Each iPhone 15 mannequin encompasses a 48-megapixel digicam — even the most cost effective $799 mannequin. That’s an enormous change in comparison with final yr’s iPhone lineup, as solely the iPhone 14 Professional fashions featured assist for 48-megapixel pictures.
Like final yr, 48-megapixel images are solely potential if you happen to allow ProRAW mode within the iPhone settings after which use the button within the Digital camera app.
Nevertheless, iPhone 15 fashions default to 24-megapixel images. However final yr’s iPhone 14 Professional Max nonetheless takes 12-megapixel footage by default. Apple has defined why it’s shifting to 24-megapixel images on all the iPhone 15 fashions with out addressing the iPhone 14 Professionals.
As an iPhone 14 Professional proprietor not seeking to improve to the iPhone 15, I ponder if I would like that improve for my pictures. And if I do, why am I not getting it?
The digicam {hardware}
The 48-megapixel digicam on the iPhone 14 Professional Max comes with trade-offs. You may shoot ProRAW pics, however they may take up extra space on the handset. Additionally, it’s not a zero shutter lag expertise. Processing the picture will take a bit longer than the default 12-megapixel images.
I’ll additionally level out that the iPhone 14 Professional digicam specs and iPhone 15 Professional digicam specs are almost an identical. What’s totally different is the point out of “assist for tremendous‑excessive‑decision images (24MP and 48MP)” on the iPhone 15 specs and comparability pages. Additionally, the iPhone 15 fashions assist Good HDR 5, whereas the iPhone 14 Professionals do Good HDR 4.
As for the bottom iPhone 15 and 15 Plus fashions, their cameras are almost an identical to the iPhone 14 Professionals. However in addition they have the identical “assist for tremendous‑excessive‑decision images (24MP and 48MP)” and Good HDR 5 listed.
I’ll additionally level out one thing I routinely point out in terms of the bottom iPhone 15 mannequin. It rocks the identical A16 Bionic chip that powers the iPhone 14 Professional. It’s primarily a less expensive iPhone 14 Professional.
But essentially the most fundamental point-and-shoot digicam expertise on iPhone 15 may outperform the iPhone 14 Professional. And it’s not nearly doubling the megapixel depend for default pictures.
Apple’s new 24-megapixel default
In an interview with PetaPixel, Apple’s Vice President of Digital camera Software program Engineering, Jon McCormack, defined the brand new default:
You get a bit bit extra dynamic vary within the 24-megapixel images. As a result of when capturing at 24-megapixel, we shoot 12 excessive and 12 low — we really shoot a number of of these — and we decide after which merge. There’s, mainly, an even bigger bracket between the 12 excessive and the 12 low.
Then, the 48 is an ‘prolonged dynamic vary,’ versus ‘excessive dynamic vary,’ which mainly simply limits the quantity of processing. As a result of simply within the little little bit of processing time out there [in the 24 megapixel] we will get a bit extra dynamic vary into Deep Fusion.
So what you find yourself with within the 24, it’s a little bit of a ‘Goldilocks second’ of you get all the further dynamic vary that comes from the 12 and the element switch that is available in from the 48.
Moreover, you get zero shutter lag while you shoot 24-megapixel like I do after I take 12-megapixel pics on my iPhone 14 Professional. Going for the complete 48-megapixel decision means a slight delay.
Given the iPhone 15 Professionals and iPhone 14 Professionals have primarily the identical digicam setup — the iPhone 15 fashions have almost an identical cameras to the iPhone 14 Professional — and that the identical A16 Bionic powers the iPhone 15 and iPhone 14 Professional, I can’t perceive why the iPhone 14 Professional doesn’t get the 24-megapixel default bump.
What in regards to the iPhone 14 Professionals?
Apple doesn’t clarify it. It might need to do with the iPhone 15’s A16 Bionic. Perhaps that chip has a brand new picture sign processor that’s totally different from the A16 Bionic powering the iPhone 14 Professional. Apple didn’t element it in the course of the iPhone 15 occasion. Perhaps it’s that Good HDR 5 assist. Perhaps Apple desires me to improve to the iPhone 15 to get higher images. Or maybe it’s a mix of all these elements.
Regardless of the case, the iPhone 14 Professional and 14 Professional Max won’t get the 24-megapixel default pics. Not from Apple, anyway. Then once more, the execs who talked to PetaPixel did say that Apple is proud of builders providing extra superior digicam options to customers.
I’ll level out that iOS 17 does deliver a brand new ProRAW format. You may shoot 48-megapixel HEIF MAX pictures which are simply 5MB in dimension, in comparison with 75MB for the 48-megapixel ProRAW Max images. However there’s no 24-megapixel ProRAW format right here that may very well be simply nearly as good because the iPhone 15’s new 24-megapixel default.
With that in thoughts, I’m not even positive that I would like my iPhone 14 Professional to default to 24-megapixel images for many images. That stated, I can’t assist however thoughts that the perfect 2022 iPhone {hardware} will not be ok to get the identical ‘Goldilocks second’ therapy for fundamental pictures as the perfect 2022 iPhone {hardware} that Apple repackaged underneath the iPhone 15/Plus fashions.
