Changed my mind on buying the pro max 16 - have now ordered the Sony A7R 5 with a GM lens - Very confident the images will be better than the new iphone
@@hudsoncaceres6820and 3 time the longevity for the body, 4 time for the lens, 3 time resell value. Oh and true memories with charm and style that can be print on the wall of your home.
I'm not so interested in comparing last year's model to this year's. A year over year upgrade is pretty excessive, and expensive. I'm more interested in the comparison to the 14, 13, or even 12. Those are the devices getting close to upgrade time.
People like me who have neither the 15 Pro or the 16 Pro and want to decide whether it's worth it getting the newer model find this comparison very useful.
I've seen a comparison between 15, 12 Pro and 6 year old XS, except in video stabilization, extreme low light and a very few shorts, the XS and 15 produced similar results. Without comparing with the 15 and 12 Pro, most XS photos can be mistaken as captured by a new iPhone. And the 12 Pro and 15 captured almost same to same results. This video is available on youtube. If little has improved in 5 years and very little has improved in 3 years, I don't think there is a reason to upgrade, especially when considering most people who are going to buy the 16 series are current 13 series users.
Dude, your mind is gonna be blown. You are going from one 12MP in the back to two 48MP in the back and one 12MP. You are going from a 7MP FaceTime to a 12MP FaceTime camera. From Touch ID to Face ID. 625 nit 1400:1 contrast ratio LCD to a 2800 nit 2 million:1 contrast ratio OLED. From an aluminum chassis to titanium. Lightning to USB C. Better speakers, better water resistance. An A10 with a single core of 770 and a multi-core of 3300 to an A17 Pro Chip with a single-core of 3000 and a multi-core of 7800. 60hz to 120hz. It's like going from a 2002 Camaro SS to a 2024 Corvette Z06.
@Tony, I wonder if you used the camera "control" button at 6:18 to take your wide angle image at low light? MaxTech noted worse images when photos are taken using "camera control" due to the vibration from the button push introducing motion blur. While the iPhone's computational photography collects many images, it might explain why your image is worse at low light and isn't impacted in the light of day.
@@neiltsakatsa Kinda. The implementation does not seem to be very good. Apple should've made it completely a solid state button, with adjustable pressure sensitivity. That way, you could take pictures with just a very light press, and not introduce shaking. But at least, as of now, it's a decent shortcut button to the camera. So the action button can be used for something else.
I dont understand why Apple wont allow us to disable the sharpening on iPhones? it ruins the camera and even in ProRAW, the sharpening is enabled by default. You have to go into EDIT and wiggle the sharpening slider just to be able to manually set it to zero. By default it is set to a value, but the edit window wont show you the accurate values. You must wiggle all the sliders to manually set everything to zero even though everything appears to be at zero already. It's the stupidest thing ive ever seen in a smartphone camera.
@@TonyAndChelseaTony, I wonder if you used the camera "control" button at 6m18s to take your wide angle image at low light? Max Tech noted worse images when photos are taken using "camera control" due to the vibration from the button push introducing motion blur. While the iPhone's computational photography collects many images, it might explain why your image is worse at low light and isn't impacted in the light of day.
In order to make up for limited hardware like small image sensor, they apply a lot of processing on the photos which supposedly makes the image look better on a small screen (until you zoom in) and looks overprocessed when viewed on a larger screen.
@@BryanzHAn03 It definitely looks over processed on an iPhone display. And again, it should not be applying sharpening when shooting in ProRAW. That part is completely unnecessary
As someone using a Sony A7c I can relate on this one. It just hits different, the vibe, the charm everything is so much better on the Sony. I’m planning on investing 900€ into a nice sigma lens before upgrading my phone. A lens this good today will last 10 to 20 years and my Sony won’t age either. But people only see the price and forget the idea
I've seen comparison between XS and 15. Other than slightly brighter low light performance and slightly better video stabilization, both captures identical photos and videos. Now a days, upgrading after 5 years gives little improvements.
@@r0main.895 For the exact same reason, I went from a Samsung to a Sony and now I'm considering to get a Sharp phone. The sensor size is 1", not as large as the mirrorless cameras, but still significantly larger than all other smartphones and the photos captured by it looks natural without any over processing.
@@arjunkrishna1 it still is a phone so there is much more than the photo video part. Updates, ram, fluidity, speed, cellular performance, battery life, heat management. All of this is extremely important and got way better since the xs.
@@r0main.895 Most iPhone users I know only use Instagram and Snapchat anyway, I don't think the extra RAM and other things makes much difference to them.
i personally wanted a dedicated camera button on iPhones. But with that camera control, 4k 120, and ai being the only upgrades, I’ma just stick to 13 for a while. The cameras being 48mp are going to need a biggger sensor and wider aperture i think, since everyone has been saying the ultra wide is even worse in lower light now. I’ve had the 5s, 7 plus, and 13 pro max. I feel like the 5s and 13 have been their best releases with actual upgrades. Otherwise, I really wish all companies stopped producing yearly e waste with incremental ‘upgrades’
Still can’t believe they gave us 4k 120 and raw max photos and they DIDN’T give us more memory. I don’t like the cloud. I use 300gb in a single video shoot with the iPhone as a C cam.pretty lame. I’ll be waiting on a memory upgrade. My 13pro is still doing fine and I use my R5 for real photography anyways.
@@Kjillustrated I just want what I have now but with more space. It’s been 3 years since they released an iPhone with 1tb. They’ve triple processing speeds and made many big improvements but the issue is that every year I accumulate more data that I want to keep on my device but the maximum memory does not increase and like I said I am not a fan of the cloud.
@@fred6464 I’ve tried that workflow but with storage over lightning connection. It’s just too cumbersome for me. Granted a USB-C connection would provide faster throughput. It just seems like a moneygrubbing way of forcing people to pay for more cloud storage rather than giving people who buy pro devices what they want, which is local storage for their “pro” devices.
Camera Control button is an unnecessary gimmick that takes up hardware space and adds nothing at this point … in fact, pressing on the button moves and shakes the phone and the slide / zoom range is less than me using the screen.
Pressing the volume button to take photos creates the same shake potential, so it is a problem that existed before. When filming, using the slide control is far better than pinch if you are attempting to take a handheld dolly zoom, or make minor adjustments on zoom without touching the screen / potentially introducing even more vibrations.
