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!
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.
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
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?
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.
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.
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” RUclips photographers perpetuating this 7 lens myth, it is quite shocking!
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
Finally, You are the first person I saw on RUclips 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.
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.
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!!
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.
@@Reg-z3vJobs 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.
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.
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
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.
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
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 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.
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
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.
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.
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
@@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).
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
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 😕
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.
@@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.
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.
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 😂
@@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.
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
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.
This is the most honest review so far. I own iPhone 11 which is good enough but I wanted to upgrade assuming the cameras would be better. But the camera quality of the iPhone 15 Pro Max appears to be a step down from the iPhone 14 Pro Max, particularly with over-processed images for selfies, resulting in a red skin tone that gives the impression of your face appearing unwell or feverish. I personally encountered this issue along with noticeable heating problems, prompting me to return the iPhone 15 Pro Max and ask for refund. It seems at this point, the iPhone 15 Pro Max may not offer a clear advantage over the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
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
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.
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 🤦♂️
@@ChuckD05I 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.
@@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.
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.
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.
@@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
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.
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
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.
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.
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 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!
I am a long time Android user and actually iPhone 15 Pro is the first time iPhone seems attractive enough for me to switch. So I was quite surprised that you find this generation of iPhone so much terrible. :) So a few opinions to the points you made (I have not yet tested the phone in real life): 1) 7 lenses - yes this is definitely a marketing trash talk. Other companies do some trash talk too. So I do not care too much. I know there are only 3 real lenses. I know that the in-between "lenses" are just cropped and upscaled images. It does not worry me as far as the cropping is not too severe and the images look good. 2) 120 mm is useless and makes anything below this zoom a garbage, I completely agree with you. Fortunately I prefer smaller screens (and phones which I can operate with just one hand and that fit into my pocket) so my obvious choice will be 15 Pro (not Max) which has much more useful 3x optical zoom. 3) Quad-pixels probably have no meaning if you do not crop and upscale. But if you do, then quad-pixel can definitely result (at least in theory) in better images. And regarding iCloud, I probably will be using it only as a temporary storage so not a big issue for me. The limited storage will force me to filter and process the images immediately instead of piling them up and never getting back to them... 4) Yeah, I know the calculations are not correct. But it is not a big problem for me as long as the images are usable. I remain pragmatic in this case. 5) I am now not in Apple ecosystem and I do not plan using it too much except for the iPhone. So lets see how it goes with the iPhone, I am now waiting till they arrive to EU. Meanwhile I am using Sony Xperia 1 V which is a kind of strange instrument. It has wonderful main camera producing naturally looking images but the rest of the phone is just so annoying to me (and its zoom is garbage).
How about you review the phone and its photo capabilities when you get it. No point saying the 14 pro with crop will be exactly the same because you know they work on algorithms all the time.
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
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 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.
I've been following your Channel for years and quite honestly I think this is one of the best videos I've seen in a long time. Really really good job articulating all of the concerns with the new iPhone.
Agreed. I haven't heard the points he made here articulated as well anywhere else. I bet the 16 Pro is going to be the real deal and will address SOME of these issues.
As a photographer myself and someone locked into the Apple ecosystem, I can personally attest to the statements you made regarding Iphone 15 Pro Max cameras. I also agree that if we are all locked into this system [group chat comes to mind] then the company should do better by its loyal customer base. It is, quite frankly, shocking that this company can get away with blatantly false and misleading advertising without consequence. For "real" cameras I use Phase One and would never consider a smartphone alternative in pro level photography, but that's just me. Thank you for putting this information out there for everyone to see.
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.
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
Finally, someone with appropriate credentials confirming what I’ve suspected was the physics behind it. Now my decision is what to buy, an old 14 series or which 15, but not the high end.
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.
@@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.
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.
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.
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 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. ✌️
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.
Great video Tony! The problem is that unless people are willing to put up with the short-term pain of moving from iPhone to Android, it gives Apple no incentive to improve their marketing practices because they know people will never leave. I switch back and forth regularly with no real issues.
A problem specific to USA unfortunately. Here in Europe we do have the choice because nobody is using iMessage. I wish it was the same on your side of the Atlantic.
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 😃😃😃
Great review! You explain the reason I bought a Pro rather than a Pro Max. I don't use 5X much, 3X much more useful. Should I set my 15 Pro to 12MP? I thought the sensor was at its best at 24MP?
good point! Getting the pro myself instead of the Max for the same reason! Besides, you think one can add a tele glass from moment to be used in the wide angle and like that get a better quality tele...? (also cheaper that way...) Thoughts...?
