1 00:00:00,060 --> 00:00:06,600 when the original iPhone was announced the camera wasn't important at all 2 00:00:04,500 --> 00:00:11,219 barely getting a mention from Steve Jobs in that legendary keynote you have a two 3 00:00:09,120 --> 00:00:14,759 megapixel camera built in as I said What mattered at the time was that you could 4 00:00:12,719 --> 00:00:19,100 pinch to zoom and so I can just move them further apart and stretch the image 5 00:00:19,140 --> 00:00:24,900 that was amazing and yet over the 15 6 00:00:22,199 --> 00:00:28,220 years since then the iPhone evolved from three devices in one 7 00:00:28,619 --> 00:00:33,420 to four in that time we've seen many new 8 00:00:31,679 --> 00:00:38,520 features and improvements leading us to the large 48 megapixel sensor found in 9 00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:42,960 the iPhone 14 pro when I reviewed it last fall I noticed that photos taken in 10 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:46,860 raw are amazing now photos taken normally look kind of processed and so 11 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:52,079 it got me curious about the evolution of the iPhone camera Brandon Lee and I went 12 00:00:49,379 --> 00:00:56,340 and took photos with every iPhone we could get our hands on my eyes are still 13 00:00:54,180 --> 00:00:59,039 burning foreign 14 00:00:57,239 --> 00:01:02,640 okay so I should first confess that this idea is actually the brainchild of 15 00:01:00,420 --> 00:01:07,080 Brandon Lee he's had an Ever growing interest in capturing light so obviously 16 00:01:05,580 --> 00:01:12,240 he's curious about the iPhone cameras you want so badly to have something in 17 00:01:09,900 --> 00:01:16,740 your head work out in front of a camera and especially at the beginning it 18 00:01:14,460 --> 00:01:20,100 doesn't that challenge of like okay Closer Closer Closer you get a little 19 00:01:18,360 --> 00:01:24,479 bit better you learn one thing you get a little bit better and then I got 20 00:01:22,439 --> 00:01:29,939 addicted to it over the last 15 years Apple has made 28 different versions of 21 00:01:27,900 --> 00:01:34,380 their iPhone camera and that's not even counting all the software features they 22 00:01:31,619 --> 00:01:39,060 add on top of it the iPhone is the most used camera in the world what has Apple 23 00:01:36,780 --> 00:01:45,420 chosen to do in the evolution of this product to improve the camera and why 24 00:01:43,020 --> 00:01:49,200 I want to know why though as Marcus Brownlee recently demonstrated in his 25 00:01:47,100 --> 00:01:54,000 annual camera comparison the iPhone processing is letting it down compared 26 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:57,600 to the others so maybe we can see where and when this trend started I remember 27 00:01:56,159 --> 00:02:01,320 the first camera phones people were like they put a camera on it was just amazing 28 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:07,320 that it had a camera to begin with that's crazy to think about to do this we assembled a wide history of 23 29 00:02:05,280 --> 00:02:12,900 iPhones to take three different photos after a wet West Coast winter snowfall 30 00:02:10,020 --> 00:02:16,620 they are a daytime photo of a building a nighttime picture of me working on a 31 00:02:14,340 --> 00:02:20,879 frozen MacBook and a portrait of me with portrait mode 32 00:02:17,819 --> 00:02:23,819 we're missing two phones because one was 33 00:02:20,879 --> 00:02:28,200 mislabeled on eBay and the other is a diagnostics from an Apple Factory the 34 00:02:26,580 --> 00:02:34,620 first photo we wanted to examine is of the Fort Langley Community Hall in 35 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:36,120 Langley ideal but boring at the same 36 00:02:34,620 --> 00:02:41,519 time yeah yeah but I think this is like a very good flat nice flat photo 37 00:02:38,160 --> 00:02:44,840 everything can be judged pretty easily 38 00:02:41,519 --> 00:02:44,840 well let's take a look at it 39 00:02:46,220 --> 00:02:51,900 I love how de-emphasize the cameras on this phone like it's just a little 40 00:02:50,040 --> 00:02:56,360 because cameras weren't even common on phones at that point all right one two 41 00:02:54,120 --> 00:03:03,180 three oh it's like looking you know in an 42 00:03:00,540 --> 00:03:06,959 old-timey photo old tiny potato old tiny potato with color I don't even think 43 00:03:04,860 --> 00:03:10,260 it's in Focus so you couldn't even it's probably a fixed Focus you couldn't pick 44 00:03:08,640 --> 00:03:14,340 your focus I don't think anyone thought that the original iPhone was a good 45 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:18,180 camera okay so the first iPhone wasn't really about the camera so what about 46 00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:22,500 the iPhone 3GS because it's having a bit of a moment which I'll tell you about 47 00:03:19,739 --> 00:03:27,480 after this video sponsor War Thunder it is a free to play online military combat 48 00:03:25,019 --> 00:03:32,099 game that runs on macOS by battling it out on over 100 major battlefields from 49 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:35,879 World War II to 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00:04:12,299 --> 00:04:19,579 gonna you know it's got a rough charm yeah I want to go right I want to go 61 00:04:16,380 --> 00:04:22,260 right in there really get in there I see 62 00:04:19,579 --> 00:04:26,400 artifacting chromatic aberration like a rainbow 63 00:04:22,979 --> 00:04:27,960 zero on detail 64 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:32,639 um moving on every time I put the four up I'm so 65 00:04:30,660 --> 00:04:38,419 impressed by how much better it looks do you think it's the redness green or the 66 00:04:34,139 --> 00:04:38,419 camera I mean it was a huge leap 67 00:04:39,780 --> 00:04:44,580 from here yeah to here that's pretty 68 00:04:42,960 --> 00:04:50,639 it's a big deal it was a big deal yeah because it went from 3.2 megapixels to 69 00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:53,400 five I can also see this says Fort 70 00:04:50,639 --> 00:04:58,500 Langley Community Hall 1931. so what happened next 71 00:04:55,440 --> 00:05:00,380 whoa I've always been curious where in 72 00:04:58,500 --> 00:05:06,960 the iPhone's lifespan did that happen and why did that happen and why did no 73 00:05:04,139 --> 00:05:12,720 one else even stand a chance man that looks good too 74 00:05:09,240 --> 00:05:15,300 I think that the iPhone 4S 75 00:05:12,720 --> 00:05:19,199 hands down is the biggest jump in quality 76 00:05:16,259 --> 00:05:24,360 in the iPhone's lifetime we already get into photos that are pretty respectable 77 00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:29,880 even when we hit the 4S even compared to stuff now yes oh wow well because now 78 00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:34,979 it's harder if you weren't a pro at photos you could look at this and it 79 00:05:32,699 --> 00:05:39,600 would still hold up to some extent what about buying a 4S a 4S for the aesthetic 80 00:05:37,620 --> 00:05:43,139 reasons as opposed to 3GS the imperfection is the aesthetic yeah is 81 00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:47,220 this the generation they added the whole color filter thing the color filter 82 00:05:45,479 --> 00:05:51,660 thing actually wasn't added with the 5S specifically it was added with iOS 7. oh 83 00:05:49,440 --> 00:05:55,740 okay which I still uh can't forgive 84 00:05:55,740 --> 00:06:01,440 so yeah what's going on here I really 85 00:05:58,860 --> 00:06:05,160 don't like the 5S to be very clear this is my subjective opinion of this test 86 00:06:03,180 --> 00:06:10,500 that we did there are obviously going to be situations where the 5S probably can 87 00:06:07,800 --> 00:06:14,400 beat the 4S in terms of its detail or whatever but when I look at this photo 88 00:06:12,479 --> 00:06:19,380 okay there's that and then here's the 4S 89 00:06:16,560 --> 00:06:22,319 yeah it's way clearer the 5S should be technically a better photo with all 90 00:06:20,759 --> 00:06:26,940 these with even all the specs on it but it somehow when I look at the 4S and the 91 00:06:24,900 --> 00:06:31,380 5S I'm almost disappointed at the 5S because I would expect the 5S to be 92 00:06:28,800 --> 00:06:36,780 better and this is why I think the 4S is the big jump the jump but do regular 93 00:06:34,319 --> 00:06:40,860 