As someone who has used many phones over the last 20 years with a dedicated camera button - a 2-stage shutter can be enormously useful to lock focus/exposure and recompose. It seems like they just bungled the implementation here.
The camera button on the iPhone 16 pros and pro max made me laugh when all I have to do on my 15 pro max is to swipe from the right on the Lock Screen to get to the camera 😂😂 and people fall for this shit 🤦🏾♂️
Minor benefit is when you’re in an app and want the camera; it’s a bit quicker then… But yeah. I agree…and I have a 16 Pro (upgraded from a 13 Pro and it was worth it, but not for the camera button 😂)
Seem to be saying more positive things overall. Hopefully the worst issue (ultra wide) at low light can be fixed in software. I have no issues with the camera button, though do feel the acceleration curve (like you can do with a mouse in Windows) should be changed, or user-configurable. I like the less processing overall, and better overall detail. Been shooting with both phones since the 16 pro launch. Having done a couple iPhone interviews, I appreciate the mic upgrades greatly too!
I appreciate you being the only channel on all of TH-cam willing to call out the horrible trend of iPhone just throwing in more buzzwords to sell people the same camera. I’ve always hated their fake zoom processing but nobody seems to care. Shooting with the portrait lens at low light means Apple actually uses the wide angle lens and crops 2x instead of using the optical zoom lens you paid for and advertised about.
The problem with the wide angle camera is that the sensor is way too small to take 48 million pixels, something like 1/2.5 inch. The main camera sensor apparently is 1/1.4 inch, which is twice the area, so it can take 48 mpix, and collect information reliably. But the smaller one cant, so it's just mush in low light.
How come no one is talking about: when you cover the 13mm and 24mm lenses… in photo mode and video mode the x5 doesn’t use the 120mm lens… it’s only in slowmo and pano… the x5 actually crops the 24mm…. This has been the case from 2023 15promax
There might be an app to download which would give you direct control over camera selection. There's something like that for Android. On Android, simply go into camera settings and, under *_Camera Assistant,_* deselect *_Auto lens switching._*
Apple need to resolve this… not give third party developers sdk to put a patch. that’s ridiculous to have a phone with three cameras and have to rely on another company to basically resolve and underlying inherent problem with this device which, if it was a car would have been recalled…. My shock is that no one has called them out…. Same issue on 16 as well…
Technology has plateaued and so are incremental updates. Reviewers fear they will be redundant so I see them resort to sensationalism like this to attract interest
Folks balk at the comparison of an iPhone to a real camera. Ok how about comparing the iPhone to a Canon t7 rebel with a kit lens, which can be bought for less than half the price of the iPhone 16 max? ❤ do it, do it, do it.
For twice the cost of a Canon t7, the 16 pro can make phone calls, text, use gps mapping, run great games, etc. It can run almost 5 million different apps and you can slip the thing in your pocket. I agree a good dedicated camera should be able to take better pictures but you might not be lugging it around when you get the perfect shot opportunity. The iPhone would always be available for the shot. I think they would both be good tools for a photographer. ✌
Could it be the iPhone you are using is not good? If it is all iPhone 16 pros, can a firmware update fix it? I'm still using the 12 pro max and happy with it, but figured it was time for a new one. I'll wait a while before I buy the 16 pro.
Could be they rushed to market and the problems in the 16 are the result of unpolished software. In which a software upgrade in six months might change things. Or not. Keep pixel peeping, Tony. It is good to see someone digging up facts.
I’m desperate for them to allow us to control the sharpness that they force apply on our videos. I HATE apples baked in sharpness. It’s too much. Their last natural looking video quality was with the iPhone X back in 2017. I prefer natural looking quality.
In my experience, there is too much emphasis put on sensor megapixels and hence detail, unless of course you are in the business of severely cropping your images. If you sit at your computer every day and pixel peep e.g. in Lightroom its easy to compare images captured at say 6mp, 12mp, 24mp or 48mp and conclude that one has more detail than the other, has less noise, is sharper, RAW is better than jpeg etc etc. The real comparisons should take place when the files are printed out and viewed. What the human eye is capable of resolving, in terms of lines per inch, together with viewing distance will be a far more significant factor than file size or megapixels, when comparing similar photographs, captured by different sized sensors. When one looks at a painting or photo in a gallery, one generally stands at a comfortable distance from the artwork in order to do so. The print has a fixed size and one tends to view it from a naturally comfortable distance, often dependant on the subject matter. I would argue that none of us, routinely stand just a few inches away from a large oil painting to view it, as all we are likely to see are thick blobs of colour, often with no discernible or meaningful detail at all. In order to see it properly, we stand back until our gaze brings the blobs and brush strokes into a resolvable and understandable whole, which is what the artist or photographer wanted you to see in the first place. It really is no different with digital images or photographs. I've worked with film and digital cameras. From the great Ilford HP5 film on 35mm, through medium format, now DSLR, APS-C, M43 and now the Iphone 15 Pro. You know what, I've taken great photos on all of them, many rubbish too. I'll say this, this old adage holds true "The best camera is the one you have with you." I bought the Iphone 15 Pro about 10 days ago, it is a very capable camera. For photographers, the out of camera jpegs are very very good, providing you stick to the Normal wide lens at 24mm, 28mm (1.2x) and 35mm (1.5x) settings. The 48mm (2x) setting produces substandard images with clearly visible digital artifacts and I will not use this setting. The stand-out for me is the 77mm (3x), which produces excellent images, perfect for general, street photography and portraits. It is also possible to import Apple PRORAW files into Lightroom for greater final image control. So whether the 16 Pro is better or worse that the 15 Pro is a moot point, they are both capable cameras, capable of producing very good out of camera jpegs. I personally prefer the 77mm (3x) telephoto on the 15 Pro, more than the 120mm(5x) on the 15 Pro Max, 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max. For those of us brought up on manual focus film cameras, with 24 or 36 images on a roll, manual metering, developing/printing costs, thank your lucky stars if you own either of these Iphones, or for that matter any other digital camera. You have never had it so good.
I find having the camera control set to choosing the prime lenses better than the zoom. Then you just switch between the lens without worrying about the compromised cropping. This allows you to have each lens in its best quality mode.
