According to Apple marketing boss Greg Joswiak, iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max owners will have “ the equivalent of seven professional lenses in their pocket.” The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max have essentially the same photo configuration, with a 48-megapixel wide-angle main sensor and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle sensor. The main camera can operate either with its native focal length equivalent to 24mm (1x) or at a tighter framing of 28mm (1.2x) and 35mm (1.5x) with a new resolution of 24 megapixels . In 2x mode, it can take 12-megapixel photos with a focal length of 48mm.
Credit photo : Apple
This represents six of the seven objectives mentioned by Apple. The seventh option, the telephoto lens, is the one that differentiates the two Pro models.
The iPhone 15 Pro has a 3x telephoto lens, an equivalent of 77mm, the same as the iPhone 14 Pro. The iPhone 15 Pro Max features a 5x telephoto lens, with new image stabilization technology and a 120mm equivalent focal length.
For both phones, the 48-megapixel main camera is the most important for most shots. Its large f1.8 aperture lens also makes it possible to obtain dark scenes and a more pleasant bokeh (background blur effect for portraits). Second-generation image stabilization compensates for hand shake and camera shake.
Credit photo : Apple
The tetraprism telephoto lens of the iPhone 15 Pro Max
The iPhone 15 Pro Max uses a tetraprism telephoto lens that bends the path of light four times before it hits the sensor. These are a variation of periscopic lenses from Samsung, Google, Huawei and others, which fit large telephoto lenses into a small smartphone body. The fundamental problem with telephoto lenses is that they require physically longer lenses, and there is no easy way around these limitations of optics, physics, and engineering. Instead of relying on bulky optics that don’t fit in a phone, periscope cameras use mirrors to bend the path of light.
Another notable change is the new coatings on the lenses. They help reduce flare issues such as streaking and washing caused by bright light sources.
The iPhone 15 Pro gets a new portrait mode that Apple says is faster and works better in low-light conditions. It stores depth of field information in the shot, allowing you to switch between portrait and normal modes after taking the photo.
Credit photo : Apple
New video functions
For videographers, the Pro models also have some improvements. First of all, it is possible to record videos on external storage devices thanks to the new USB-C port. You can film in ProRes format with 4K resolution at 60 frames per second. Considering the size of ProRes files, external storage is a welcome option.
The iPhone 15 Pro also introduces a new option for Log encoding. According to Apple, it is the first smartphone in the world to support ACES (Academy Color Encoding System), a new color management standard.
Another new feature will arrive soon: the possibility of filming 3D videos with the iPhone 15 Pro to watch them with the Vision Pro headset. This option will first be available in the United States early next year.