people agree with Brandon let's let's ask a couple of people 94 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:45,300 okay no definitely the one on the right it's a lot more legible when I zoom in 95 00:06:43,080 --> 00:06:49,319 you're noticing it's clear which one which one for probably the one on the 96 00:06:47,460 --> 00:06:52,680 right what thank you Mark no that's great that's exactly the answer I wanted 97 00:06:50,699 --> 00:06:56,580 oh the one on the left yeah what matters to you in that photo 98 00:06:54,780 --> 00:07:01,560 then I think that the photo on the right is just a bit too bright it 99 00:06:58,800 --> 00:07:07,319 it blurry without zooming in whereas the one on the left side I feel 100 00:07:04,919 --> 00:07:11,400 like the entire photo kind of works a lot better 101 00:07:08,639 --> 00:07:13,740 for the five I do honestly I think I prefer the one on the right I think you 102 00:07:12,419 --> 00:07:17,940 look more natural the one on the left looks a little over processed I can't 103 00:07:16,020 --> 00:07:23,900 really describe it but it looks maybe too sharp or too not natural looking I 104 00:07:21,120 --> 00:07:28,800 guess just to verify you prefer the 5S yeah I think I do what's interesting 105 00:07:26,639 --> 00:07:33,360 here is that Brandon and Mark are the photographers in the group whereas 106 00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:34,560 Brandon and Sarah just take photos I 107 00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:40,139 don't know how you tell these different I like do you know what this is do you 108 00:07:38,340 --> 00:07:42,840 know what this is that's a 13 because I don't it's a 14 plus how do you know 109 00:07:41,699 --> 00:07:48,840 that when we look at the 10 we see the 10r 110 00:07:45,840 --> 00:07:52,400 yeah the crunchiness isn't really there 111 00:07:48,840 --> 00:07:52,400 and then we move on 112 00:07:53,639 --> 00:08:01,259 the 11 a little bit you start to see it because 113 00:07:57,479 --> 00:08:04,740 of diffusion yeah move on 114 00:08:01,259 --> 00:08:06,120 to the 12th and it's it's there it's 115 00:08:04,740 --> 00:08:12,180 like a lie that's in your face I feel like it's gonna like come out and attack me here's the 13. oh interesting it's 116 00:08:10,199 --> 00:08:15,960 less no it's very sharp but it's not as bright oh they paired it back here well 117 00:08:13,740 --> 00:08:19,259 they paired the exposure back on that it makes you wonder where Apple has moved 118 00:08:17,699 --> 00:08:24,500 their processing since then and the best way to see that is at night 119 00:08:24,500 --> 00:08:30,419 this situation was really where I 120 00:08:27,660 --> 00:08:34,440 noticed the trend in sharpness yeah it's like that is really coming out 121 00:08:32,399 --> 00:08:40,620 significant like you really can see it most people 122 00:08:37,979 --> 00:08:45,600 are gonna pick this one I think do I like this trend I don't know 123 00:08:43,800 --> 00:08:51,420 I will say I've never really been impressed by my iPhone camera I hate 124 00:08:48,060 --> 00:08:54,120 like artificial sharpness in photography 125 00:08:51,420 --> 00:08:57,839 and the right side has a lot of that like I zoomed into the tree and it just 126 00:08:56,220 --> 00:09:03,600 looks bad it's like a lot more manipulated by the software whereas with 127 00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:07,800 the left side here yeah it feels a lot more like I'm actually staring at this 128 00:09:05,820 --> 00:09:11,940 scene that's happening yeah you can definitely tell the one on the right 129 00:09:09,720 --> 00:09:16,740 does feel a little bit more over sharpened I don't like it I like the one 130 00:09:14,339 --> 00:09:21,420 on the left for that the left looks more smooth the right looks more sharp and I 131 00:09:19,800 --> 00:09:25,920 don't like either of those the biggest difference I really see in this photo is 132 00:09:22,860 --> 00:09:27,180 sharpness and uh texture the left one 133 00:09:25,920 --> 00:09:33,060 just looks like it's better the color temperature and the colors and the dynamic range all look fairly similar I 134 00:09:31,740 --> 00:09:36,899 think it looks a little unnatural on the tree but everything else I think looks 