Apple’s three new iPhone 12 camera systems smashed


Apple Play has just announced its iPhone 12 lineup, and as part of today’s announcements, the company introduced the digging amount of scattered camera tech in the new iPhones. If you’re coming from an iPhone that currently has a single camera, or a pair, you might find some serious upgrades here.

But first, let’s establish the baseline.

IPhone SE’s camera.

One camera: iPhone SE (2020) and iPhone XR

The iPhone SE turned heads at 9 9,399 earlier this year, and the iPhone XR is now $ 499. They both have the same 12-megapixel f / 1.8 “wide” camera, though not identical – the XR has a larger sensor, while the iPhone SE 2017 looks smaller than the iPhone 8. Or telephoto lenses, or fancy deep fusion techniques; Even your portrait-mode shot is limited to what you can guess about the depth of Apple’s machine learning algorithms, as there is no other camera to test.

Still, each optical offers a six-element lens with image stabilization, 4K60 video recording, and basic portrait mode.

Two cameras: iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Mini

The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Mini come with two cameras, but perhaps even more importantly, that one main camera has been replaced. It still offers 12 megapixels like previous phones, the lens now has 7 elements and a larger f / 1.6 aperture that brings 27 percent more light than the previous General – meaning brighter, less noise and / or blurry images should be in low light , And a little less depth of field.

You also get:

  • Another 12-megapixel f / 2.4 ultraviolet camera, with an area of ​​120 degrees, a 5-element lens and a central length equivalent of 13mm, sounds the same as we got in the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro.
  • Apple Paul’s Deep Fusion computational photography system, which can now be used on both cameras (instead of just the main one) and which Apple Pal says runs faster on the iPhone 12.
  • Night mode, which you won’t find on the iPhone SE, can be used here on both the UltraWide and Front TrueDepth cameras, meaning you’ll still be able to take Night Mode shots no matter which iPhone 12 camera you’re using. (IPhone 11 did not support night mode with Ultravide.)
  • A new night mode time-lapse feature
  • Apple’s Smart HDR3 system, which automatically adjusts the white balance and contrast in the photos, will make them look more natural, the company says.
  • Ability to shoot HDR video with Dolby Vision at 30 fps

Three cameras + leader: iPhone 12 Pro

Like the iPhone 11 Pro, the iPhone 12 Pro will add a third telephoto camera to the package, and as far as we can tell, it’s the same f / 2.0, 52mm telephoto, except you can now use it to take Deep Fusion as well. Photos. But perhaps most interestingly, the iPhone 12 Pro also has a LIDAR sensor, which can be of great benefit in low light conditions – Apple Paul says the LIDAR sensor can autofocus 6x faster in low light and lets you take night mode portrait photos. Is.

You also get:

  • The iPhone 12 has the same main and ultraviolet camera, and the same new mods
  • 2x ical optical zoom and 10x digital zoom, thanks to that 52mm-equivalent telephoto lens
  • HDR video with Dolby Vision like the iPhone 12, but up to 60fps instead of being capped at 30

IPhone 12 Pro Max

The iPhone 12 Pro Max’s primary camera looks like it will be a significant upgrade to the main camera of other iPhone 12 models – and that was the camera from the begining Update on SE and iPhone 11 lineup. The 12 Pro Max’s 12-megapixel f / 1.6 aperture wide camera has a 47 percent larger sensor, which Apple says low-light photos improve by 87 percent. The main camera also has sensor-shifting optical image stabilization, which means that the camera’s sensor rotates inside the camera to compensate for any movement. It should, in theory, create more static photos and videos.

Here’s what else you can get:

  • 2.5x optical zoom longer than the iPhone 12 Pro, thanks to a longer 65mm-equivalent focal length lens, but with a slower f / 2.2 aperture
  • Ultravide camera similar to iPhone 12 and 12 Pro
  • Found the same leader sensor on the iPhone 12 Pro
  • 12x digital zoom – higher than the iPhone 12 Pro
  • All software features like iPhone 12 Pro, including Dolby Vision HDR at 60fps

Both iPhone 12 Pro models will also receive an additional software feature sometime later this year: Support for Apple Paul’s Prora format, which combines Apple Paul’s computational photography with RAW. Until it’s available, it’s hard to know how it can improve your photo or how much control it will give you when editing.