iPhone Upgrade or Not? A Guide for Photographers
Truth: iPhone 17 Camera changes are in fact hard to see by the naked eye
Should you get the latest and greatest iPhone for the state of the art in mobile technology with the best camera yet from Apple?
Reality check: Not if you have an iPhone 15 or 16*. Maybe if you have a 14. If you have a 13, 12 or 11 you should seriously consider upgrading.
That paragraph was written for the average person. I’ve been using the iPhone 17 Pro Max for a week now, and while, as every reviewer will tell you this time of year, it’s the best iPhone ever, but then again, so were the 15 and 16s. And sure the updates sound great, for most people you won’t be able to see much of a difference in the picture or video quality. Not $1,000 worth anyway.
For the discerning photographer however, there is a difference. The new camera is sharper and richer in color, even though most people wouldn’t be able to tell. (We can though, right?)
What are the perks of the new iPhone lineup, from the entry level 17, the iPhone Air and the two Pro models?
You get an improved Selfie camera that offers you a slightly wider field of view, making it easier to get more people into the shot. This is all true. Just know that it’s about 10% wider. The selfies are also in higher resolution, and if you’re looking for a reason to buy the phone, this could be the biggest selling point. But are slightly better selfies worth $1,000 or more for you?
On the Pro models, the three cameras have a higher megapixel sensor, and while the 5x telephoto is now a 4x telephoto, Apple added an 8X “telephoto” offering for 200mm equivalent, but it’s a digital crop. Yet somehow, the Apple engineers have performed a miracle, and given us a seemingly sharper image at cropped 8x on the 17 Pro than we had at 5x optical on the 15 and 16 Pro cameras. More on digital zoom vs. cropped images in a minute.
The video stabilization has been improved, so for me, as someone who makes videos for a living, that’s actually huge. The images are steadier and less wobbly.
One more Selfie note. For years I’ve had trouble doing the “walk and talk” Selfie shot, because it was too close and my nose is too big. The new camera is wider, thus, I can finally do the shot!
On the iPhone Air, the thinnest iPhone Apple has created to date, it’s a beauty, but there’s only one lens, and again, Apple touts a digital crop to get you closer to the action. But as there’s no ultra-wide angle lens, that’s a non-starter for me. I love my .5 ultra-wide. How would you feel about a phone without the ultra-wide?
Digital Crops
So let’s talk about the digital crop, which isn’t unique to Apple. Samsung and Google engage in it as well, and the term they use is “optical quality.”
Optical zoom is when the lens extends to get you closer to the action. What Apple and others are doing with the digital crop is exactly what it sounds like. They crop a 12 megapixel portion of the 48 megapixel image to zoom you in.
If you’ve been using the 2x feature on the last few editions of the iPhone, you know all about “optical quality.” At 2x, the zoom actually looks pretty good. I have no complaints.
Look at these back to back shots on the 16 Pro and 17 Pro and as I said, most folks wouldn’t be able to see much of a difference, if at all.
How is the megapixel crop different from the dreaded “digital zoom?”
Typical digital zoom uses a process called interpolation, which means that an even smaller crop is made of the sensor, then blown up and digitally enhanced to fill the frame, using computational processing to sweeten it up.
On the “Fusion” cameras, there’s a crop, but minus the interpolation, or sweetening.
I always recommend folks to only use the lens choices that have numbers on them, as in .5, 1x, 2x or whatever. When you pinch and zoom, you get digital zoom, and lousy quality.
Buying Tips
If you don’t feel like springing $799 to $1,200 for one of the new iPhones, there’s always used. On Amazon, I found used 15 Pro models for $724 with 256 GB of storage (not enough) and a 1 TB 15 Pro for $818.
Apple discontinues the Pro models when the new phones come out, and as they are the ones with the better camera choices, I focus on them.
The base model 17 starts at $799 with 256 GB of storage.
And if more advanced cameras aren’t your thing, you can buy the iPhone 16e for $599 (it only has one lens) and you’ll still be better off than with an old 14, 13, 12 or 11, as Apple discontinues support for older models eventually. (The cutoff is currently anything below the 11 series.)
Would you consider an Android? The Google Pixel 9a is the best deal in town, at $499 now, but often discounted, a full-featured phone with two lens (an ultra-wide and wide) that I picked up for $399.
Bottom Line
If you have a cracked screen or sluggish battery on your old iPhone, and having a sharper iPhone camera lens, wider selfie camera and better video stabilization doesn’t appeal to you, replace them and spend $300 or so, instead of $800 to $1,200. If you need to have the latest and greatest, Apple would love to take your money. But you do have other options.
Questions? I’m going to do a livestream Saturday morning at 9 a.m. PT to talk new iPhones. Please join in!
Jeff