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.
@@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?
I have a 12 Pro Max and was excited about getting an upgrade in large part for the camera. But probably not now. Thank you Tony. I’ll probably take that money and spend it on the serious mirrorless camera I was already planning to purchase in a couple of months.
I was a dummy and preordered the 15 Pro Max early this morning. Had I seen this beforehand I now would have stuck to the Pro or maybe even stuck to my 12 Pro Max.
Exactly same case here, wanted to upgrade from 13 Pro, and just bought sony a7 iii, as my first ever camera and 28-70lens. My assumption at this point, is that iPhone progress in terms of camera improvement will be so turtle slow, that it's better to buy real camera, ofc if you have money. But let's see what 16 generation will bring to us..
I have been very happy with my iPhone 13 Pro for what it is, a camera that makes small sized photos that you can quickly share with family and friends.@@richardanica3232
Don't upgrade I think the S22 or S23 or S24 Ultra Or the 13 Pro Max In my opinion the 13 Pro Max is the best iPhone The S22 Ultra may even be better than the s23 Ultra ( But do your own research on that ) But I have no doubt that the iPhone 13 Pro Max is the best iPhone
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 stripping away a lot of the hype. A few of the things you are highlighting don't turn out to be objectively true. The 24mp images don't take more space, let alone twice as much space for storage. Many other photographers do feel the 24mp images are better than the previous 12mp ones. You're right about the 48mp gimmick. You're sort of right about the cropping vs different lenses. But it is helpful to have a quick way to change the POV of the image and that these changes refer somewhat to real world lens sizes. Computational photography will always be different but different isn't always worse. Subjectivity is involved.
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.😌
Honestly….. having that 5x is really nice. As a 14 pro user, I always wish I had a little more zoom and the 5x is perfect for me in how I shoot. I do wide, macro, ultra wide and now a 5x zoom! Personally, I think it’s great. I never shoot 2-4x. Also, the better aperture is nice :). This is just me, but I completely understand what you’re saying. I laughed when Apple said “it’s like having 7 lenses!” LOL. The marketing is insane…
Yeah. I''m upgrading from a 13 pro to the 15 pro max. I'm often shooting pics from my plane and the 3x just isn't enough. I get what he's saying but for me the 5x will be great. I can work around the lack of intermediate focal lengths.
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.
Tony claimed that the iPhone 14 camera is better but I didn't see any evidence for that. Pus, aren't the sensors on the main camera for the 15 like 50% larger?
Yeh I’m a little skeptical of this video as I have seen other reviews based on just the cameras alone on the iPhone 15/15 max and they seem really good. There is a good video that someone has done with the Samsung s23 ultra vs the iPhone 15 pro max it’s based on photos and videos… really good watch and they go through everything
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 RUclips or company websites)?
These are the reviews we really need to be seeing that gives us an idea of the true picture. Other reviews seem like utter nonsense whenever i find reviews like this which actually get technical. Real world reviews will further show how good/bad these new camera system will be.
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.
I was seriously thinking about upgrading to the iPhone 15 Pro Max to replace my 13 Pro Max. I thought the USB-C would be nice for transfer speed and the new “48 mp camera” seemed like a great upgrade. Until you ruined it all for me. And I am so glad you did. It isn’t something I NEED, so I will be waiting until Apple starts acting like the Old Apple again and see what they come up with that isn’t just smoke and mirrors. (heavy on the mirrors). Thanks so much, Tony.
I understand why owners of recent iPhone models would be hesitant in getting the 15, if there’s not much in the way of innovation. However, I was looking at the pro max as my first Apple phone because of the camera. Is it still worth getting?
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
@@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
Thank you for just saving me from having to switch from my iPhone 14 Pro Max to the 15. Now I can keep my 14 with peace of mind, knowing that I might even have the better one. I noticed again how clumsily I react to the clever marketing. I'm totally happy with the 14 iPhone Pro Max, why not? Great part and yet I immediately thought about when my contract would allow me to switch to the next mobile phone. I actually consider myself to be quite intelligent and yet I still fall for marketing all the time. I tried a trick last year because every year the latest iPhone is the very, very best. Last year I took a few screenshots of the description of the 14. and when you read it again a year later, when the new iPhone is introduced, you realize what a great thing you have, and that it is just a year old. Many things that are advertised to you as “new” are also available on your iPhone. And sometimes the new thing, see your video, is even worse.
