Today, Apple announced its latest iPhones, the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro. Both of these models have small and big sizes, and include some significant camera improvements.
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| The new iPhone 15 and 15 Plus have a redesigned enclosure with matte colored back glass and the Dynamic Island display. |
The standard iPhone 15 and 15 Plus models have some nice design changes, adding a new matte-textured colored back panel and the company’s Dynamic Island screen type.
But around the back is an overhauled main camera. Apple’s giving the 15 a 48MP camera, which unlocks some new abilities. For example, users can shoot a full-resolution image to capture a ton of detail, in a binned 24MP mode for extra dynamic range, sharpness, and a smaller file size, or in a new “2x” crop for a faux telephoto mode with the highest-quality camera. This camera has a 26mm equivalent lens.
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Apple’s latest phones also have an automatic Portrait mode, capturing depth information whenever a person is detected. Users can also adjust depth after the fact, giving users more flexibility to change the subject.
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| The iPhone 15 Pro comes in four titanium finishes. |
But, of course, the biggest improvements come to Apple’s Pro-grade iPhone models, which now are built from titanium with tighter display bezels shrinking both phones a bit. Apple’s added a new button to replace the old silence switch that can be user-programmed to open apps.
The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max have an improved main camera with a bigger sensor and the same high 48MP pixel count as before with a 24mm equivalent focal length. Unlike last year’s model, users can pick a default focal length for whenever the camera app opens, from either 24, 28, or 35mm equivalent options. The new main camera has improved lens coatings and full coverage of Focus Pixels (Apple’s marketing term for phase detection) and sensor shift stabilization as well.
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But the star of the show was the all-new telephoto camera exclusively in the 6.7-inch iPhone 15 Pro Max. Unlike the rumors of a “periscope” style setup, Apple is using a tetraprism to bounce light back to the sensor, enabling an equivalent focal length of 120mm. This camera also has optical stabilization and 3-axis sensor shift working in tandem to keep the image sharp.
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| A tetraprism bounces light across to an image sensor in the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s telephoto camera. |
The addition of USB-C to both of these phones unlocks some tantalizing opportunities, particularly with the Pro models, which have 10Gbps USB 3 speeds. Apple announced that the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max will support tethered shooting using Capture One. Moreover, videographers will be able to record Apple ProRes footage directly to external SSDs, cranking out 4K/60p.
The new iPhones be available for preorder starting on September 15th, and will be available in-store next week. The iPhone 15 starts at $799 and the iPhone 15 Pro will sell for $999, but those who want the improved telephoto camera will need to spring for the $1199 iPhone 15 Pro Max model.
Our DPREVIEW Tribute:
After nearly 25 years of operation, DPReview closed on 10 April 2023. This difficult decision was part of the annual operating plan review that parent company, Amazon, shared earlier this year.
Over the course of 25 years, DP Review built up a reputation as being one of the most informative places to go for information about that new camera or lens you’re after. DP Review began as an independent reviews site based in the UK in 1998, the brainchild of Philip and Joanna Askey, but it was eventually purchased by Amazon in 2007 and relocated over to Seattle in the USA in 2010.
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