Almost every year before the new iPhones are announced, I decide I’m not going to buy a new one this year because my present iPhone is perfectly adequate. And then every year, after the iPhone event describes the improvements to the new iPhone, I buy another iPhone.
The determining factor for me is almost always the camera upgrades. I’m not by any means a professional photographer, but I do appreciate good photos and videos. I do a lot of hiking and backpacking and enjoy being able to record my trip and the beautiful landscapes I’m in. I also take many family photos, which serve as a kind of journal of our activities.
I own a nice Sony digital SLR camera, but I haven’t used it in several years. With the improvements in iPhone cameras over the years, I’ve found that the convenience and ready availability of the iPhone, along with the ever-improving quality of the photos, gives me no motivation to carry a bulky SLR.
Apple’s Improved Low-Light Claims for the iPhone 14 Pro
During the Apple announcement, and now on their website, Apple makes some impressive claims for the improvement of low-light photos. They claim (in comparison to last year) 3x better low-light photos on the Ultra-Wide camera, and 2x better low-light photos on the main camera and telephoto camera.
They state these dramatic improvements are due to larger sensors and improved software processes. An “all-new Photonic Engine” and a “Deep Fusion” process (don’t you love Apple’s marketing names?) merge the best features of multiple exposures to preserve more data and deliver “more lifelike colors and beautifully detailed textures in less light than ever.”
Testing the iPhone 14 Pro At a Primarily Low-Light Museum
Earlier this week my wife and I visited the Western Caballeros Western Museum in Wickenburg AZ. Like many museums, this museum uses low lighting with spotlighting to highlight exhibits.
I thought this would be an excellent opportunity to test out the low-light capabilities of my new iPhone 14 Pro. It was also an opportunity to see how the iPhone handled settings where there were both bright-lite and low-lite in the same scenes. I used only the main camera for these photos.
The images above are those of a Native American war dance, painted by George Catlin in 1844. This photo had a small spotlight on it. I was amazed at the color and detail of this photo, especially the cropped image. The painting looks clearer in the photos than it did in the darkened museum.
This is a photo of one of the galleries in the museum, featuring framed paintings and sculptures in display cases. The room was quite dark, with spotlights highlighting the paintings and the sculptures. The iPhone camera did an impressive job balancing the brightness and colors. It brought out the colors and details of the dark floor and display stands, while still representing the brighter spotlights.
This landscape photo of saguaro cactus, palo verde trees, and mountains rendered great color and detail in the painting and the frame. Note the shine of the spotlight on the oil.
The town diorama was in low light, with spotlights on the buildings. There is a balance of great color and detail throughout the photo. The textures and colors of the dark floor are preserved without washing out the brighter spotlighted buildings.
I’m Glad I Purchased the iPhone 14 Pro for its Camera Improvements
Overall, I was impressed by the iPhone’s camera handling of both low-light and bright-light settings, particularly where the two types of light were mixed in a scene. To my untrained eye, it seemed there was a significant improvement in rendering low-light settings from my iPhone 13 Pro.
I’m happy I bought the iPhone 14 Pro and look forward to using it this next year to take photos in all kinds of light, particularly in low-light situations. My impression is that Apple’s claim of a 2x improvement in low-light photos with the main camera is accurate.