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.
Where are you getting the information that 24 megapixel files are to boost iCloud revenue? You can literally go into the settings and select 12MP as your default if you'd like. Same as before. Why did you leave that part out if your whole point is that you are disappointed by Apple misleading you? Wouldn't that bit of info be helpful to your viewers? I'm sure how you can see how it feels intentionally misleading on your part.
THANK YOU for mentioning the big limitation of the camera set up on the 15 Pro Max that no other review that I've seen mentioned, namely that it REPLACED the very useful 3x by the markedly less useful/practical 5x! If they had added the longer zoom and kept the shorter zoom, like Samsung did, it would've been ideal but since they force the user to choose, I'd certainly choose the 3x. This is no problem for me since I would go for the smaller Pro anyway, but I can see it being a problem for people like Tony who normally go for the larger Pro. What were Apple thinking?
I recently got a 15 Pro Max and agree with all your points made in the video. I’m now looking to return it as the main feature I wanted to use, the 5x telephoto, is useless. In your video at 3:46 you compare the image quality between 14/15 Pro and the 15 Pro Max. Would you say I would be better off getting a 15 Pro instead due to the cropped image quality being better? The title of the video leaves me thinking that the 15 Pro Camera is also rubbish. Thanks and subscribed!
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?
Apple won't change shit in cameras until they rock the 48mp sensor for at least 3-4 years. They will just put software gimmicks and marketing around it to market same shit to buyers each year
@@densakai hes only talking about the camera portion.. and he gave examples with existing model (14 pro max)... but dont buy a phone for a camera.. buy a camera for a camera
@@RyanREAX yes he’s judging it based on a video presentation whose purpose is to make believe. Wait till it comes out, shoot photos with it then make the real judgement.
I feel you Tony, however ally family uses iPhone and I switched to android years ago and I coulent be happier. My family can suffer and work around the android system and have their laughs. Great vid by the way. The 120mm f21 gimick that apple is throwing out is bonkers.
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
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.
I really didn’t want to buy another iPhone, I’ve been so sick of them for years, BUT, as you said, it’s really hard to leave once you’re hooked into their ecosystem. I’m greatly regretting my iPhone 15 pro purchase. I’m going to start moving out of iCloud and into Dropbox to make it easier to switch between phone/computer manufacturers. Their innovation died years ago.
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.
![Coheed and Cambria - Searching for Tomorrow [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/hDsYGLbmadg/mqdefault.jpg)
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?
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.
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.
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” RUclips 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!
Finally, You are the first person I saw on RUclips 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.
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.
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.
@@Reg-z3vJobs 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. 🤷
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?
Thank you Tony, you saved me from a big (& expensive) disappointment. Well presented, shame some RUclipsrs are happy to play up the hype.
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
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.
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
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
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 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 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.
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.
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.
I guess one big lesson from this is to use the buttons to zoom not finger squeeze. That will ensure you don’t hit those cropped midranges.
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.
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
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).
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
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 😕
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.
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.
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..
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
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.
This is the most honest review so far. I own iPhone 11 which is good enough but I wanted to upgrade assuming the cameras would be better. But the camera quality of the iPhone 15 Pro Max appears to be a step down from the iPhone 14 Pro Max, particularly with over-processed images for selfies, resulting in a red skin tone that gives the impression of your face appearing unwell or feverish. I personally encountered this issue along with noticeable heating problems, prompting me to return the iPhone 15 Pro Max and ask for refund. It seems at this point, the iPhone 15 Pro Max may not offer a clear advantage over the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
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
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
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
Thanks for pointing this out. I didn't know Apple removed the 3x optical zoom on the 15 Promax
So if I am still using the 13 Pro Max, there is no need to upgrade?
For what? Get a real camera. Even a late model dslr will make better pics with the right lens.
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.
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 🤦♂️
@@ChuckD05I 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.
@@ChuckD05 Apple can't defy physics. It's easy to see it will be a downgraded experience.
Exceptional video Tony! Glad to know I was not the only “crazy” person watching the launch of the new iPhones.
When any video has ‘The Truth’ in its thumbnail, I instantly go elsewhere for the info I’m after 🤣
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.
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
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.
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
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'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?
The 120mm eq. sounds awesome, should take amazing photos when the sun shines about 3x brighter than usual!
