29 Sep 19 - iPhone 11 Pro Max Camera Review — Daniel Vadnais Photography

Being a photographer, it helps to have the right tools for the job. Whether that is a long lens for wildlife, a wide angle for landscapes, or an off camera flash to help give depth to your subjects. With the release of the new iPhone it is very interesting to see the advancements in phone technology, especially the cameras they are now putting into these phones. Phone apps can be extremely beneficial when trying to capture the milky way, or even the use of GPS to get to where you’re trying to go. With the new triple lens setup on the new iPhone 11 Pro/Pro Max I decided after 4 years it was time to upgrade. So, this week I will be reviewing the new iPhone 11 Pro Max, in respect to the cameras. If you want to look up the specs and whatnot there are countless articles out there that go in depth so I won’t be covering that. What the phone does have is a triple camera setup, all 3 being 12mp. The wide angle is a 13mm, standard zoom at 26mm, and the telephoto comes in at 52mm

This weekend, the wife and I wanted to go out get a hike in before the rain hit and we were back at work again. So we went to one of our favorite local hikes at Snowbasin Ski Resort, the Ogden Overlook Trail, a nice 5mi round trip hike. Wanting to test out the new phone I decided to leave the Nikon at the house and use solely the iPhone to see what it was capable of. Also, I wanted to see how well the in-phone editing worked compared to Ligthroom, all shots from here on out were taken with the phone and edited in the Photos app.

There was a good chance of getting rained out so we left nice and early and got to the trailhead by 0800, meaning we could capture the gorgeous sunrise with the cloud filled skies on the way up the mountain. Both of these were shot with the new ultra-wide camera. Right off the bat, I was surprised with the dynamic range that it is capable of capturing, even with the sun shining through the clouds, the camera still manages to capture detail in the highlights as well as the shadows.

As we started the hike we immediately noticed the wonderful smells of the outdoors after a fall rain storm. I wish I could bottle the smell of aspen and pine after the rain, nothing quite like it in a candle or bottle of air freshener. That, coupled with the sounds of squirrels, chipmunks, and birds all around is very peaceful with no other soul around for miles.

With the sunrise of in the distance, the cool 50 degree weather was perfect for a morning hike. The next few images show the difference between the 3 lenses, with the first being ultra-wide, then wide, and finally the 2x telephoto.

Having tested the wide angle lenses, I wanted to see how well it performed with a closeup. The trail was littered with the ever-changing colors of aspen and maple leaves, leaving me with perhaps my favorite photo taken with the phone to-date. A picturesque maple leaf on the cold, damp ground.

Overall the hike was wonderful, clouds rolled in over the mountain while we were at the peak so we had to make a dash down to avoid getting caught in the incoming rain storm. So, after getting home I wanted to test it out and take a few more shots in the garden and around the house. The first two, I used the portrait mode on the camera which adds a depth of field similar to using a low f-stop lens, which blurs the background while leaving the subject in focus. The one thing I wish the Photos app had was the ability to change HSL (Hue, Saturation, Luminance) on the independent RGB colors.

In regards to the portrait mode, it can make some very stunning photos for a phone camera, but it seems to have some bugs when differentiating between the background and foreground which can be seen around Chelsea’s hand and the leaf. Like I said, not bad, but could be better.

In conclusion, I am pretty surprised and happy with photos that I was able to capture with the phone. Some things I did notice is that a majority of the photos were on the warm side and had to be cooled down in the app to get a proper white balance. Also, the phone applies a heavy amount of noise reduction, leaving some images very soft. This does not make for a bad camera as a majority of these photos will be viewed on a phone or tablet, so the image quality is acceptable. But, I would be wary of printing them to a size that would be displayed in a home.

You may ask, are these smart phones going to replace “real” cameras, and I say NO. Sensor size plays a huge role, and these tiny cameras, while having vast improvements to their predecessors, are limited to their size and ability to capture light. I will continue to rely on my DSLR for my photo needs, but it is nice knowing that the camera on my phone can capture some great images if I’m out and don’t have my DSLR on me.