When Apple releases a new flagship, the brand makes every effort to ensure that it offers the best cameras on the market, and it works! Overall, any recent iPhone you buy, even if it’s a year old, will give you great photo and video quality.
It is this consistency, as well as the popularity of Macs with image professionals, that makes Apple so popular with photographers and videographers.
Whether you’re a pro or just an enthusiast, the most suitable iPhone is almost always the newest, but also the most expensive. Today, it is therefore the iPhone 14 Pro!
On the other hand, even if it presents advanced photo sensors and supported by impressive technologies, the other models also deserve our interest.
Let’s compare together the latest iPhones sold by Apple with some of their predecessors.
The Cupertino company prefers to favor major updates over major changes in characteristics, except for the Pro models of the iPhone 14 which still benefit from a new main sensor.
To compare the different cameras offered by the brand, let’s first look at their technical characteristics, then we will look at their functions.
| iPhone model | Main sensor | Ultra grand-angle | Telephoto | Zoom |
| iPhone 14 Pro Max | 48 Mp, ƒ/1,78 | 12Mp, ƒ/2,2 | 12Mp, ƒ/2,8 | 0.5, 1, 2, 3x optical zoom |
| iPhone 14 Pro | 48 Mp, ƒ/1,78 | 12Mp, ƒ/2,2 | 12Mp, ƒ/2,8 | 0.5, 1, 2, 3x optical zoom |
| iPhone 14 Plus | 12 Mp, ƒ/1,5 | 12Mp, ƒ/2.4 | 0.5, 1x optical zoom | |
| iPhone 14 | 12 Mp, ƒ/1,5 | 12Mp, ƒ/2.4 | 0.5, 1x optical zoom | |
| iPhone 13 Pro Max | 12 Mp, ƒ/1,5 | 12Mp, ƒ/1,8 | 12Mp, ƒ/2,8 | 0.5, 1, 3x optical zoom |
| iPhone 13 Pro | 12 Mp, ƒ/1,5 | 12Mp, ƒ/1,8 | 12Mp, ƒ/2,8 | 0.5, 1, 3x optical zoom |
| iPhone 13 | 12Mp, ƒ/1,6 | 12Mp, ƒ/2,4 | 0.5, 1x optical zoom | |
| iPhone 13 mini | 12Mp, ƒ/1,6 | 12Mp, ƒ/2,4 | 0.5, 1x optical zoom | |
| iPhone SE | 12Mp, ƒ/1,8 | 0.5, 1x optical zoom | ||
| iPhone 12 Pro Max | 12Mp, ƒ/1,6 | 12Mp, ƒ/2,4 | 12Mp, ƒ/2,2 | 0.5, 1, 2.5x optical zoom |
| iPhone 12 Pro | 12Mp, ƒ/1,6 | 12Mp, ƒ/2,4 | 12Mp, ƒ/2,0 | 0.5, 1, 2x optical zoom |
| iPhone 12 | 12Mp, ƒ/1,6 | 12Mp, ƒ/2,4 | 0.5, 1x optical zoom | |
| iPhone 11 | 12Mp, ƒ/1,8 | 12Mp, ƒ/2,4 | 0.5, 1x optical zoom |
In recent years, the Pro and Pro Max models have offered identical technical characteristics, but this has not always been the case. For example, the iPhone 12 Pro Max offered a better telephoto lens.
You’d think the 48MP camera in the 14 Pro and Pro Max is a huge leap forward over other iterations, and it is, but the question is whether it really has any use especially since ‘it requires a certain storage capacity.
To take advantage of this, you need to enable 48MP ProRAW shooting. This format has been present on iPhones since the release of the 12 Pro and gives photographers more control over editing. So it’s not a feature unique to the iPhone 14 Pro, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that it displays the most data ever captured on an iPhone.
On the other hand, to have a long focal length lens, this time you will have no choice but to turn to the iPhone 14 Pro. It also comes with better optical zoom options, up to 3x, compared to 1x on the standard models. As for macro photography, it is offered from the iPhone 13 Pro.
The openings are also very different from one iPhone to another. They change practically with each generation, the brand trying to design a smartphone capable of excelling in low light. The ƒ/1.5 aperture of the iPhone 14 absorbs more light than the ƒ/1.8 of the iPhone SE, for example.
Besides that, it is the composition of the sensors that must be looked at.