Thanks for the review and your ideas. But i think 48 mp in ultra wide are helpful in the portrait and cinematic mode. The create very precise 3d mapping especially on the 2x portrait and cinematic modes. Even on 2x portrait mode the second camera (wide ) use only 4 mp of 48 mp for the depth mapping (In 15 pro - only 0.8 megapixels)
I upgraded from an 8Plus to the Iphone 16Pro. I still havent switched my sim over. I was not excited about it. But an upgrade was long overdue. Now I feel I should have perhaps bought a slightly cheaper 15pro.. or kept using the 8Plus for another year
It's an upgrade for those that never felt the 3x was far enough (like myself). Though agree with some that said, "why not add 5x" and have 4 lenses. I mean Samsung has 5 (granted one is depth).
I wonder if it's the default camera app fault rather than the phone itself. For example, from a different photography state, if I use a 3rd party camera app to take a 30-sec night mode image of astrophotography, I don't get blue dots that I do see with the default camera app
Using the camera control button can introduce shakiness to the image, as the physical button is not as comfortable to use compared to the on-screen shutter button
I”ve heard that the biggest benefit would be in burst raw situations. Not an issue for burst heif. Also, any benefit to jpeg xl with Raw file sizes? I think the lossy compression would put them close to on par with regular heif…
That camera control feels like a downgrade. It would make sense if older iPhones had that button and then decided to remove it and add fingerprint sensor under the screen or sleep/wake button.
My iPhone 16 Pro 1TB is overheating as I try to import 10 hours of 4k Cinematic Footage to my PC. It says I cannot import until these videos have been 'processed'. Its been stuck on a screen that says 'Processing' for over 12 hours and hasn't progressed a millimetre. I don't know if it will ever finish before my phone melts. I need my phone so I can live my life, but there is no information on how many videos have been completed or estimated remaining time, so I don't want to unplug it. Also, there appears to be no way t do this 'processing' without plugging it into my PC to import the footage. I also worry about the file sizes. In regards to the Studio Audio Mix, I needed to go through each clip one by one after I'd filmed them inside the phone. At the time of filming, it kept going back from 4K to HD so thee is sure to be a mixture of both levels of quality among the clips. It's been a nightmare. The camera button was a massive hindrance when mounting the iphone into my forceful tripod clamps so I went into Accessibility Settings and deactivated the camera button completely.
can you please compare the iPhone 16 Pro vs the Galaxy S24 Ultra? me and my wife are photographers, she's iPhone I am S24 Ultra , and we cannot decide which one is better for video.
There’s been an issue showing up with night mode, when shot with a 30 second exposure. There is, on some phones blue marks, splodges on the photos. Did you come across anything like that on your testing?
Went into local store to upgrade from my 13 pro max. Really liked the camera button and can see myself using it. However, I was so eager to see the camera upgrades I performed an impromptu side by side test of what I could photograph in the Apple Store. I was shocked that the UWA images were, as you have noted, visibly worse than the 3 year old model. I shot raw on both. I left and tried a second (subjective) test a few days later in case I made a mistake and I could not get the 16 to look as good as an UWA photo from the 13. The main camera was similar and the 5x zoom too tight for my use case. As a result, won’t be swapping out my 13 for sure. If anything it just shows how good their phones have been for the last few years. My battery lasts all day, all apps work like new and I personally have no issues with the phone. Thanks for the honest comparison Tony!
Tony, I wonder if you used the camera "control" button at 6m18s to take your wide angle image at low light? Max Tech noted worse images when photos are taken using "camera control" due to the vibration from the button push introducing motion blur. While the iPhone's computational photography collects many images, it might explain why your image is worse at low light and isn't impacted in the light of day.
I have an iPhone 13 Pro Max. I just bought a DJI Pocket 3 to play with while I wait for Apple to do something more exciting. It is, after all, a telephone. If I want to take photos I have several M43 cameras that are small and do a much better job than my telephone. Just my 2 cents and YMMV, of course
Thank you für your review. Can you please say something briefly about the selfie camera (front camera). I have the 15 Pro Max and find that the selfie camera's low-light shots are very bad. A fan from germany😊
I have that 16 Pro, and the ultra wide in low light is seriously so bad! I have shots where I have black smudges that have NO info in them, it's just black and stays black (after updates). It's unacceptable for a phone to be that bad for that price.
As a veteran fan of Apple for 45-years, I’m proud to declare that the iPhone 16/16Pro are the first iPhones that I’d skipped buying, and I have no intention of purchasing. Apple today seems to be eager to reenter that phase in its history spanning from the mid-1980s to late 1990s when they got into the habit of hiring more lawyers than engineers.
The 16 series brought better thermals though, less throttling and better performance that shows in real world use. That isn't something a lot realize yet.
I have the 16 Pro Max and I already hate the "camera control" button. It's very hard to use. all of it's functionalities are already accessible through the screen not sure why they added the camera button.
Camera button is super annoying when taking selfies using the rear main camera! Is that better on the apple branded case? I have the Torras, which has a GREAT kick stand back. So, reluctant to switch... but I need to figure out a way to cover that button up or figure out how to grip it better. I've gotten better at it, but it's not so easy.
4:43 why are you comparing the 12mpx on the iphone 15 with the 48mpx on the iphone 16? I'm not sure what's this supposed to illustrate. Wouldn't a comparison of the 48mpx on the iphone 15 vs iphone 16 be more fair? or a comparison of the 12mpx vs 48mpx on the iphone 16 only.
He's comparing the ultra wide cameras not the main cameras. The ultra wide on the 15Pro has 12MP while the ultra wide on the 16pro has 12 or 48 if you shoot in raw
2 things. 1. I missed the part about proving the 16 pro to be worse then 15 pro camera. Simply not being a massive upgrade does not make it a downgrade. Also this may be a non point but software might fix some processing in time fixing some of the errors especially with the new sensor and features. A bug today, might get fixed. 2. When people say not to upgrade, they forget that a lot of people are coming from older iPhones. Take myself for example, I am currently using iPhone 12. That is literally the only reason I am looking into this, because i need a new phone anyway. As a professional video editor I am also looking for a phone with a good camera (for video) and considering the price difference the 16 pro looks more worth it to me then a resell 15 pro. However, if I already had the 15 pro then no I would not upgrade. Important clarification.
