iPhone 13 Help me understand camera stats like I’m in Kindergarten

[Italianblend]

Hello, I have a very small amateurish YouTube channel, and I use my iPhone to record all of the videos that I put out.

I really don’t know anything about camera stats.

Can someone help me understand the front camera stats? Under front camera, it says it takes 4K video. But clearly, when I record with the front camera as opposed to the main camera, you see a big difference and I understand that’s how it should be.

But why does the front camera stat say 4K video when the quality is so much worse than the main camera? I’m looking at the stats directly from Apple’s website and the iPhone 13 front camera lists 4K and 1080 P video at 25, 30, or 60 FPS and it says it does use HDR as well.

Can someone help me understand the stats and why the front camera doesn’t seem to record at 4K even though it says it should? I’m not expecting it to, but I just don’t understand the numbers. Are there hidden setting somewhere that I’m just not seeing?

Thank you for any help.

 

[krspkbl]

Hello, I have a very small amateurish YouTube channel, and I use my iPhone to record all of the videos that I put out.

I really don’t know anything about camera stats.

Can someone help me understand the front camera stats? Under front camera, it says it takes 4K video. But clearly, when I record with the front camera as opposed to the main camera, you see a big difference and I understand that’s how it should be.

But why does the front camera stat say 4K video when the quality is so much worse than the main camera? I’m looking at the stats directly from Apple’s website and the iPhone 13 front camera lists 4K and 1080 P video at 25, 30, or 60 FPS and it says it does use HDR as well.

Can someone help me understand the stats and why the front camera doesn’t seem to record at 4K even though it says it should? I’m not expecting it to, but I just don’t understand the numbers. Are there hidden setting somewhere that I’m just not seeing?

Thank you for any help.

4K is the resolution. Common resolutions are 720p, 1080p, 1440p, 2160p (4K), and beyond. All resolution really means is the amount of pixels that make up a frame be it a photo frame or frames in a video. 4K has a total of 8,294,400 pixels.

Resolution doesn't affect the quality of pixels. The camera sensor on the front is smaller than the ones on the back so it can't get as much light. It can't zoom as good. The bitrate will be lower. For flash, the front camera can only use the screen to light up surroundings but of course the back camera has an actual LED flash which is significantly brighter and more accurate. Also, the Pro models have a Lidar sensor which helps calculate depth for blur and can improve quality of low light photos/video. I don't know if the front camera uses Face ID to help with photos or video quality.

When shooting videos the bitrate is important. You can have a 4K video but if the bitrate is low it will look blocky, blurry, and noisy. Higher bitrate means a cleaner image quality making things look sharper. If you've ever watched YouTube/Netflix and you have poor internet connection then the bitrate will be reduced (thus using less data). You'll see the image quality get worse. When you have a stable connection the image looks clean because the connection is strong enough to receive the higher bitrate.

Here is an image that shows the difference:

There are a lot more things that go into image quality but I think that's a good enough explaination. The front camera simple doesn't have enough space for all the things that can improve quality. And Apple, or any phone maker, don't really want to put too much into it. There is a reason the camera bump on phones are so big.

Ideally you should be using the back cameras if you care about quality. The front camera is only really meant to be good enough for selfies to post on instagram, film TikTok videos, or chat through FaceTime. If you want to shoot videos for YouTube or anything else then try to use the back camera. If you are really set on using the front camera then try improve lighting when indoors or in low light environments.

 

[Italianblend]

4K is the resolution. Common resolutions are 720p, 1080p, 1440p, 2160p (4K), and beyond. All resolution really means is the amount of pixels that make up a frame be it a photo frame or frames in a video. 4K has a total of 8,294,400 pixels.

Resolution doesn't affect the quality of pixels. The camera sensor on the front is smaller than the ones on the back so it can't get as much light. It can't zoom as good. The bitrate will be lower. For flash, the front camera can only use the screen to light up surroundings but of course the back camera has an actual LED flash which is significantly brighter and more accurate. Also, the Pro models have a Lidar sensor which helps calculate depth for blur and can improve quality of low light photos/video. I don't know if the front camera uses Face ID to help with photos or video quality.

When shooting videos the bitrate is important. You can have a 4K video but if the bitrate is low it will look blocky, blurry, and noisy. Higher bitrate means a cleaner image quality making things look sharper. If you've ever watched YouTube/Netflix and you have poor internet connection then the bitrate will be reduced (thus using less data). You'll see the image quality get worse. When you have a stable connection the image looks clean because the connection is strong enough to receive the higher bitrate.

