Oct 19, 2020 2:39 PM

iPhone 12 Pro Camera Samples

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Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
01
iPhone 12 Pro, Night mode with main camera. It was pretty dark at this park in New York when I snapped this photo. The iPhone's Night mode gathered up enough light to produce this well-detailed image. The sky was a little darker and the colors more varied between the grass on both sides and the tree, but I still really like this shot. 
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
02
Google Pixel 5, Night Sight with main camera. The Pixel opts for more contrast in its shot (something I prefer), but it manages to retain just about the same amount of detail as the iPhone 12 Pro. The colors are quite different, though. I think there's a slightly better separation of colors here, though it's over-saturated.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
03
iPhone 12 Pro, Night mode with ultrawide camera. Night mode works on all the rear cameras on the iPhone 12 Pro, but that doesn't mean you're always going to get great results. This image is slightly blurry (it could be my fault for slightly shifting as the camera took the photo). But you can see colors and some solid detail\! That's leaps and bounds better than what the ultrawide can do at night on the iPhone 11. 
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
04
Google Pixel 5, Night Sight with ultrawide camera. A little over-saturated again, but this shot taken in the same spot as the previous photo in this gallery is far sharper.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
05
iPhone 12 Pro, Portrait Night mode. The was taken at dusk, and it was a lot darker than this image suggests. Yet portrait mode actually works\! There's good separation between the subject and the background with an accurate blur outline, and detail is pretty great if you zoom in. 
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
06
Google Pixel 5, Portrait Night Sight. The Pixel isn't as sharp as the iPhone photo (look at the symbols on the shirt), but I really like the contrast and shadows in this shot. It also does a great job with bokeh around the subject, and the colors pop a little more.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
07
iPhone 12 Pro, Portrait without Night mode (2X). This is what you get when trying to take a portrait without Night mode. It sort of works, but my dog's face doesn't look sharp at all, and there's a lot of detail lost. Compare this with the next photo in the gallery.
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
08
iPhone 12 Pro, Portrait Night mode (1X). The difference the lidar scanner makes is astounding. This shot is far sharper, you can see the individual strands of hair on my dog's face, plus there's a better blur outline.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
09
iPhone 12 Pro, main camera. It wasn't terribly sunny in this shot, but you still get a sharp image with nice, true-to-life colors.
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
10
iPhone 12 Pro, Night mode with main camera. I compared this with a shot from the Pixel 5 (not shown), and the iPhone brought out more details in the shadows (like the brick building on the right). That said, the sunset was a tad more orange in real life.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
11
iPhone 12 Pro, Portrait Night mode. I love this photo. The colors aren't over-saturated or too muted, my dog's face is sharp enough, and there's a pleasant bokeh fall off in the background. It's not perfect though. You can see the bokeh effect struggling with some of the taller grass in the foreground. 
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
12
iPhone 12 Pro, Portrait selfie. Excuse my hair. That said, most phones have absolutely failed at registering my hair properly in portrait mode, but the iPhone fares decently well.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
13
iPhone 12 Pro, 2X telephoto zoom. One of the perks of the Pro model over the regular iPhone 12 is the extra camera, which offers 2X optical zoom. It's nothing to write home about (I'm not a huge fan of some of the colors it produces, like the sky here), but it's definitely useful when you need to get closer to your subject. 
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
14
iPhone 12 Pro, Night mode with 2x telephoto zoom. Night mode works on all cameras, remember? It was probably a bit too dark in this scene. It might be fine if you look at it on a small phone screen, but it looks like an oil painting on anything bigger. A tripod and a still subject will make a big difference.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
15
iPhone 12 Pro, ultrawide camera. The ultrawide gives you a lot more versatility in your shots. There's just enough detail and sharpness in this photo, and the colors are pleasant, especially the sky. 
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
16
iPhone 12 Pro, Night mode with ultrawide camera. Again, this photo might look fine if you don't look too closely, but it's *very* grainy. It's certainly a step up from what most other ultrawide cameras can do in low light, except maybe for the Pixel 5.