iPhone 14 Cameras: 48MP Sets the Pro Apart

Compared to the iPhone 13 models from the previous year, the iPhone 14 and 14 Pro cameras differ more. We're here to break them down and inform you of the new additions to the 2022 lineup of Apple camera phones.

It's time for Apple to update the iPhone now that September has arrived. The iPhone 14 and 14 Pro were released this year; although they share a lot of similarities with the 13 series from the previous year on the outside, the 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max have undergone significant internal changes. We've got you covered if you're curious about the phones in general; in this article, we'll focus on the cameras.

iPhone 14 and 14 Plus: A Camera That Most People Can Use

The more affordable iPhone 14 and 14 Plus get the (slightly) short end of the stick when it comes to camera features as Apple divides its iPhone line into two forks. That's fine, as they're quite capable for imaging and video.

The "regular" iPhone 14 models have dual cameras, one with an ultra-wide view and the other with the traditional wide angle (26mm) that has come to be the de facto standard view for smartphones, just like the iPhone 13 models. For FaceTime calls and selfies, the front-facing selfie camera has an f/2.2 lens.

Like the iPhone 13 series, all of the lenses are supported by 12MP sensors. However, the addition of sensor-shift stabilization should produce more stable handheld video as well as clearer results when using the Night mode in low light. Although the main rear camera's f/1.5 aperture is a little bit brighter than the f/1.6 lens on the iPhone 13, the difference in light-gathering performance is minimal.

Continued photo-computational modes The Night mode mentioned earlier can be used to take photos on dimly lit street corners. Additionally, there is a portrait mode with bokeh and lighting adjustments for pictures with a blurry background.

The entry-level iPhone 14 models continue to support 4K60 video recording in SDR or Dolby Vision HDR. However, cinematic mode receives an upgrade. The feature, which introduced the bokeh effect to video last year, was only available in 1080p24 with the 13 series. With the iPhone 14, it is upgraded to 4K, and you can choose between a more traditional 24 or 30 frames per second look with Dolby Vision color.

The Apple iPhone 14 Lineup in-depth review

This year's action mode is brand-new. The feature, which is aimed squarely at action cams, claims to capture steadier video in typically shaky circumstances. The resolution is only 2.8K60 because the lens's field of view is cropped in order to improve it with digital stabilization. Similar methods for stabilizing handheld video have been used by standalone cameras; Sony's ZV-E10 vlogging camera employs the method and reduces image size to do so.

Apple may be trying to compete with GoPro with this intriguing feature, but adventurers are still better off using a ruggedized Hero10 Black with its excellent stabilization and 5.3K60 video specification to capture their journeys.

Apple adopts quad bayer in its iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max models

This year, the cameras of the regular iPhone 14 and the 14 Pro are significantly different from one another. The 14 Pro and Pro Max both have triple rear cameras, so let's start with the obvious. A macro setting is added to the ultra-wide lens that is absent from entry-level phones. A 3x telephoto lens, which has the same field of view as a 77mm lens on full-frame systems, is added to the primary lens as well. (Yes, there are 77mm lenses.)

The main rear camera on the 14 Pro is supported by a 48MP Quad Bayer sensor, while the device's wide, telephoto, and selfie lenses are all 12MP. This kind of sensor downsamples the 48MP of data to 12MP. (ProRaw mode allows you to utilize all of the pixels.)

Although the 26mm lens doesn't gather as much light as the standard iPhone 14 due to its smaller f/1.78 aperture, we anticipate that Apple chose this design in order to make the most of the sensor's abundant pixel count. The quality of the optics and image processing is important because we've seen other devices with Quad Bayer chips that only display slightly better detail.

We won't know for sure until we test the iPhone 14 whether the 48MP mode is a significant improvement or just a slight improvement in image quality, as is the case with the Quad Bayer camera on the DJI Mavic Air 2 drone. Notably, Google followed a similar path by upgrading the Pixel 6 Pro's 50MP camera from the Pixel 5's 12MP camera for the same reason that Apple did.

However, the feature shows some promise. The 77mm f/2.8 lens only captures about half as much light as the f/1.78 main lens, so Apple is using it to give the main lens a 2x digital zoom. This is a benefit for working in low light, and we anticipate it will be useful when 3x is too long but 1x is too wide.

Night mode, Portrait mode, and Cinematic bokeh are all computational features that the 14 Pro and Pro Max share with the standard iPhone 14. Stills can now be captured in raw format thanks to Apple ProRaw, which offers 48MP photos with 12-bit color and twice as much editing space as HEIF and four times as much as an 8-bit JPG.

Additionally improved are its video features. For creators who want to benefit from 10-bit color and more flexibility when editing video and color grading in Final Cut Pro, ProRes 422 recording is an option. I will caution anyone interested in purchasing a 128GB capacity model, though. Apple restricts ProRes for the smallest capacity model to 1080p30. ProRes 4K is available if you upgrade to 256GB or higher, which is probably what you want. The support for USB-C SSDs for external storage would avoid the problem, but Apple is still using the Lightning port, so creators who want 4K ProRes will need to pay for additional storage up front. This is one major drawback of Apple's walled garden.

Greater Rationality Than Innovation

The specs and feature lists for the iPhone 14 are as impressive as ever, but I'm looking forward to using them and seeing how they perform in the real world. The basic 14 models now include some useful features that were only available on the 13 Pro handsets from a year ago; of these, sensor shift stabilization makes the biggest difference for everyday imaging. We'll be on the lookout for Gen Z filmmakers to embrace the Cinematic mode because, for video, 4K will look much better on a big screen than 1080p.

The 14 Pro and Pro Max have the 48MP sensor, which is a standout feature. However, Quad Bayer technology is more about improving 12MP photos than it is about using all of those pixels, and 12MP photos are what you'll get if you use your phone in JPG or HEIF mode, which is the default. We are extremely interested to see how the 48MP ProRaw will perform in terms of detail and how adaptable they are for editing.

As with earlier iPhone cameras, nothing here is particularly novel. For instance, the iPhone 4 pioneered HDR, the iPhone 7 Plus debuted portraits with blurred backgrounds, and the iPhone 11 debuted night photography. Despite this, Apple has always done a great job refining and making these features easier to use, and we anticipate that this will continue with the iPhone 14 lineup. Apple wasn't always the first to market with these features.

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