I compared the iPhone 17 Pro camera to a real camera — here's what I found
You might be surprised by the results.
Smartphone cameras have become incredibly good. So good, in fact, that we often compare them directly to semi-professional and even professional cameras without a second thought. With the iPhone 17 Pro, Apple once again claims big improvements thanks to better processing, large sensors, and years of computational photography refinements.
But how close does it actually get? And is all of that processing really an advantage?
To find out, I took the iPhone 17 Pro and my personal camera, the Canon R6 II, and shot the same scenes side by side. There are no lab charts or specs talk here. I just went out and shot real photos, in the same conditions. The Canon camera was equipped with an 24mm RF f/1.8 lens, so the field of view is the same as the one on the iPhone. Of course, using a prime lens on the camera meant I couldn't easily switch to a telephoto one (and I don't even own a telephoto lens). So this is all about the main camera on the iPhone.
Equal conditions
To find out, I took the iPhone 17 Pro and my personal camera, the Canon R6 II, and shot the same scenes side by side. There are no lab charts or specs talk here. I just went out and shot real photos, in the same conditions. The Canon camera was equipped with an 24mm RF f/1.8 lens, so the field of view is the same as the one on the iPhone. Of course, using a prime lens on the camera meant I couldn't easily switch to a telephoto one (and I don't even own a telephoto lens). So this is all about the main camera on the iPhone.
The goal isn't to declare a winner and prove one is better than the other, but to see how the processing of a smartphone differs from that of a real camera.
Let's take a look at the photos.
Sample Photos
The Canon image has way darker shadows, while the iPhone looks more HDR-y.
I took all photos using auto mode settings on the Canon camera and shot in JPEG to compare straight out of camera results.
What a massive difference in colors. The iPhone always tends to produce photos with a warmer tone.
The Canon photo here is closer to reality.
You can see the clouds on the iPhone photo, but not on the Canon.
A full-frame camera like the Canon produces a lot more bokeh.
The HDR look of the iPhone camera looks better here in my opinion.
While the Canon image might be more true to life, the iPhone photo looks better.
The difference in white balance and color temperature is quite remarkable.
So what do you think? Were you surprised by the images?
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