3x brighter than usual what? they've just introduced 120 now, there's no "usual" 120
@@sunlit777He probably means than the 3x 77mm
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 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.
Uhhh lol you see the real cameras this guy owns? He’s not upgrading his freaking iPhone for the camera. Trust me. Good Lord.
I am a long time Android user and actually iPhone 15 Pro is the first time iPhone seems attractive enough for me to switch. So I was quite surprised that you find this generation of iPhone so much terrible. :)
So a few opinions to the points you made (I have not yet tested the phone in real life):
1) 7 lenses - yes this is definitely a marketing trash talk. Other companies do some trash talk too. So I do not care too much. I know there are only 3 real lenses. I know that the in-between "lenses" are just cropped and upscaled images. It does not worry me as far as the cropping is not too severe and the images look good.
2) 120 mm is useless and makes anything below this zoom a garbage, I completely agree with you. Fortunately I prefer smaller screens (and phones which I can operate with just one hand and that fit into my pocket) so my obvious choice will be 15 Pro (not Max) which has much more useful 3x optical zoom.
3) Quad-pixels probably have no meaning if you do not crop and upscale. But if you do, then quad-pixel can definitely result (at least in theory) in better images. And regarding iCloud, I probably will be using it only as a temporary storage so not a big issue for me. The limited storage will force me to filter and process the images immediately instead of piling them up and never getting back to them...
4) Yeah, I know the calculations are not correct. But it is not a big problem for me as long as the images are usable. I remain pragmatic in this case.
5) I am now not in Apple ecosystem and I do not plan using it too much except for the iPhone.
So lets see how it goes with the iPhone, I am now waiting till they arrive to EU. Meanwhile I am using Sony Xperia 1 V which is a kind of strange instrument. It has wonderful main camera producing naturally looking images but the rest of the phone is just so annoying to me (and its zoom is garbage).
How about you review the phone and its photo capabilities when you get it. No point saying the 14 pro with crop will be exactly the same because you know they work on algorithms all the time.
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
@@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.
@@NateGigovicinteresting, can’t wait to see that video!!
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.
I've been following your Channel for years and quite honestly I think this is one of the best videos I've seen in a long time. Really really good job articulating all of the concerns with the new iPhone.
Agreed. I haven't heard the points he made here articulated as well anywhere else. I bet the 16 Pro is going to be the real deal and will address SOME of these issues.
If only it was factually correct.
@@JJohnson313 can't have everything........
As a photographer myself and someone locked into the Apple ecosystem, I can personally attest to the statements you made regarding Iphone 15 Pro Max cameras. I also agree that if we are all locked into this system [group chat comes to mind] then the company should do better by its loyal customer base. It is, quite frankly, shocking that this company can get away with blatantly false and misleading advertising without consequence. For "real" cameras I use Phase One and would never consider a smartphone alternative in pro level photography, but that's just me. Thank you for putting this information out there for everyone to see.
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.
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
Finally, someone with appropriate credentials confirming what I’ve suspected was the physics behind it. Now my decision is what to buy, an old 14 series or which 15, but not the high end.
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.
Ohhhh good point on the upscale and extra storage taken 😢
Enlightenment. Thx Tony. The hypothesis of increasing photo file size, claiming false resolutions is completely right: more icloud storage. Damn!
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
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.
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. ✌️
One of the best and honest review! Talking as an iPhone user.
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.
Great video Tony! The problem is that unless people are willing to put up with the short-term pain of moving from iPhone to Android, it gives Apple no incentive to improve their marketing practices because they know people will never leave. I switch back and forth regularly with no real issues.
A problem specific to USA unfortunately. Here in Europe we do have the choice because nobody is using iMessage. I wish it was the same on your side of the Atlantic.
One of your better presentations, Tony. Really good stuff.
Not really. Always a clown making a video criticising it without having even used it yet.
he's completely wrong lmao
@@densakai yet you watch lol
@@avonbarksdale2506 you should probably explain exactly what he got wrong
@@GreenhornPhototaker yes because i thought he actually got hold of an iphone 15 early like some RUclipsrs tend to do
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 😃😃😃
Great review! You explain the reason I bought a Pro rather than a Pro Max. I don't use 5X much, 3X much more useful.
Should I set my 15 Pro to 12MP? I thought the sensor was at its best at 24MP?
good point! Getting the pro myself instead of the Max for the same reason! Besides, you think one can add a tele glass from moment to be used in the wide angle and like that get a better quality tele...? (also cheaper that way...) Thoughts...?
