I’m a Photographer and YouTuber and I’m Stoked for the iPhone 17 Pro’s Cameras

At its “awe dropping” occasion Tuesday, Apple whipped the covers off its newest iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, which pack an entire host of updates, together with a divisive new orange shade. But as knowledgeable photographer it is the cameras I’m particularly enthusiastic about and the brand new Pro fashions boast a plethora of updates that have gotten the tech nerd in me quivering with pleasure like a jelly on a stability board. Let’s dive in and discover out extra. 

Longer telephoto zoom

First up, the telephoto zoom. While the 16 Pro supplied 5x optical zoom, the 17 Pro takes that to 8x — the equal of strapping on a whopping 200mm lens to an everyday digital camera. I like utilizing an extended lens with my Canon R5. It permits me to search out extra attention-grabbing compositions in a scene that may be misplaced if I merely stood there with a wide-angle lens. And whereas the 5x was an excellent candy spot for a lot of scenes, I typically needed that additional attain for extra distant topics, however did not need to sacrifice picture high quality by simply digitally zooming in. 

Now, the Pro mannequin gives the total digital camera bag, going from ultrawide at one finish to tremendous zoom on the different. The sensor for the telephoto lens now has 48 megapixels of decision and is bodily larger than the earlier mannequin. This is nice — an even bigger sensor captures extra mild and extra mild means better-looking photos. I’m actually excited to see how this bigger sensor may permit for natural-looking telephoto photos with out the heavy-handed over-sharpening seen on many rival zoom methods.

I’d actually have cherished to have seen a bigger sensor on the primary digital camera too. I needed to see Apple go huge with a 1-inch-type sensor, like those discovered on the Xiaomi 14 Ultra and 15 Ultra, which might ship beautiful high quality. It does not seem that Apple has modified the primary digital camera {hardware} that a lot this time spherical and I suppose that is advantageous. After all, it was already among the many finest cellphone cameras round, so why mess an excessive amount of with an excellent factor? 

As knowledgeable photographer I’ve used my iPhone rather than my typical digital camera on many events after I did not anticipate to wish my digital camera. I’ve even printed iPhone photos in magazines. Did I want Apple to overtake its fundamental digital camera? No. Would I’ve favored to have seen it slap on a full-frame picture sensor with interchangeable lenses? Oh hells sure. It does have “second-generation” sensor-shift optical picture stabilizations, which ought to assist for low-light photos, whereas the ultrawide digital camera stays a wholesome 48 megapixels. 

ProRes Raw video

As properly as a photographer, I’m a video producer, creating movies for CNET and producing YouTube movies for my channel about photography. I’m steadily engaged on location and creating movies that present how I take photographs, which suggests carrying numerous gear — I want a digital camera to take photographs and I want a digital camera to movie me taking these photographs.

Last yr I shot a very cinematic video within the mountains of Wales (embedded under) and I needed to haul an enormous quantity of substances on my again, together with two cameras, two tripods, a monitor for the video digital camera and mics, lenses and filters. It’s why I’m enthusiastic about Apple’s different huge improve to the cameras: ProRes Raw video.

Apple launched the ProRes video codec to its iPhone 13 Pro again in 2021, which mainly captured much more data in movies for a extra skilled look. ProRes Raw captures much more data, bypassing numerous the built-in picture processing (like sharpening) with a purpose to give much more flexibility with the ensuing video recordsdata in post-production. As Apple says, ProRes Raw is the industry-standard format on skilled cinematic productions, so the truth that a cellphone can now do that is wild. 

“But Andy, no serious filmmakers will use a phone for their filming,” I hear you cry. Not so: The current smash hit zombie flick 28 Years Later was filmed on iPhone 15 Pros they usually did not have ProRes Raw. They weren’t even the newest mannequin out there on the time. While an iPhone won’t ship the identical high quality as an enormous cinema digital camera and lens costing a whole lot of 1000’s of {dollars}, the iPhone’s tiny measurement means it may be utilized in small areas and for fast-paced motion the place larger digital camera rigs will fail. 

Sure, my little YouTube channel is not precisely a Hollywood manufacturing, however I relish any alternative to flex my artistic muscular tissues and attempt to create a video that is a bit extra cinematic. And with the updates to the iPhone 17 Pro’s digital camera, I’ll be significantly better geared up to create better-looking movies with out having to hold spine-crushing quantities of substances with me.