Buzz
The camera has always been a feature that users pay attention to when purchasing a new phone because of its convenience in capturing beautiful photos. In recent years, phone camera technology has even reached the level of DSLR cameras. So, with its hefty price tag, is the camera quality of the iPhone 13 Pro good enough to meet users' photography needs? Let's find out and get our answer.
1. Camera Features of the iPhone 13 Pro
Before assessing the actual photo quality of the iPhone 13 Pro, let's take a look at what Apple has equipped for the camera function on the iPhone 13 Pro.
1.1 Hardware Features of the iPhone 13 Pro Camera
The iPhone 13 Pro still employs a triple-camera setup like its predecessor but has been significantly improved compared to the iPhone 12 Pro, specifically:
- The main 12MP camera has an aperture of f/1.5, optical image stabilization (OIS), and a 26mm focal length, with a pixel size of 1.9µm.
- The 12MP telephoto camera has an aperture of f/2.8 and offers optical zoom up to 3x instead of 2.5x from the previous generation.
- The 12MP ultra-wide camera with a larger aperture of f/1.8 compared to f/2.4 of the previous generation.
- The LiDAR depth sensor enhances the quality of portrait mode photos and depth-of-field effects.
Meanwhile, the selfie camera on the iPhone 13 Pro is a 12MP with a 23mm focal length, f/2.2 aperture, integrated Face ID sensor, and portrait mode capabilities.
1.2 New Photography Features on the iPhone 13 Pro Camera
In addition to the array of existing photography features on previous-generation iPhones such as Night Mode, live photos, exposure adjustment, and simultaneous subject focus, the iPhone 13 Pro introduces the following features:
- Photographic Style allows users to choose photo colors that suit their preferences, such as Rich Contrast, Vibrant, WARM, Cool.
- Cinematic Mode: enables automatic focus adjustment while recording videos, seamlessly transitioning focus between different subjects to deliver impressive, 'soulful' footage without user intervention.
- Pro RES enables professional video editing capabilities, offering features tailored for experts to create impressive footage using just a smartphone.
With these new features, the iPhone 13 Pro is sure to deliver impressive photos, meeting users' needs.
2. Real-world Experience with Photo Quality on the iPhone 13 Pro
2.1 Full Brightness Photo Quality
Exhibiting the signature 'very iPhone' style, photos taken with the camera on the iPhone 13 Pro boast high detail and natural colors. Color contrast is well-rendered with virtually no noise, and light-dark areas are handled impressively. Of course, for those who prefer more artistic photos, various photo capture modes with Photographic Style are available.
2.2 Zoom Photo Quality
Perhaps the 3X zoom photo doesn't bring much difference compared to photos taken with the main camera in terms of sharpness, color, and handling of light-dark areas, but it's still impressively processed.
2.3 Ultra-wide Angle Photos
Differing from the horizontal expansion approach pursued by many other smartphones when capturing ultra-wide-angle photos, on the iPhone 13 Pro, ultra-wide-angle photos are expanded in a 1:1 style, meaning both width and depth are extended. This may not be to everyone's liking as panoramically captured ultra-wide-angle photos are often more visually appealing than the image processing style of the iPhone 13 Pro.
2.4 Close-up Photo Quality
The iPhone 13 Pro allows for extremely close-up photos, and it must be said that the close-up photo quality of the iPhone 13 Pro is outstanding. Impressive detail and color are handled exceptionally well with impressive contrast areas. However, close-up photos on the iPhone 13 Pro tend to be slightly curved, which seems to bring about impressive photos.
2.5 Low-light Photo Quality
Unlike the night mode of previous generations, on the iPhone 13 Pro, Night Mode is geared towards restoring the true colors of subjects rather than overly brightening. This helps photos taken from the iPhone 13 Pro to sparkle impressively, with even shadows being remarkably rendered. Overall, it's excellent for a low-light photo from the iPhone 13 Pro.
2.6 Portrait Mode Photos
The iPhone 13 Pro delivers exceptional portrait mode photo quality with impressive subject focus and natural background blur, resulting in some amazing shots for users.
2.7 Selfie Photo Quality
The natural beauty enhancement capability has been showcased on the iPhone 13 Pro. Sharpness, image detail, color, and contrast processing are all well-handled, providing users with extremely impressive photos.
Overall, with what the iPhone 13 Pro offers, users get extremely impressive photo quality. Moreover, for photography enthusiasts, the iPhone 13 Pro provides customization options to help you capture the best shots.
The video recording capability on the iPhone 13 Pro speaks for itself as it delivers high-quality footage, especially with its excellent stabilization features.