3X is far more useful for day-to-day pics@@wildpatagoniafilms16
I need to buy a new iPhone do you recommend 14 Pro or 14?
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
I have a 12 Pro Max and was excited about getting an upgrade in large part for the camera. But probably not now. Thank you Tony. I’ll probably take that money and spend it on the serious mirrorless camera I was already planning to purchase in a couple of months.
I re-directed my money exactly like that shortly before the Apple announcement and I'm even happier about that now.
I was a dummy and preordered the 15 Pro Max early this morning. Had I seen this beforehand I now would have stuck to the Pro or maybe even stuck to my 12 Pro Max.
Exactly same case here, wanted to upgrade from 13 Pro, and just bought sony a7 iii, as my first ever camera and 28-70lens. My assumption at this point, is that iPhone progress in terms of camera improvement will be so turtle slow, that it's better to buy real camera, ofc if you have money.
But let's see what 16 generation will bring to us..
I have been very happy with my iPhone 13 Pro for what it is, a camera that makes small sized photos that you can quickly share with family and friends.@@richardanica3232
Don't upgrade
I think the S22 or S23 or S24 Ultra
Or the 13 Pro Max
In my opinion the 13 Pro Max is the best iPhone
The S22 Ultra may even be better than the s23 Ultra
( But do your own research on that )
But I have no doubt that the iPhone 13 Pro Max is the best iPhone
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
They never said it had 7 lenses. They said “ it’s like having 7 lenses” very different.
Thanks for stripping away a lot of the hype. A few of the things you are highlighting don't turn out to be objectively true. The 24mp images don't take more space, let alone twice as much space for storage. Many other photographers do feel the 24mp images are better than the previous 12mp ones. You're right about the 48mp gimmick. You're sort of right about the cropping vs different lenses. But it is helpful to have a quick way to change the POV of the image and that these changes refer somewhat to real world lens sizes. Computational photography will always be different but different isn't always worse. Subjectivity is involved.
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.😌
Honestly….. having that 5x is really nice. As a 14 pro user, I always wish I had a little more zoom and the 5x is perfect for me in how I shoot. I do wide, macro, ultra wide and now a 5x zoom! Personally, I think it’s great. I never shoot 2-4x. Also, the better aperture is nice :). This is just me, but I completely understand what you’re saying. I laughed when Apple said “it’s like having 7 lenses!” LOL. The marketing is insane…
Yeah. I''m upgrading from a 13 pro to the 15 pro max. I'm often shooting pics from my plane and the 3x just isn't enough. I get what he's saying but for me the 5x will be great. I can work around the lack of intermediate focal lengths.
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.
Tony claimed that the iPhone 14 camera is better but I didn't see any evidence for that. Pus, aren't the sensors on the main camera for the 15 like 50% larger?
Yeh I’m a little skeptical of this video as I have seen other reviews based on just the cameras alone on the iPhone 15/15 max and they seem really good. There is a good video that someone has done with the Samsung s23 ultra vs the iPhone 15 pro max it’s based on photos and videos… really good watch and they go through everything
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 RUclips or company websites)?
Thanks for this video. I’m on an old phone and am trying to decide what phone to upgrade to.
These are the reviews we really need to be seeing that gives us an idea of the true picture. Other reviews seem like utter nonsense whenever i find reviews like this which actually get technical. Real world reviews will further show how good/bad these new camera system will be.
The iPhone 15 isn’t out yet so I don’t think this is the best kind of review.
@@manart6506 you know there are people that get early access to there phones, right?
A review before he gets the phone in his hand ? He may be right but this video is based on assumptions
@@ChuckD05Agree he has to wait and see the result when he gets the phone, as of now he is just making assumptions.
@@manart6506exactly. It’s nonsense. “Marketing” just like Apple 🤦♂️
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.
I was seriously thinking about upgrading to the iPhone 15 Pro Max to replace my 13 Pro Max. I thought the USB-C would be nice for transfer speed and the new “48 mp camera” seemed like a great upgrade. Until you ruined it all for me. And I am so glad you did. It isn’t something I NEED, so I will be waiting until Apple starts acting like the Old Apple again and see what they come up with that isn’t just smoke and mirrors. (heavy on the mirrors). Thanks so much, Tony.
most of what Tony is saying is utter nonsense. the focal length crops on the 15 will come from the 48 megapixel image not the 12mp he is assuming
I understand why owners of recent iPhone models would be hesitant in getting the 15, if there’s not much in the way of innovation. However, I was looking at the pro max as my first Apple phone because of the camera. Is it still worth getting?