I’m getting my wife a 16 Pro to replace a 14 regular. Reason is I’m normally busy with my Nikon Mirrorless and she doesn’t like taking photos on my 14 Pro Max. I’m hoping: 1) its a big enough jump from the regular 14 2) most of what you experienced is down to software and that issues will be addressed 3) they find a way of using those extra MP for mere mortals (self included) who will never in a million years hit that RAW button on a phone
The biggest benefit of the new phone is the slider that brings shadows in and out. It’s actually a huge advantage and works great. You can brings shadows back and make photos look way better
I think your uw issue might be because the ois system has to work harder because of the increased megapixeld and isn't tuned well enough. Might want to try it on a different app
I have a 4yrs old Note20ultra, but I don't use cellphone to shoot an important moment or special events. I use it to shoot documents or just daily use at work. For family and vacation, I bought a Sony A74 full frame with 35GM lens to take family pictures on Christmas, Birthday party or even portrait studio.... Every picture output results is a "piece of art" compare to cellphone camera.
I'm very hesitant to believe videos like this when they do comparisons without showing us exactly the settings they used when they took the photograph and how they took the photograph. Were you using the new camera control button? If so, that would explain the worst photos as it has a lot of vibration. The new button is a great shortcut, but I would never use it to take a photograph, especially in low light.
I went to the 16 Pro from the 13 mini as i couldn't seem to get any focus up close or scan qr codes. I think the camera is really good so far, but i'm not liking the fake software Bokeh on some settings when i change apeture. I need to try it out a bit more when travelling and see how it compares to a proper camera, i'm sure the extra 5x zoom and resolution will come in useful. I can't really press the camera button on the eiger case i picked up, but it's handy for quickly opening the camera which i could never do quickly on the 13 mini. I imagine the 15 pro has a very similar camera, but there might be a few updates and bug fixes coming for the 16.
Would love to know your thoughts, review on the new Xiaomi 14t Pro or the older Ultra. They seem to be more advanced than iPhone with the leica lenses and software, Apple seems to be neglecting pro photographers and focusing on Video these days..Thinking to make the switch.
i am extremely disappointed with the low light on ultrawide especially after seeing last year and this year google pixel 8 and 9 pro what they can do with the ultra wide camera on low light
![เปิด อาณาจักร หมื่นล้าน "สาระตั้ม" l [Nickynachat]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/3XE0nPF4YkQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Changed my mind on buying the pro max 16 - have now ordered the Sony A7R 5 with a GM lens - Very confident the images will be better than the new iphone
at 6 times the cost
@@hudsoncaceres6820you could get a $200 5dmkII and the images will be better than any phone ever
@@hudsoncaceres6820and 3 time the longevity for the body, 4 time for the lens, 3 time resell value. Oh and true memories with charm and style that can be print on the wall of your home.
😂 you really comparing the new iPhone with a full frame
Apple is!
Breaking news - Tim Apple has removed Tony from his Christmas card list
😂
I'm not so interested in comparing last year's model to this year's. A year over year upgrade is pretty excessive, and expensive. I'm more interested in the comparison to the 14, 13, or even 12. Those are the devices getting close to upgrade time.
People like me who have neither the 15 Pro or the 16 Pro and want to decide whether it's worth it getting the newer model find this comparison very useful.
There’s almost no value in upgrading from a 14P. I’m keeping mine and waiting another year.
I've seen a comparison between 15, 12 Pro and 6 year old XS, except in video stabilization, extreme low light and a very few shorts, the XS and 15 produced similar results. Without comparing with the 15 and 12 Pro, most XS photos can be mistaken as captured by a new iPhone. And the 12 Pro and 15 captured almost same to same results. This video is available on youtube. If little has improved in 5 years and very little has improved in 3 years, I don't think there is a reason to upgrade, especially when considering most people who are going to buy the 16 series are current 13 series users.
Yep. Huge upgrade over my 11. And I like the tone control to help tame the over-processing.
I still have the 11 pro max. My biggest complaint is for portraits in the 2x to 4.9x zoom range. The 16 camera will heavily crop the 1X sensor.
im going from the iphone 7, so i think its better than that at least, right?
🤣 Pray
No joke, I'm upgrading from a 7 too.
Dude, your mind is gonna be blown. You are going from one 12MP in the back to two 48MP in the back and one 12MP. You are going from a 7MP FaceTime to a 12MP FaceTime camera. From Touch ID to Face ID. 625 nit 1400:1 contrast ratio LCD to a 2800 nit 2 million:1 contrast ratio OLED. From an aluminum chassis to titanium. Lightning to USB C. Better speakers, better water resistance. An A10 with a single core of 770 and a multi-core of 3300 to an A17 Pro Chip with a single-core of 3000 and a multi-core of 7800. 60hz to 120hz. It's like going from a 2002 Camaro SS to a 2024 Corvette Z06.
nah, the iphone 7 is still better. keep listening to these dissident youtubers
You should wait 1 more year or if it's urgent, just pick iphone 15 if you want better camera quality
@Tony, I wonder if you used the camera "control" button at 6:18 to take your wide angle image at low light? MaxTech noted worse images when photos are taken using "camera control" due to the vibration from the button push introducing motion blur. While the iPhone's computational photography collects many images, it might explain why your image is worse at low light and isn't impacted in the light of day.
Good point. It would be great to get clarity from Tony if he was using the camera control button when taking the low light photos.
In other words, the button is useless. SMH 🤦♂️
@@neiltsakatsaexactly.
@@neiltsakatsa Kinda.
The implementation does not seem to be very good. Apple should've made it completely a solid state button, with adjustable pressure sensitivity. That way, you could take pictures with just a very light press, and not introduce shaking.
But at least, as of now, it's a decent shortcut button to the camera. So the action button can be used for something else.
Lmao 🤣🤣🤣
I dont understand why Apple wont allow us to disable the sharpening on iPhones? it ruins the camera and even in ProRAW, the sharpening is enabled by default. You have to go into EDIT and wiggle the sharpening slider just to be able to manually set it to zero. By default it is set to a value, but the edit window wont show you the accurate values. You must wiggle all the sliders to manually set everything to zero even though everything appears to be at zero already. It's the stupidest thing ive ever seen in a smartphone camera.
Yeah my biggest gripe! Just back off the processing!!
