The cameras in the iPhone 13 Skilled aren’t a complete redesign over those on the iPhone 12. But some cool adjustments have a pro photographer like me very thrilled. Here’s what has me giddy.
I’ve been using the iPhone 12 Pro Max since it first became available, and I’m constantly astonished by the quality of the photos I can shoot with it. This is especially true when I use ProRaw and edit my photos in applications like Adobe Lightroom. So I’m intrigued to learn that the primary camera features a bigger image sensor with an f1.5 aperture. It will be able to collect a lot more light as a result of this. More light equals better photographs.
The telephoto zoom has been enhanced from 2.5 to 3 times, which is fantastic. I regularly use my phone’s telephoto zoom to find more interesting compositions in the environment that I would otherwise overlook if I simply used the wide-angle lens. Even still, I was hoping for a bigger zoom boost to match the Galaxy S21 Ultra’s stunning 10x optical zoom.
iPhone 13 macro and super-wide lenses
Then there’s the super-wide-angle lens, which has a much wider aperture and a better night mode for better shots in low light. That’s amazing because the super-wide photos of the 12 Pro Max weren’t always so great at night. The super-wide also boasts a new macro mode. It allows you to shoot images of things as near as 2 cm (just over three-quarters of an inch) from the phone. I enjoy macro photography and sometimes spend hours crawling in the undergrowth looking for subjects. So, I’m interested to see how the 13 Pro compares to my typical macro setup.
But it’s the video abilities that have gotten the most attention here. I’ve shot countless hours of video with my 12 Pro Max and use it as a vlogging tool for my personal photography YouTube channel daily. Wider apertures and longer telephoto zoom on the 13 Pro already help to improve overall video quality, but the new Cinematic Mode may help you add a professional touch to your work.
The cinematic mode of iPhone 13
The camera will dynamically retain focus on a person’s face while the subject travels around the scene in Cinematic Mode. When the subject’s sight turns away from the camera, the focus switches as well, just as it would with a professional film camera. You may also tap to change the focus or double-tap to lock a face. You may also tap to change the focus or double-tap to lock a face. That focus and depth data, on the other hand, isn’t baked into the video clip; you can change the amount of bokeh and focus points in your video after you’ve recorded it.
ProRes (High Resolution) (Apple ProRes)
I’m quite thrilled that Apple ProRes will be accessible on the 13 Pro later this year. ProRes is an Apple-designed video codec that compresses video files while preserving picture and color data, allowing for substantially better flexibility and quality in postproduction It’s been shown in ads and feature films before, but this will be the first time it’s been seen on a mobile device.
I’m interested to see what type of professional cinematic quality you can get in your phone films with the 13 Pro, which will be able to shoot in ProRes at 4K resolution at 30 frames per second. I’m interested in seeing if I can give my weekend YouTube channel a major cinematic facelift. Damn, I was right.
Of course, the brighter, quicker display will be great for shooting in strong light. The largest storage option of 1TB will be ideal for storing all those 4K ProRes files. The new A15 Bionic CPU will be the beating heart behind all that magnificent new video.
So, no, this isn’t a photographic revolution, and I’m sad that a zoom lens with higher magnification isn’t available. The iPhone 12 Pro Max, on the other hand, had a superb camera, to begin with. The 13 Pro improves on everything that made it such. It’s unlikely to be worth the extra money over the 12 Pro Max. But if you’re on an older phone and seeking the pinnacle of mobile photography and filmmaking, the iPhone 13 Pro might be the phone for you.