It is. The math in his video is totally wrong.
1) Macro: 12 mpix image (Ultra-wide lens, full 12 mpix sensor with 2 cm autofocus)
2) 13 mm: 12 mpix image (Ultra-wide lens, full 12 mpix sensor)
3) 24 mm: 12/24 mpix image (Normal lens, full 48 mpix sensor with binning)
4) 28 mm: 12/24 mpix image (Normal lens, cropped 48 mpix sensor with some binning)
5) 35 mm: 12/24 mpix image (Normal lens, cropped 48 mpix sensor with some binning)
6) 48 mm: 12 mpix image (Normal lens, cropped 48 mpix sensor, no binning)
7) 120 mm: 12 mpix image (Tele lens, full 12 mpix sensor)
All images are at least true 12 mpix images.
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
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
3:53 you don’t have the phone 🤦♂️ you may be correct but you cannot put iPhone 15 pro max there
Thank you for just saving me from having to switch from my iPhone 14 Pro Max to the 15. Now I can keep my 14 with peace of mind, knowing that I might even have the better one. I noticed again how clumsily I react to the clever marketing. I'm totally happy with the 14 iPhone Pro Max, why not? Great part and yet I immediately thought about when my contract would allow me to switch to the next mobile phone. I actually consider myself to be quite intelligent and yet I still fall for marketing all the time. I tried a trick last year because every year the latest iPhone is the very, very best. Last year I took a few screenshots of the description of the 14. and when you read it again a year later, when the new iPhone is introduced, you realize what a great thing you have, and that it is just a year old. Many things that are advertised to you as “new” are also available on your iPhone. And sometimes the new thing, see your video, is even worse.
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.
Where are you getting the information that 24 megapixel files are to boost iCloud revenue? You can literally go into the settings and select 12MP as your default if you'd like. Same as before. Why did you leave that part out if your whole point is that you are disappointed by Apple misleading you? Wouldn't that bit of info be helpful to your viewers? I'm sure how you can see how it feels intentionally misleading on your part.
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
THANK YOU for mentioning the big limitation of the camera set up on the 15 Pro Max that no other review that I've seen mentioned, namely that it REPLACED the very useful 3x by the markedly less useful/practical 5x! If they had added the longer zoom and kept the shorter zoom, like Samsung did, it would've been ideal but since they force the user to choose, I'd certainly choose the 3x. This is no problem for me since I would go for the smaller Pro anyway, but I can see it being a problem for people like Tony who normally go for the larger Pro. What were Apple thinking?
I recently got a 15 Pro Max and agree with all your points made in the video. I’m now looking to return it as the main feature I wanted to use, the 5x telephoto, is useless.
In your video at 3:46 you compare the image quality between 14/15 Pro and the 15 Pro Max. Would you say I would be better off getting a 15 Pro instead due to the cropped image quality being better? The title of the video leaves me thinking that the 15 Pro Camera is also rubbish.
Thanks and subscribed!
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?
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
I guess I'll wait for the 16 model. Hopefully the camera will be much better.
Apple won't change shit in cameras until they rock the 48mp sensor for at least 3-4 years. They will just put software gimmicks and marketing around it to market same shit to buyers each year
Or just wait till the phone actually comes out and see what it can really do instead of listening to some guy rambling without having even used it
@@densakai hes only talking about the camera portion.. and he gave examples with existing model (14 pro max)... but dont buy a phone for a camera.. buy a camera for a camera
@@RyanREAX yes he’s judging it based on a video presentation whose purpose is to make believe. Wait till it comes out, shoot photos with it then make the real judgement.
@@densakai "make believe" is the keyword. If people are buying PHONES because of the camera they deserve to be duped.. buy a real camera and lens.
I feel you Tony, however ally family uses iPhone and I switched to android years ago and I coulent be happier. My family can suffer and work around the android system and have their laughs.
Great vid by the way. The 120mm f21 gimick that apple is throwing out is bonkers.
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.
I really didn’t want to buy another iPhone, I’ve been so sick of them for years, BUT, as you said, it’s really hard to leave once you’re hooked into their ecosystem.
I’m greatly regretting my iPhone 15 pro purchase.
I’m going to start moving out of iCloud and into Dropbox to make it easier to switch between phone/computer manufacturers.
Their innovation died years ago.
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.