@@TonyAndChelseaTony, I wonder if you used the camera "control" button at 6m18s to take your wide angle image at low light? Max Tech noted worse images when photos are taken using "camera control" due to the vibration from the button push introducing motion blur. While the iPhone's computational photography collects many images, it might explain why your image is worse at low light and isn't impacted in the light of day.
In order to make up for limited hardware like small image sensor, they apply a lot of processing on the photos which supposedly makes the image look better on a small screen (until you zoom in) and looks overprocessed when viewed on a larger screen.
@@BryanzHAn03 It definitely looks over processed on an iPhone display. And again, it should not be applying sharpening when shooting in ProRAW. That part is completely unnecessary
people shouldn't be 'upgrading' yearly. only those on iphone 13 and below. get a real camera that would be equal to iphone 30.
As someone using a Sony A7c I can relate on this one. It just hits different, the vibe, the charm everything is so much better on the Sony. I’m planning on investing 900€ into a nice sigma lens before upgrading my phone. A lens this good today will last 10 to 20 years and my Sony won’t age either. But people only see the price and forget the idea
I've seen comparison between XS and 15. Other than slightly brighter low light performance and slightly better video stabilization, both captures identical photos and videos. Now a days, upgrading after 5 years gives little improvements.
@@r0main.895 For the exact same reason, I went from a Samsung to a Sony and now I'm considering to get a Sharp phone. The sensor size is 1", not as large as the mirrorless cameras, but still significantly larger than all other smartphones and the photos captured by it looks natural without any over processing.
@@arjunkrishna1 it still is a phone so there is much more than the photo video part. Updates, ram, fluidity, speed, cellular performance, battery life, heat management. All of this is extremely important and got way better since the xs.
@@r0main.895 Most iPhone users I know only use Instagram and Snapchat anyway, I don't think the extra RAM and other things makes much difference to them.
i personally wanted a dedicated camera button on iPhones. But with that camera control, 4k 120, and ai being the only upgrades, I’ma just stick to 13 for a while. The cameras being 48mp are going to need a biggger sensor and wider aperture i think, since everyone has been saying the ultra wide is even worse in lower light now.
I’ve had the 5s, 7 plus, and 13 pro max. I feel like the 5s and 13 have been their best releases with actual upgrades. Otherwise, I really wish all companies stopped producing yearly e waste with incremental ‘upgrades’
Still can’t believe they gave us 4k 120 and raw max photos and they DIDN’T give us more memory. I don’t like the cloud. I use 300gb in a single video shoot with the iPhone as a C cam.pretty lame. I’ll be waiting on a memory upgrade.
My 13pro is still doing fine and I use my R5 for real photography anyways.
Add 1TB NVMe Magsafe storage on the back of your iphone for around $130
Everyone wants everything 😢
@@Kjillustrated I just want what I have now but with more space. It’s been 3 years since they released an iPhone with 1tb. They’ve triple processing speeds and made many big improvements but the issue is that every year I accumulate more data that I want to keep on my device but the maximum memory does not increase and like I said I am not a fan of the cloud.
@@fred6464 I’ve tried that workflow but with storage over lightning connection. It’s just too cumbersome for me. Granted a USB-C connection would provide faster throughput. It just seems like a moneygrubbing way of forcing people to pay for more cloud storage rather than giving people who buy pro devices what they want, which is local storage for their “pro” devices.
How much space would you want?@@jacy123
Same thing happened from 12 pro to 13. The 13 today on reddit people are still complaining about blurry pictures
Camera Control button is an unnecessary gimmick that takes up hardware space and adds nothing at this point … in fact, pressing on the button moves and shakes the phone and the slide / zoom range is less than me using the screen.
Pressing the volume button to take photos creates the same shake potential, so it is a problem that existed before. When filming, using the slide control is far better than pinch if you are attempting to take a handheld dolly zoom, or make minor adjustments on zoom without touching the screen / potentially introducing even more vibrations.
As someone who has used many phones over the last 20 years with a dedicated camera button - a 2-stage shutter can be enormously useful to lock focus/exposure and recompose. It seems like they just bungled the implementation here.
The camera button on the iPhone 16 pros and pro max made me laugh when all I have to do on my 15 pro max is to swipe from the right on the Lock Screen to get to the camera 😂😂 and people fall for this shit 🤦🏾♂️
Minor benefit is when you’re in an app and want the camera; it’s a bit quicker then…
But yeah. I agree…and I have a 16 Pro (upgraded from a 13 Pro and it was worth it, but not for the camera button 😂)
Swipe? I use the action button! It's really fast.
I've been using my 16 Pro Max for a week now. It blows away my 13 Pro in usability and speed. Add all the new camera settings, I love it.
I just remapped the action button to open the camera and even that I’ve used like 5x tops during the year
A button press is great for being discreet or quick. Also, it being another button is convenient.
Radishes, not beets
Haha, looking for this comment :)
Seem to be saying more positive things overall. Hopefully the worst issue (ultra wide) at low light can be fixed in software. I have no issues with the camera button, though do feel the acceleration curve (like you can do with a mouse in Windows) should be changed, or user-configurable. I like the less processing overall, and better overall detail. Been shooting with both phones since the 16 pro launch. Having done a couple iPhone interviews, I appreciate the mic upgrades greatly too!
Do you have something like this comparing the Pixel 8 to the Pixel 9? Love the video!
I appreciate you being the only channel on all of TH-cam willing to call out the horrible trend of iPhone just throwing in more buzzwords to sell people the same camera. I’ve always hated their fake zoom processing but nobody seems to care. Shooting with the portrait lens at low light means Apple actually uses the wide angle lens and crops 2x instead of using the optical zoom lens you paid for and advertised about.
Tony, what about coming from the 13 Pro Max to the 16 Pro Max would you make the upgrade?
Yes. Or get a 15 pro max and you’ll be just fine but having the 16 would be nice because you’d get USB-C!
I have a 12 pro Max so I think the upgrade is worthwhile ?
The problem with the wide angle camera is that the sensor is way too small to take 48 million pixels, something like 1/2.5 inch. The main camera sensor apparently is 1/1.4 inch, which is twice the area, so it can take 48 mpix, and collect information reliably. But the smaller one cant, so it's just mush in low light.