135 00:09:34,920 --> 00:09:40,560 pretty good and like I said that my main issue with the iPhone sharpening from 136 00:09:38,820 --> 00:09:43,380 what I've seen is usually when it's just like a close-up photo of someone in like 137 00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:47,940 their family or their face or something I find it makes her face look really 138 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:52,380 unnatural if that makes sense I picked the newer phone every single time I 139 00:09:49,260 --> 00:09:54,360 think so I guess Apple does their 140 00:09:52,380 --> 00:09:59,580 research they're improving the camera for you yeah so the processing is 141 00:09:57,360 --> 00:10:05,300 getting quite overt on the newer iPhones but with the last three Pro Models 142 00:10:02,040 --> 00:10:05,300 that's not the end of the story 143 00:10:06,779 --> 00:10:13,800 the last thing I want to touch on here yes with this particular 48 megapixels 144 00:10:10,980 --> 00:10:17,580 Pro raw that is where I think Apple has really changed the 145 00:10:15,959 --> 00:10:23,519 game that's much more natural looking and I will be that smile yeah look at 146 00:10:21,300 --> 00:10:27,839 your jacket look at your face yeah the light here the range the like this is 147 00:10:26,700 --> 00:10:33,120 not even this doesn't even look like a low light photo anymore no yeah we went 148 00:10:30,060 --> 00:10:37,980 from it's been a long time ago yeah to 149 00:10:33,120 --> 00:10:39,899 here man this looks really good Pro raw 150 00:10:37,980 --> 00:10:44,160 plus the 48 megapixel is now where the iPhone shines the most 151 00:10:42,180 --> 00:10:48,420 most people are gonna pick this one I think full of software gimmicks on the 152 00:10:46,500 --> 00:10:52,800 iPhone the most photographic is portrait mode okay so what we're doing right now 153 00:10:50,100 --> 00:10:56,060 is I'm sitting on Ice to try out uh portrait mode which is introduced on the 154 00:10:54,360 --> 00:11:02,339 iPhone 7 plus and provides kind of a simulated shallow 155 00:11:00,360 --> 00:11:08,880 depth of field which you would get in a DSLR camera with a much bigger sensor 156 00:11:05,519 --> 00:11:10,860 so this clearly Sean on the Sony A9 Mark 157 00:11:08,880 --> 00:11:13,680 II very expensive mirrorless camera this is the Baseline this is where you'd want 158 00:11:12,779 --> 00:11:19,440 it to be to be ideal situation so with its introduction of the 10r they had the 159 00:11:17,880 --> 00:11:23,880 main camera only but they wanted to give portrait mode a chance and so they 160 00:11:21,959 --> 00:11:29,720 introduced an algorithmic-based portrait mode which reads that I'm a person tries 161 00:11:26,519 --> 00:11:33,180 to figure out my outline and then apply 162 00:11:29,720 --> 00:11:35,220 this you know bokeh effect around that 163 00:11:33,180 --> 00:11:38,399 it uses the main wide camera which contradicts have portraits have been 164 00:11:36,600 --> 00:11:41,220 traditionally taken with a more telephoto lens so it certainly has a 165 00:11:40,140 --> 00:11:48,300 look because you have to move the camera closer and then you get Barrel Distortion which is unflattering to the 166 00:11:44,760 --> 00:11:51,480 face how close does the iPhone get the 167 00:11:48,300 --> 00:11:53,760 iPhone is capable of producing something 168 00:11:51,480 --> 00:11:58,620 that could dupe somebody this is a very clear issue right here this is an 169 00:11:56,160 --> 00:12:03,360 improvement still some trouble here that is a really it's just a very hard spot I 170 00:12:01,320 --> 00:12:08,480 don't think any of them got it here yeah but the fall off on your hood is much 171 00:12:06,540 --> 00:12:13,860 better because it was just like a vlog which is what makes you look Photoshop 172 00:12:10,500 --> 00:12:17,279 this is portrait mode on the wide oh my 173 00:12:13,860 --> 00:12:19,680 goodness so this is what I mean I place 174 00:12:17,279 --> 00:12:24,540 the tripod down you we stood you in a spot and then you weren't close enough 175 00:12:22,140 --> 00:12:30,180 the use case for it is slimmer because of the practicality you have to meet 176 00:12:27,480 --> 00:12:35,700 Apple's parameters for the ideal shot yeah from what I pick I don't know the 