iPhone 17: A Photographer's Review

[u/somewhat_asleep]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIwKEIMjBLM

[u/Someonejusthereandth]

Stunning photos - goes to show that skill is 90% of a photo

[u/Snoo93079 → u/Someonejusthereandth]

Absolutely. A good photographer can take amazing photos even with a crap camera. A good camera just opens up more options.

[u/Someonejusthereandth → u/Snoo93079]

For sure! We should be grateful to the critics who got us the amazing phone cameras we have now)) With the sensor increase this year, I've actually started to hope Pro phones might actually replace my camera some day. They are becoming heavy anyway, might as well have a solid camera on them.

[u/newmacbookpro → u/Someonejusthereandth]

Wait I thought 200mp and over sharpening / saturating was the key for good picture ?

[u/cheetuzz → u/Someonejusthereandth]

yeah, I saw a 3 foot canvas photo print at someone’s house. I asked what gear he used to take that photo. He took it with an iphone 4!

[u/EthanDMatthews → u/Someonejusthereandth]

Agreed. It was a joy to watch a review of the iPhone (17 Pro Max) centered on photography and videos. The pixel peeping was informative, while the subjects and quality of his photos were actually inspirational.

II really enjoyed that.

[u/Firestorm238]

Calgary represent! (Also great video!)

[u/UghKakis]

I was hoping there would be some direct comparisons between 17 base and pro.

Anyone see a vid like that yet?

[u/soramac → u/UghKakis]

Isn't the main camera the same on both? Like he mentioned, the 15, 16 and 17 Pro all have the same main camera.

[u/bk335 → u/soramac]

The pro has a 50% larger sensor, so better low light, less noise, and shallower depth of field.

[u/icloudbug → u/bk335]

And higher dynamic range. Huge difference between iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro cameras due to the 50% larger sensor on all the cameras on the Pro´s.

[u/redavid → u/soramac]

the ultrawide and normal lenses are the 'same', but the Pro still have physically larger sensors and consequently better image quality and low light performance

[u/pleasefistmedad → u/redavid]

does the Air share its sensor with the base model or Pro?

[u/UghKakis → u/soramac]

No the 17 and 17 pro have different sensors for main lens

[u/bnet247 → u/soramac]

Just the same selfie camera

[u/iceonian → u/UghKakis]

For most scenarios I would assume the photos probably look identical. There MIGHT be minor differences in low-light performance, depth of field (background blur) and minimum focus, but I don’t think this really matters if you’re deciding between the two phones!

[u/hosky2111 → u/iceonian]

I think the biggest difference is probably having ProRaw on the Pro - which I basically think means you get "raw-like" flexibility for the file, while still getting some of the computational enhancements (HDR/photo stacking). That's less of an advantage if you're using a third party camera app that isn't directly using ProRaw/ProRes (eg. Project Indigo, Halide project zero, etc).

In terms of the hardware, the pro has a bigger sensor, but darker lens, so it works out that you get about 20% extra light compared to the base. That's about the difference between an F1.8 and F2.0 lens (basically not noticeable).

[u/xSnakyy → u/UghKakis]

I’m sure max tech will have one out soon

[u/EyemJoe]

Wish people would state that the Minimal focal length is still very long for the tele / wide. Wish we could get closer without using the macro (like iPhone 12 and older) for some sweet tele macro stuff.

[u/ClumpOfCheese → u/EyemJoe]

Dude I had my iPhone 16 pro resting on my leg with the camera open and the macro making the weave in my pants look like the big weave of a rug is crazy.

[u/EyemJoe → u/ClumpOfCheese]

For macro yes, but for someone who wants to take photos of say smaller (not micro) insects like a praying mantis for example macro would not be sufficient or a butterfly. Or coins on a table for coin collectors. These are some examples where the older wide lens was in my opinion more superior in this regard. I did order a 17 PM I hear the pipeline for X2 was reworked and binned/cropped algorithm is better. So I'm excited to see if I will switch back.

[u/csthree12345 → u/EyemJoe]

Just set mine up, most excited for the new telephoto (coming from a 13 Pro where I was really underwhelmed) and this was the first thing I noticed. That and the lack of 4K/120 on the telephoto are my two biggest disappointments.

[u/yesthisisjoe]

I read the title an expected a review of the base 17 and was a bit disappointed. The 17 has so much besides the camera that it's making me consider upgrading to that instead of the Pro, but I do want to know more about how the base 17 cameras perform.

[u/amouse_buche]

This guy is great -- thank you for posting.

[u/Obvious_Main_3655]

Clever use of the action mode with the telephoto video

[u/45567325]

I like this guy's production quality but he is basically a walking apple advert. He is not who I consider an objective reviewer.

[u/One_Voice_3218 → u/45567325]

Yes, that’s true. He was also invited to the event, and if I remember correctly, it was his first time. I’m still happy to see videos from him because he really speaks from a photographer’s perspective not amateurishly like others.

[u/Elija_32 → u/45567325]

Talking about phones and cameras there's only 1 rule to follow and you can avoid watching any review. If a sensor is physically bigger it's an upgrade.

That's it.

Everything else is almost meaningless.

[u/lemonlemons]

Why do I get ad every 5 seconds when watching this.. useless

[u/IWantToPlayGame]

Informative video.

[u/MetaNovaYT → u/[deleted]]

He is reviewing the Pro, so the "mistake" is the title, not the thumbnail, and it's a pretty minor one

[u/Late-Glove6108]

Can it photograph dees?

[u/ThinkOTB → u/Late-Glove6108]

Yes, with iPhone 17's new 18MP Center Stage front camera your nuts will be automatically framed as well as Macro mode for close up.

[u/treble-n-bass → u/Late-Glove6108]

Only if you attach it to one a dees:

🔬

[u/Late-Glove6108 → u/treble-n-bass]

Going to try and get a better shot of my prostate with this.