How come no one is talking about: when you cover the 13mm and 24mm lenses… in photo mode and video mode the x5 doesn’t use the 120mm lens… it’s only in slowmo and pano… the x5 actually crops the 24mm…. This has been the case from 2023 15promax
Is anyone else noticing the same?
There might be an app to download which would give you direct control over camera selection. There's something like that for Android.
On Android, simply go into camera settings and, under *_Camera Assistant,_* deselect *_Auto lens switching._*
Apple need to resolve this… not give third party developers sdk to put a patch. that’s ridiculous to have a phone with three cameras and have to rely on another company to basically resolve and underlying inherent problem with this device which, if it was a car would have been recalled…. My shock is that no one has called them out…. Same issue on 16 as well…
Technology has plateaued and so are incremental updates. Reviewers fear they will be redundant so I see them resort to sensationalism like this to attract interest
Smartphones have plateaued, other technologies are just getting started
Yup. Totally agree!!!!
There's absolutely No Reason to upgrade 😮.
Folks balk at the comparison of an iPhone to a real camera. Ok how about comparing the iPhone to a Canon t7 rebel with a kit lens, which can be bought for less than half the price of the iPhone 16 max? ❤ do it, do it, do it.
For twice the cost of a Canon t7, the 16 pro can make phone calls, text, use gps mapping, run great games, etc. It can run almost 5 million different apps and you can slip the thing in your pocket. I agree a good dedicated camera should be able to take better pictures but you might not be lugging it around when you get the perfect shot opportunity. The iPhone would always be available for the shot. I think they would both be good tools for a photographer. ✌
Could it be the iPhone you are using is not good? If it is all iPhone 16 pros, can a firmware update fix it? I'm still using the 12 pro max and happy with it, but figured it was time for a new one. I'll wait a while before I buy the 16 pro.
Could be they rushed to market and the problems in the 16 are the result of unpolished software. In which a software upgrade in six months might change things. Or not.
Keep pixel peeping, Tony. It is good to see someone digging up facts.
Apple is only interested in spying on everything you do now.....
I’m desperate for them to allow us to control the sharpness that they force apply on our videos. I HATE apples baked in sharpness. It’s too much. Their last natural looking video quality was with the iPhone X back in 2017. I prefer natural looking quality.
Amen brother... And on their heic files.
In my experience, there is too much emphasis put on sensor megapixels and hence detail, unless of course you are in the business of severely cropping your images. If you sit at your computer every day and pixel peep e.g. in Lightroom its easy to compare images captured at say 6mp, 12mp, 24mp or 48mp and conclude that one has more detail than the other, has less noise, is sharper, RAW is better than jpeg etc etc. The real comparisons should take place when the files are printed out and viewed. What the human eye is capable of resolving, in terms of lines per inch, together with viewing distance will be a far more significant factor than file size or megapixels, when comparing similar photographs, captured by different sized sensors. When one looks at a painting or photo in a gallery, one generally stands at a comfortable distance from the artwork in order to do so. The print has a fixed size and one tends to view it from a naturally comfortable distance, often dependant on the subject matter. I would argue that none of us, routinely stand just a few inches away from a large oil painting to view it, as all we are likely to see are thick blobs of colour, often with no discernible or meaningful detail at all. In order to see it properly, we stand back until our gaze brings the blobs and brush strokes into a resolvable and understandable whole, which is what the artist or photographer wanted you to see in the first place. It really is no different with digital images or photographs.
I've worked with film and digital cameras. From the great Ilford HP5 film on 35mm, through medium format, now DSLR, APS-C, M43 and now the Iphone 15 Pro. You know what, I've taken great photos on all of them, many rubbish too. I'll say this, this old adage holds true "The best camera is the one you have with you." I bought the Iphone 15 Pro about 10 days ago, it is a very capable camera. For photographers, the out of camera jpegs are very very good, providing you stick to the Normal wide lens at 24mm, 28mm (1.2x) and 35mm (1.5x) settings. The 48mm (2x) setting produces substandard images with clearly visible digital artifacts and I will not use this setting. The stand-out for me is the 77mm (3x), which produces excellent images, perfect for general, street photography and portraits. It is also possible to import Apple PRORAW files into Lightroom for greater final image control.
So whether the 16 Pro is better or worse that the 15 Pro is a moot point, they are both capable cameras, capable of producing very good out of camera jpegs. I personally prefer the 77mm (3x) telephoto on the 15 Pro, more than the 120mm(5x) on the 15 Pro Max, 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max. For those of us brought up on manual focus film cameras, with 24 or 36 images on a roll, manual metering, developing/printing costs, thank your lucky stars if you own either of these Iphones, or for that matter any other digital camera. You have never had it so good.
I find having the camera control set to choosing the prime lenses better than the zoom. Then you just switch between the lens without worrying about the compromised cropping. This allows you to have each lens in its best quality mode.
Thanks for the review and your ideas.
But i think 48 mp in ultra wide are helpful in the portrait and cinematic mode. The create very precise 3d mapping especially on the 2x portrait and cinematic modes.
Even on 2x portrait mode the second camera (wide ) use only 4 mp of 48 mp for the depth mapping
(In 15 pro - only 0.8 megapixels)
I upgraded from an 8Plus to the Iphone 16Pro. I still havent switched my sim over. I was not excited about it. But an upgrade was long overdue. Now I feel I should have perhaps bought a slightly cheaper 15pro.. or kept using the 8Plus for another year
It‘s a downgrade. I mostly use the 3x camera - that‘s gone
For the Pro models, you'll be missing out on the x3 camera! He didn't even mention it, but that's absolutely an issue as well.
Agree, also using 3x the most, 5x is more difficult to use, especially in interiors...
It's an upgrade for those that never felt the 3x was far enough (like myself). Though agree with some that said, "why not add 5x" and have 4 lenses. I mean Samsung has 5 (granted one is depth).
@@Neuwerks Well, I liked that the pro had the 3x and the max had the 5x, so we had the option to pick
@@Neuwerks Same here. I prefer the 5X on my 16 Pro Max vs the 3X on my 13 Pro. Overall the new phone is so much better.
I’m going to return my 14Pm and have a burner if needed, but what do dou say, does it worth to buy a 16P, or should I get instantly a 15P/PM?
