iPhone 5 or earlier iPhone camera evolution

[lkalliance]

So every year about this time we’re all inundated with critiques of the new iPhone and in particular the camera. Though it makes sense to me to compare the camera on the 14 pro to the one on the 13 pro or to the most recent Pixel or Samsung or [insert high-end phone here], I also enjoy looking at how the cameras have improved over the years.

So I’ve combed through my Photos library, comparing shots from different generations of iPhone. I thought I’d share some here. I’ve selected an outdoor shot, an indoor shot, and a low-light shot for each of the seven iPhone models I’ve owned. I tried to find “indoor” shots that were just lit by indoor lighting, but if I couldn’t find a decent one I would use one that was indoors but lit by filtered outdoor light.

In each category, I’m showing photos from, in order:

iPhone 2G
iPhone 3GS
iPhone 4S
iPhone 5c (i.e. iPhone 5)
iPhone SE 2016 (i.e. iPhone 5S)
iPhone SE 2020 (i.e. iPhone 8)
iPhone 13 mini

EDIT: user @legomite points out below that the SE 2016 camera was in fact the 6S camera, and not the 5S.

Here we go!


OUTDOOR SHOTS


















INDOOR SHOTS


















LOW-LIGHT SHOTS

 

[lkalliance]

I guess something I learned in doing this is that...given enough quality setup, and looking on a computer screen and asking the camera not to do too much...even the old cameras did a pretty decent job.

Also that I seem to rarely take indoor shots that aren't lit by filtered sunlight. Lots of windows in my house, lol.

 

[cjbriare]

Good shots!

It is interesting to think about. My first one was a 5 and there's a noticeable difference between that and my 13 pro max for sure, but looking at the photos I took in that same time period with my BlackBerry, and old HTC android, it's beyond night and day lol.

 

[lkalliance]

Good shots!

It is interesting to think about. My first one was a 5 and there's a noticeable difference between that and my 13 pro max for sure, but looking at the photos I took in that same time period with my BlackBerry, and old HTC android, it's beyond night and day lol.

I'm trying to remember the pics I took with my pre-iPhone dumbfone. I think I took a couple. Have come a long long long long long way.

 

[legomite]

I believe the 2016 SE had the 6S 12MP camera

 

[lkalliance]

I believe the 2016 SE had the 6S 12MP camera

That strikes me as not true, because the 6S had a camera bump and the SE didn't...BUT I had a nagging feeling you are right. So I did the "Compare Models" on the Apple site, and the SE and 6S camera specs, at least at that level, were identical, so I do think you're right! Thanks for the correction!

 

[lkalliance]

Viewing tip: If you click on any of the photos in the post (not on the attachments, just in the post), it will come up in a larger size in the photo viewer (how much larger depends on what device you're viewing on). You can more clearly see the shortfalls of the earlier cameras: more noise on the indoor and low-light pics, the lack of sharp focus on all of them. Also, you can click to reveal the "Image Metadata" on the right, and you'll see what model iPhone took the photo. Though for some reason, that information does NOT appear for my 13 mini (perhaps because I uploaded it from that phone directly? I don't know). It does appear with all the other pics, though.

 

[Dented]

I’ve always been a keen photographer with an assortment of “proper” cameras, and always hated the iPhone cameras from my first 3G onwards, they were all terrible and not worth bothering with… right until the XR.

Coming from the original SE, the XR immediately impressed me, with better colours, better low light (even pre night mode), and the ability to convincingly fake a bit of bokeh sometimes, albeit for people only.

Based on that experience I went all in on the 13 pro last year, and couldn’t be happier with it. For the first time I have a hard time justifying my “proper camera” (a Fuji X-Pro2) and find myself leaving it at home a lot more often.

Both the hardware and the software involved has come a long way and I can easily believe my next iPhone (perhaps the 15 or 16) will be the only camera I need.

 

[lkalliance]

I’ve always been a keen photographer with an assortment of “proper” cameras, and always hated the iPhone cameras from my first 3G onwards, they were all terrible and not worth bothering with… right until the XR.

Coming from the original SE, the XR immediately impressed me, with better colours, better low light (even pre night mode), and the ability to convincingly fake a bit of bokeh sometimes, albeit for people only.

Based on that experience I went all in on the 13 pro last year, and couldn’t be happier with it. For the first time I have a hard time justifying my “proper camera” (a Fuji X-Pro2) and leave it at home a lot more often.

Last year when I was considering the purchase of a 13 pro, I went through this thought process. I had at the time an SE 2020, so an iPhone 8 single-lens system. I tend to bring my DSLR lots of places and take most of my "purpose" photos with it. But...I'm getting tired of lugging it around. I get much better photos from it than I do from my phone, of course, especially with a lower-end camera system like that. So I reasoned thusly:

I thought of three "buckets" in which any photo could go:

--Quickie snapshot bucket. When I find something I need a photo of quickly. Or something amusing I want a quick pick of. This has been the domain of my phone, and would continue to be.
--High-end "photography" (I'm giving myself a lot of credit here). I took grad photos of all my kids and stepkids; I've been the discount (i.e. free) photographer at friends' weddings and grad parties. This has been the domain of my DSLR, and would continue to be.
--Mid-level photography that I want to get decent photos out of. Family gatherings at Thanksgiving. I nice landscape I come across. Taking photos along my bike loop.

It's that last bucket I wanted to change. Those are the sorts of things I would use my DSLR. I want to do that with the phone now. My wife and I are planning a trip to Europe next year. It's our first trip abroad, and I'm very excited. And normally I would bring my DSLR. But I think about carrying the camera, one more bag to lug around, one more thing to stress about keeping it safe. Plus I know my psychology on this: if I've brought my camera then my activity is photography. I can't try to both be involved in an activity AND photograph it...I end up doing neither well. So, I thought I would upgrade my iPhone so at least I could get better quality photos on the Europe trip. I mean, even if I bring my good camera am I really going to get a better photo of the Colosseum than what I could get in a Google search?

In the end I opted not to get the 13 pro, after reading threads here that felt very credible and well-documented about the challenges to using the 13 pro's cameras. I didn't want to pay the price in dollars, size and weight if I wasn't going to be unreservedly excited about the photos. But even though I got the mini, it's still the very best camera I've ever had on a phone. I'm very comfortable using it for my photography needs, without worrying, "can my phone handle this?" The answer is probably yes.