The iPhone 14 Pro features a quad-pixel lens that combines four pixels into a large quad-pixel equivalent of 2.44µm, all aided by the 12MP ultra-wide-angle camera.
Finally, the other benefit with Apple’s latest sensors is optical displacement image stabilization, but only available on the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max. As for the old ones, they provide optical image stabilization.
As you will have understood, the 14 Pro and Pro Max models clearly stand out as the best iPhones for photos. However, if the presence of a telephoto lens and a 48 Mp RAW sensor does not seem essential to you, then you should look at their predecessors.
What is the best iPhone for photography?
1. iPhone 14 Pro
Price during the test:
1 329 €
The iPhone 14 Pro Max has the same camera as the 14 Pro, but the latter is lighter and more compact.
It gives you three rear lenses, including an ultra-wide angle sensor, a telephoto lens, an optical zoom up to 3x, macro, and a ProRAW format up to 48 Mp.
Read our full iPhone 14 Protest
2. iPhone 14
Price during the test:
1019 €
Although it doesn’t have the technical level of the Pro and Pro Max, the iPhone 14 is still a good alternative if you’re looking for a decent camera that stays within your budget.
Like the 14 Pro, it features Action mode for steady videos and Photonic Engine computational photography technology that uses machine learning to improve the quality of your photos.
These features inevitably make it a better choice than the iPhone 13.
Read our full iPhone 14 test
3. iPhone 13 Pro
Price during the test:
949,90€
Apple has stopped selling it, but if you’re looking for a bargain and find one for sale on reseller sites (Amazon, Fnac, Rakuten…) then it’s worth considering consideration.
Like the iPhone 14 Pro, it has three sensors, including an ultra-wide angle and a telephoto lens, up to 3x optical zoom, macro photography and video and Apple ProRAW but this times at 12 Mp.
What are the functions of the iPhone cameras?
All iPhones are capable of taking good photos thanks to Apple’s innovations in software and background processing. Recently, with its 14 range, the company introduced the photonic engine. This is a computational technology that serves, among other things, to improve rendering in low light.
It relies on Deep Fusion software, introduced with the iPhone 11. This involves the camera taking multiple shots at different exposures, then evaluating and combining them to create the best shot possible. This is especially useful for selfies and portraits.
Photographic Styles first appeared with iPhone 13 and are present on iPhone SE (3rd generation). They are predefined and applied during a take, thus avoiding the addition of a filter. Adjustments are made to elements of an image (maintaining skin tones, etc.) rather than the whole. The five presets are Standard, High Contrast, Vivid, Warm and Cool and you can also adjust the tone and warmth.
Once you find the style, set it to have your iPhone use it automatically to save time.
As we mentioned before, Apple is also looking to improve low-light photography. This is particularly noticeable with the automatic Night Mode settings that first appeared with the iPhone 11. A Night Mode Portrait setting also arrived with the iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max, and later with later Pro models.
Standard Portrait mode is available on iPhone X, iPhone 7 Plus, and iPhone 8 Plus, SE (2nd generation) and later. The iPhone X and 8 Plus or later have a Portrait Lighting function that allows you to choose between five effects but also to adjust the depth of field.
We’ve listed some of the standout features introduced in the past few years, but there are still more. For example, Live Photos lets you capture 3 seconds of motion on each photo, so you can create a Gif-like effect or just keep a short clip.
What regarding the video?
With all iPhones since the 12th generation, video recording can be done in 4K at 24 fps, 25 fps, 30 fps or 60 fps, in HD 1080p at 25 fps, 30 fps /s or 60 fps and in Slo-mo 1080p at 120 fps or 240 fps.
The differences are more in features such as Cinematic mode on the 13 and 14 series (only in 4K HDR for the 14 series), ProRes and Macro video recording (reserved for iPhone 13 Pro/ProMax and 14 Pro/Pro Max) and HDR video recording, which is 60fps on iPhone 13 and later, and 30fps for earlier models.
Let’s come to the Cinematic mode for making videos. With this setting, the camera can record a shallow depth of field, so focusing on the subject is more important. It is available on the iPhone 13 and its successors.
With the release of the iPhone 14, it was the Action mode that appeared to make smooth videos even in motion.
It is also possible to make a QuickTake video by holding down the shutter button. And, of course, every iPhone can take time-lapse and slow-motion videos, as well as Square, Portrait and Pano photos.