So, upgrading from a 12, do I go for a 15 pro or 16/16 pro? 🤔
The 15 pro had the 3x zoom which is much more frequently used than the 5x in the 15 pro max and 16 pros.
Are the camera issues that can be fixed with a software update?
Which iPhone for photography and videography now after iPhone release? 14, 15 or 16 Serie?
I wonder if it's the default camera app fault rather than the phone itself. For example, from a different photography state, if I use a 3rd party camera app to take a 30-sec night mode image of astrophotography, I don't get blue dots that I do see with the default camera app
What is your recommendation if you are on a 14 Pro Max? 16 Pro Max, or wait for the 17?
Thank you for the review. I won't be buying the 16 pro anytime soon. No real added value at all compared to even the 14 pro.
Using the camera control button can introduce shakiness to the image, as the physical button is not as comfortable to use compared to the on-screen shutter button
What about the shooting speed? My understanding is that the main improvement for the 24mm is the readout speed, which is what enables the 4K 120...
I didn't find any benefit but I suppose rolling shutter would be better. I don't really worry about that on an iphone.
I”ve heard that the biggest benefit would be in burst raw situations. Not an issue for burst heif. Also, any benefit to jpeg xl with Raw file sizes? I think the lossy compression would put them close to on par with regular heif…
That camera control feels like a downgrade. It would make sense if older iPhones had that button and then decided to remove it and add fingerprint sensor under the screen or sleep/wake button.
My iPhone 16 Pro 1TB is overheating as I try to import 10 hours of 4k Cinematic Footage to my PC. It says I cannot import until these videos have been 'processed'. Its been stuck on a screen that says 'Processing' for over 12 hours and hasn't progressed a millimetre. I don't know if it will ever finish before my phone melts. I need my phone so I can live my life, but there is no information on how many videos have been completed or estimated remaining time, so I don't want to unplug it. Also, there appears to be no way t do this 'processing' without plugging it into my PC to import the footage. I also worry about the file sizes. In regards to the Studio Audio Mix, I needed to go through each clip one by one after I'd filmed them inside the phone. At the time of filming, it kept going back from 4K to HD so thee is sure to be a mixture of both levels of quality among the clips. It's been a nightmare. The camera button was a massive hindrance when mounting the iphone into my forceful tripod clamps so I went into Accessibility Settings and deactivated the camera button completely.
can you please compare the iPhone 16 Pro vs the Galaxy S24 Ultra? me and my wife are photographers, she's iPhone I am S24 Ultra , and we cannot decide which one is better for video.
You also have to remember that they’ve added new tone mapping features that is more controllable, so if you set it right it may look less digital.
Can you still use the volume button to trip the shutter, or is that now deprecated on the iPhone 16?
So now what do I upgrade from my iPhone SE 2020 😮 15 pro or 16 pro
There is a software bug in the pixel processing pipeline, this will be fixed in one of the next updates.
Let's hope!
I came here to say the same, looks more like a software issue than a hardware issue.
Main sensor in low light maybe a lot better
There’s been an issue showing up with night mode, when shot with a 30 second exposure. There is, on some phones blue marks, splodges on the photos. Did you come across anything like that on your testing?
What software do you use to process iPhone 16 Pro raw images? DxO won’t do it.
doesnt iphone 16 pro have 48 mp macro ? should i buy the iphone 15 pro max or the 16 pro theyre the same price
Well it crops to 12MP. Check the video to decide which is better for how you shoot.
@@TonyAndChelsea so there's no difference in macro?
Went into local store to upgrade from my 13 pro max. Really liked the camera button and can see myself using it. However, I was so eager to see the camera upgrades I performed an impromptu side by side test of what I could photograph in the Apple Store. I was shocked that the UWA images were, as you have noted, visibly worse than the 3 year old model. I shot raw on both. I left and tried a second (subjective) test a few days later in case I made a mistake and I could not get the 16 to look as good as an UWA photo from the 13. The main camera was similar and the 5x zoom too tight for my use case. As a result, won’t be swapping out my 13 for sure. If anything it just shows how good their phones have been for the last few years. My battery lasts all day, all apps work like new and I personally have no issues with the phone. Thanks for the honest comparison Tony!
Video quality looks great. Can U share infor device used ?
Did you test 12MP RAW from the 13mm lens in Lowlight as well?! Would be interesting, if that brings back the quality on the 15 model level!
Tony, I wonder if you used the camera "control" button at 6m18s to take your wide angle image at low light? Max Tech noted worse images when photos are taken using "camera control" due to the vibration from the button push introducing motion blur. While the iPhone's computational photography collects many images, it might explain why your image is worse at low light and isn't impacted in the light of day.
Did you test the telephoto? I tried looking at a 4.8x zoom and 5x native telephoto and couldn't tell the difference
Sometimes when you take 5X photos it's actually using the same main sensor, not the telephoto. Check the file information.
I noticed - so what’s the point in the telephoto?
It's the same so I didn't test it
I have an iPhone 13 Pro Max. I just bought a DJI Pocket 3 to play with while I wait for Apple to do something more exciting. It is, after all, a telephone. If I want to take photos I have several M43 cameras that are small and do a much better job than my telephone. Just my 2 cents and YMMV, of course
When Tony takes the glasses off to start the video gets me every time 😂
Thank you für your review. Can you please say something briefly about the selfie camera (front camera). I have the 15 Pro Max and find that the selfie camera's low-light shots are very bad.
A fan from germany😊
5:00 in Poland we call them radishes (rzodkiewki), not beets (buraki) 😂
I have that 16 Pro, and the ultra wide in low light is seriously so bad! I have shots where I have black smudges that have NO info in them, it's just black and stays black (after updates). It's unacceptable for a phone to be that bad for that price.
...great review and detail regarding the sensor.
As a veteran fan of Apple for 45-years, I’m proud to declare that the iPhone 16/16Pro are the first iPhones that I’d skipped buying, and I have no intention of purchasing. Apple today seems to be eager to reenter that phase in its history spanning from the mid-1980s to late 1990s when they got into the habit of hiring more lawyers than engineers.
LOL. I just bought the 16 Pro, upgrading from the regular 13.
Thank you, your stupidity in buying an iPhone every year really helps product development for incremental updates.
The 16 series brought better thermals though, less throttling and better performance that shows in real world use. That isn't something a lot realize yet.
You buy a new phone every year? Why?