Here is an image that shows the difference:

There are a lot more things that go into image quality but I think that's a good enough explaination. The front camera simple doesn't have enough space for all the things that can improve quality. And Apple, or any phone maker, don't really want to put too much into it. There is a reason the camera bump on phones are so big.

Ideally you should be using the back cameras if you care about quality. The front camera is only really meant to be good enough for selfies to post on instagram, film TikTok videos, or chat through FaceTime. If you want to shoot videos for YouTube or anything else then try to use the back camera. If you are really set on using the front camera then try improve lighting when indoors or in low light environments.

Thank you for the explanation. I just love the convenience of seeing the screen but I can resurrect my Apple Watch or cast it.

Do you have any comments about whether or not it’s worth upgrading to iPhone 15 from 13 for a YouTube camera?

 

[krspkbl]

Thank you for the explanation. I just love the convenience of seeing the screen but I can resurrect my Apple Watch or cast it.

Do you have any comments about whether or not it’s worth upgrading to iPhone 15 from 13 for a YouTube camera?

I don't do YouTube but I think you'll be fine sticking with your 13. I watch some channels where they are still uploading in 1080p SDR shot from their phone and it doesn't really look great. These channels can have 1+ million subscribers.

It depends what you want in terms of quality. See how you go with shooting with the back cameras and if you think you're not happy with it then maybe upgrade. I wanted to upgrade from a 12 to 15 because I was thinking of getting back into photography as a hobby. I think the 15 Pro Max takes significantly better photos than the 12 PM. I don't know what the difference would be from 13-15.

If you are really serious about quality then you'd probably not want to upgrade to another smartphone but buy something like a mirrorless camera. I was going to do that but since I'm just getting my toes wet again I didn't want to go buy a dedicated camera. It seems silly that I spend £1,000+ on a new phone but wouldn't buy a camera at ~£400-900 but of course you can use a smartphone for anything so I guess I used it as an excuse to upgrade. Maybe if I do get back into photography I'll buy that camera.

TL;DR: you're likely fine with 13 but you need to decide what you want for your channel, how much you want to spend, and the convenience between a smartphone vs a dedicated camera.

 

[Italianblend]

I don't do YouTube but I think you'll be fine sticking with your 13. I watch some channels where they are still uploading in 1080p SDR shot from their phone and it doesn't really look great. These channels can have 1+ million subscribers.

It depends what you want in terms of quality. See how you go with shooting with the back cameras and if you think you're not happy with it then maybe upgrade. I wanted to upgrade from a 12 to 15 because I was thinking of getting back into photography as a hobby. I think the 15 Pro Max takes significantly better photos than the 12 PM. I don't know what the difference would be from 13-15.

If you are really serious about quality then you'd probably not want to upgrade to another smartphone but buy something like a mirrorless camera. I was going to do that but since I'm just getting my toes wet again I didn't want to go buy a dedicated camera. It seems silly that I spend £1,000+ on a new phone but wouldn't buy a camera at ~£400-900 but of course you can use a smartphone for anything so I guess I used it as an excuse to upgrade. Maybe if I do get back into photography I'll buy that camera.

TL;DR: you're likely fine with 13 but you need to decide what you want for your channel, how much you want to spend, and the convenience between a smartphone vs a dedicated camera.

Thank you for your insight. I also dont want the 13 to become obsolete and not trade-in-able if I really need an upgrade. I can get a 15 plus for about $3/mo but that would lock me in for 3 years. I dont think I would want to purchase a separate camera for what I do.

 

[sack_peak]

From my perspective iPhone cameras are the best in terms of convenience as you'd likely never leave your phone when you go outside.

But when image quality is holding you back then buy a "real" camera.

Those buying "real" cameras will tend to leave them at home due to size and weight.

So in terms of utilization or amount of time you se the device it ranks very very low unlike phones which has become the center of many peoples' lives as they do more than take stills or video.

 

[MacCheetah3]

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Simon d’Entremont is a pro photographer with a channel that explains things in a very layperson fashion.

https://www.youtube.com/@simon_dentremont

However, some of the features, terms, details, aspects, methods, etc are videographer relevant, and Simon does have a video focused on that use: