introduced a macro option on the iPhone 13 Pro it felt like it was another reason to pick one up but in testing the iPhone 14 Pro I realise it’s not actually that amazing.
A couple of observations I’ve made. (1) you need a lot of light. For me it only really works out well if you’re outside and have a lot of natural light. If you’re inside it’ll be noisy, even outside I found you’ll get a lot of noise unless you’re in perfect conditions.
(2) on testing vs an iPhone with no macro and instead using digital zoom there’s not a lot of difference. I tested vs the iPhone 13 Mini and used digital zoom to push in a bit closer and when comparing to the 14 Pro I’m not seeing a lot of difference.
I’m not seeing enough of an improvement to justify an upgrade in the Macro department. If you pixel peep you’ll see a tiny bit more detail in the 14 Pro but I’m not printing these out and hanging them on a wall so for my money I’m happy just zooming in a little.
I’ve done a little testing with an iPhone 14 Pro vs an iPhone 13 and I’ve come to the conclusion that unless you use the 48MP RAW option the only place the iPhone 14 Pro has an advantage over the 13 is in lower light.
I’ve noticed indoors at night are a bit brighter and a little more detailed and night sky images are definitely brighter and more detailed.
I feel on having a play with the camera is that unless you’re on an iPhone XS or older you’re ok sticking with what you have – from a camera perspective at least.
I’m still amazed at what you can do on modern iPhones in low light.
Not much editing here on these and some taken with a tripod with 5s exposure and some handheld with 3s.
It’s one of the reasons that in some situations I’m grabbing my iPhone over my DSLR. It’s another reason I’m sticking on iPhone over the Nothing Phone (1). I can just tap and take a picture with no messing around.
Safe to say I’ll be sticking with iPhone for astrophotography.
There’s some samples out there, this being one of the best I’ve found. I’m intrigued to try this phone out because it looks so different and unique but I’m a little concerned about the camera.
From my reading into it, the Nothing seems to fall down in lower light and moving subjects. Something I don’t take a lot of photos of these days so I might be ok.
A VS iPhone 13 might be something to look at. I’m getting more into photography these days and thinking about doing more content on mobile photography in general.
I always look forward to these reviews from Austin Mann. He looks at things from the photographers perspective and I trust his opinion.
I’ll let you read for yourself but as I’ve seen elsewhere unless you’re on an iPhone 11 Pro or earlier there’s no real reason to upgrade just for the camera.
As someone with an iPhone 13 series camera I’m only really tempted by the zoom this year. I find myself wanting to zoom a lot and often do it digitally, which isn’t ideal.
This last week I’ve been using my iPhone 13 Mini a lot as a compact camera replacement, it’s even replaced my DSLR in some instances.
I’ve used it multiple times a day, even utilising digital zoom where needed and not worried about image quality too much. It’s so light and comfortable to use compared to any other iPhone (for me) due to it’s smaller size.
I’ve been impressed with the quality of image too. The only place it fell down was at the zoo where I wanted my 400mm lens of my DSLR to get that reach without losing quality.
I did consider getting something like a Sony RX100 but at more than £400 more than the cost of a Mini I can’t justify it and the iPhone has a lot of advantages. The main being connectivity and backup. I’ve been using iCloud Photo Library to sync and the SD card reader to import my Canon 70D images. It’s worked so well on holiday.
The iPhone 13 Mini is in my top 3 iPhone models after this trip. (iPhone 7 jet black, iPhone 5c and the iPhone 13 Mini).
I thought I’d start to look at a home for my photography, it’s a hobby I enjoy and want to give it a bit more focus.
I’m loving using Glass and I’ll continue to use it but I also want to find somewhere to help me build something where I can support my creative projects.
So, I’ve setup a SmugMug account as my first test. I’ve got a two week trial and I’ll see if it can help me build somewhere else for my photos where I can back up, share and also sell prints.
Does anyone else do this?
An app I use almost daily is called TouchRetouch and in my opinion it’s the best way to remove objects in images on iOS.
I use it like above where I want to remove a telephone line in my image. I simply select the eraser and swipe where I want to remove it.
As you can see the result is pretty impressive.
I’m a big fan of iPhone photography but on days out I always go back to taking my Canon 70D DSLR.
I’m not the greatest photographer but I do enjoy getting in closer than my iPhone ever will and love the background blur I can get.
I take my Canon out everywhere with me pretty much. Be a day at the Zoo, an air show (remember those!), national trust visit or even just an early morning walk.
I just can’t get anywhere close with an iPhone and wouldn’t expect to.
I think of my iPhone as a way to store memories of where I’ve been and I’m not worried about fidelity of the image.
If I’m out somewhere I know I’ll want to use images as wallpapers or really want to practise then the DSLR comes with me.
Where the iPhone easily has the DSLR beat though is video and I use my iPhone 13 a lot when I’m out. Even using digital zoom it’s a great way to record bits of your trip.
Do you use your iPhone for everything when you go out and about?
LJPUK 