@@sinetwoyou take a shower everyday? Why?
What about upgrading from an iPhone 14 ProMax?
14 pro max has same sensor like 15 pro max, and better zoom (3x). Keep it.
Will an IOS upgrade 'fix' the RAW processing on the 15 Pro?
I have the 16 Pro Max and I already hate the "camera control" button. It's very hard to use. all of it's functionalities are already accessible through the screen not sure why they added the camera button.
The button is unwieldy on the large pro max. Easier on the standard size phones.
From what I understand the half press to focus hasn’t been implemented just yet so I’m interested to see how it works.
Camera button is super annoying when taking selfies using the rear main camera! Is that better on the apple branded case? I have the Torras, which has a GREAT kick stand back. So, reluctant to switch... but I need to figure out a way to cover that button up or figure out how to grip it better. I've gotten better at it, but it's not so easy.
Tony is entering the Jor-El phase.
Member when phone upgrades always had very clear, worthwhile, distinctive improvements?
And isn't there also the issue with the 3x optical zoom of the 15 vs the cropped 5x zoom on the 16?
Can you make a camera comparison 14 vs 16? Most people upgrade every 2 years...
Thank you for this honest helpful information. I will wait for the next version and see if these problems have been resolved.
4:43 why are you comparing the 12mpx on the iphone 15 with the 48mpx on the iphone 16? I'm not sure what's this supposed to illustrate. Wouldn't a comparison of the 48mpx on the iphone 15 vs iphone 16 be more fair? or a comparison of the 12mpx vs 48mpx on the iphone 16 only.
He's comparing the ultra wide cameras not the main cameras. The ultra wide on the 15Pro has 12MP while the ultra wide on the 16pro has 12 or 48 if you shoot in raw
@@dalejones146 ah i see
Not upgrading. My 15 pro max is working pretty good so no need to upgrade yet
2 things.
1. I missed the part about proving the 16 pro to be worse then 15 pro camera. Simply not being a massive upgrade does not make it a downgrade.
Also this may be a non point but software might fix some processing in time fixing some of the errors especially with the new sensor and features. A bug today, might get fixed.
2. When people say not to upgrade, they forget that a lot of people are coming from older iPhones. Take myself for example, I am currently using iPhone 12. That is literally the only reason I am looking into this, because i need a new phone anyway. As a professional video editor I am also looking for a phone with a good camera (for video) and considering the price difference the 16 pro looks more worth it to me then a resell 15 pro.
However, if I already had the 15 pro then no I would not upgrade. Important clarification.
It's worse as it make same quality images for more storage requirements and higher pricew
@@o.maryn.o You shouldn't even comment if you haven't watched the video. Ultra wide has much worse quality in low light.
Good job, Tim Cook would be proud of you reading your comment. Defending the undefendable, a true Cult member
@@o.maryn.o Not if your using the new JPG XL. Looks very promising. only on 16 Pro.
I chance they can fix that with an update
Great review. 👍 Did you have any thoughts on the Audio Mix feature. You didn't mention it so I assume you weren't impressed with it.
I deeply respect the independence and integrity you display by telling it like it is.
You do such a great shop in reviewing the phone cameras, keep up the good work. I wish you would review the Pixel
I’m getting my wife a 16 Pro to replace a 14 regular. Reason is I’m normally busy with my Nikon Mirrorless and she doesn’t like taking photos on my 14 Pro Max. I’m hoping:
1) its a big enough jump from the regular 14
2) most of what you experienced is down to software and that issues will be addressed
3) they find a way of using those extra MP for mere mortals (self included) who will never in a million years hit that RAW button on a phone
The biggest benefit of the new phone is the slider that brings shadows in and out. It’s actually a huge advantage and works great. You can brings shadows back and make photos look way better
Glad to see you finally confirm that the 48mpx quad can be sharper.
You should do a Video on the new Xiaomi 14t pro and the 14 ultra since they have great Leica cameras
I think your uw issue might be because the ois system has to work harder because of the increased megapixeld and isn't tuned well enough. Might want to try it on a different app
The hdr doesn't work on my phone
Great work man, this is the kind of technical comparison i look for.
I have a 4yrs old Note20ultra, but I don't use cellphone to shoot an important moment or special events. I use it to shoot documents or just daily use at work.
For family and vacation, I bought a Sony A74 full frame with 35GM lens to take family pictures on Christmas, Birthday party or even portrait studio.... Every picture output results is a "piece of art" compare to cellphone camera.
I'm very hesitant to believe videos like this when they do comparisons without showing us exactly the settings they used when they took the photograph and how they took the photograph. Were you using the new camera control button? If so, that would explain the worst photos as it has a lot of vibration. The new button is a great shortcut, but I would never use it to take a photograph, especially in low light.
I went to the 16 Pro from the 13 mini as i couldn't seem to get any focus up close or scan qr codes. I think the camera is really good so far, but i'm not liking the fake software Bokeh on some settings when i change apeture. I need to try it out a bit more when travelling and see how it compares to a proper camera, i'm sure the extra 5x zoom and resolution will come in useful.
I can't really press the camera button on the eiger case i picked up, but it's handy for quickly opening the camera which i could never do quickly on the 13 mini.
I imagine the 15 pro has a very similar camera, but there might be a few updates and bug fixes coming for the 16.
I love these videos!
Without a doubt. You analyse the details more thoroughly than anybody else does. It's very interesting. Good job!
Would love to know your thoughts, review on the new Xiaomi 14t Pro or the older Ultra. They seem to be more advanced than iPhone with the leica lenses and software, Apple seems to be neglecting pro photographers and focusing on Video these days..Thinking to make the switch.
What about third party on-camera photo applications not using Apple’s processing?
Breaking news - Tony doesn’t know the difference between a beet and a radish 😆
i am extremely disappointed with the low light on ultrawide especially after seeing last year and this year google pixel 8 and 9 pro what they can do with the ultra wide camera on low light
No one is saying this... they copied the Canon Eos R. With the sliding tab...
thats funny low light wide angle was number 1 on my wishlist for future improvements
Interesting review and results... I was just hoping for better low light ultra wide angle for the 16 pro. And we got the opposite...!
On iOS 18 ?
Would LOVE to see the return of the physical front home button. I miss it so much, I would give up coffee to see it come back, and I love coffee.