177 00:12:34,260 --> 00:12:40,560 left side just has a bit more of a blurred background on the right side 178 00:12:37,620 --> 00:12:45,200 and then yeah on Zoom the right side is a bit sharper I'll say the right side 179 00:12:42,779 --> 00:12:45,200 this time 180 00:12:46,019 --> 00:12:50,639 not a lot like the right side is just a 181 00:12:49,440 --> 00:12:55,680 bit cleaner do you use portrait mode uh sometimes 182 00:12:53,040 --> 00:13:02,160 when I'm taking pictures of my dog very specifically I find portrait mode 183 00:12:59,279 --> 00:13:05,639 looks very unnatural I would say initial Impressions I don't see a huge 184 00:13:03,540 --> 00:13:10,320 difference it seems like the one on the right is doing better with the little 185 00:13:07,440 --> 00:13:12,720 fur on your coat like it's sharp and then it goes to blurriness whereas the 186 00:13:11,639 --> 00:13:16,620 one on the left it's just all the same amount of blurriness so you prefer the 187 00:13:14,760 --> 00:13:22,200 one right yeah they look very similar so it's almost 188 00:13:20,459 --> 00:13:25,860 like they tried to make it shallower depth of field on the one on the right 189 00:13:23,760 --> 00:13:30,540 but then they have this transitional blur so that it doesn't look as like 190 00:13:28,079 --> 00:13:34,500 immediate I like aspects about both of them yeah I would say the one on the 191 00:13:32,579 --> 00:13:38,040 left but I do like what they're doing with the one on the right 192 00:13:36,120 --> 00:13:42,839 a little bit I feel like the one on the right is the newer phone and the one on 193 00:13:40,440 --> 00:13:48,120 the left is the older one would you ever use portrait mode 194 00:13:45,360 --> 00:13:52,380 I had issues with the clunkiness of portrait mode in the app the quickness 195 00:13:50,160 --> 00:13:57,480 of it I don't think will ever beat a new or normal camera and it doesn't inspire 196 00:13:54,600 --> 00:14:02,339 a lot of confidence because I know that it can probably fail right and so that 197 00:13:59,700 --> 00:14:04,940 probability would refrain me from using it regularly I think I just used my 198 00:14:03,839 --> 00:14:09,540 normal camera 199 00:14:09,540 --> 00:14:15,540 in terms of doing this whole experience what's been the biggest takeaway I think 200 00:14:13,620 --> 00:14:18,420 to me they're trying to cement the belief 201 00:14:16,680 --> 00:14:22,260 that you don't need anything else especially now with what you know about 202 00:14:20,220 --> 00:14:25,980 the 14 pro would this be enough to make you switch back to iPhone 203 00:14:23,940 --> 00:14:29,579 with my knowledge of how to use the portrait mode on top of it and the video 204 00:14:27,720 --> 00:14:33,660 features and the pro raw and the fact that you could 205 00:14:30,779 --> 00:14:38,160 color correct the image and manipulate it however you want because it is a raw 206 00:14:35,639 --> 00:14:43,199 photo that you're getting I don't like iOS Jonathan what I'm still strongly 207 00:14:41,699 --> 00:14:47,459 considering it because I do need to upgrade my phone soon even after all 208 00:14:44,699 --> 00:14:51,120 this you would say uh if you if you care about pictures 209 00:14:48,899 --> 00:14:55,980 fire real camera it is really cool to see the evolution 210 00:14:53,699 --> 00:15:03,240 of a product like this because it is so historical you really do see that 211 00:14:58,199 --> 00:15:05,220 between the seven plus and the 11 the 212 00:15:03,240 --> 00:15:09,420 difference isn't that drastic and now we're at the 14 pro the 48 megapixels is 213 00:15:08,040 --> 00:15:13,560 a big jump but then do they really make another big jump after that 214 00:15:11,639 --> 00:15:18,540 we'll see we'll find out next year yeah thanks for comparing every single Mac 215 00:15:16,199 --> 00:15:23,880 address video if you like looking at many photos give this video a like and 216 00:15:21,600 --> 00:15:29,160 if you want to see more photos get taken you might as well subscribe now I'm 217 00:15:26,040 --> 00:15:31,079 curious what iPhone camera did you find 218 00:15:29,160 --> 00:15:34,920 the best is it always the latest one or was there an old iPhone camera you 219 00:15:32,760 --> 00:15:37,880 really developed an affection for like those tick tockers