As a photojournalist of 40 years for a major metro daily now retired, I can honestly say the iphone 15 pro max camera is the best camera that I always have with me. Beats everything you left home. I started before a phone in your pocket existed. Evolved to this. Its an amazing job in a device this size thats primary function is a communication and computing. It’s omni present. Love it. Especially the 5x lens and the portrait mode. The progression of camera phones is amazing.

01:11 The cut from the "uneven surface" warning sign to Chris stumbling up the stairs caught me off guard :D

Very impressed by the log video. Seems to be the only video mode that doesn't have that overprocessed iphone look

The LOG profile looks like it mostly fixes the over-sharpening the iPhone does with the other video modes and finally is an image that I would consider usable if you're in good light.

The Pro-res manual graded shots looked really great, with nice natural looking color. The native HDR mode didn't look as nice to me, though. But with the technical capability being there, I hope software tweaks can still improve this.

Thanks for never referring to this as a "10x zoom" or "zoom camera" or any other incorrect term that the big youtube channels throw out when discussing phone cameras.

I’m going to Japan this winter, so I’m trying to watch every video for iPhone photography and videography. That’s really the only reason I decided to upgrade this year after having the same phone for a few years.

I never seen a KZfaq video showing this sort of camera analysis of any smartphone. That's really a incredible work to clear perspective.

This is the greatest smartphone camera review I have ever seen hands down. Subscribed!

Wow. You guys did a great job. Enjoyed this content, the shots, the editing. Very clean and clear. Great job!

I watched 5 reviews and you are the first to shoot the review with the iPhone. This is what I was looking for. Subbed.

Would love to see a comparison of the “crop” modes vs a post photo crop and see if Apple’s processing is doing the magic or if it’s just a gimmick

Great coverage of and review of the new iPhone photo/video capabilities, as always. Thank you! The results are good for smartphone cameras, but we still haven't bent the laws of physics yet, and it still shows with the limitations demonstrated with this video.

As always super depth and informative review.

Excellent review as always

I cannot believe you are one of the rare KZfaqrs who can post early iPhone reviews (same time slot as MKBHD, iJustine)

Most important part to compare and review should be the the zoom between 2.1 - 4.9 Zoom in IPhone Pro and Pro Max.

Yes a HDR review. Beautiful video. This log and external recording is excellent, looks very much alike the Panasonics. Indoor videos it’s okay it will get there, someday they will have dual iso. Their maddening marketing of 24mm 28mm 35mm and 48mm is just that. Who cares if the files are just really good. It’s probably great for budding photographers who want to get their first prime lens choose which focal length they want to get. Or some people can scout on the phone quickly before whipping out their cameras and switching out primes. It’s like people complaining about crop modes on a full frame, it gives more option to use an apsc lens or get more reach, like a teleconvertor.

Thanks for the thorough analysis. I really appreciate the shifting between modes and processed/unprocessed.

Underrated KZfaq channel right here. Great & thorough review! Thanks!

Looks like going from the 12 Pro to the 15 Pro Max will be a nice photo/video upgrade, in addition to other quality of life improvements. Look forward to messing around with the new phone when it arrives.

Great review from a photographers' perspectives. It's a shame that Apple overblows their specs but nice to see some incremental improvements. Really like the compatibility of external drives. Thanks for the great review as always.

That turned out awesome! Thanks for sharing!👊

Superb video, thanks. Using the footage to show the various modes throughout the video was really helpful.

Great video. Some key things that are missing though... Are the 24mp digital lenses equivalent to a cropped 48mp image? Also does the 120mm tetraprism lens use the same sensor as the 77mm lens? Either way some detailed comparative shots between the 77mm and 120mm would have been useful as well as comparing the OIS between the two. Apparently the 120mm has improved OIS.

i was first impressed by the hdr mode but then I was literally mind blown by the log format. Looks great with natural softness in contrast to the oversharpened hdr shots

Stumbled across this video and it was great to see you guys still doing your thing. I used to rely on your reviews from The Camera Store for Nikon gear “back in the day”.

Excellent review guys, you really covered everything and I feel liked I learned a lot!

Normally I upgrade every year because of the better camera hardware… but i realise the 15PM 5x lens is not practical focal length cause it only kicks in at 120mm and above The 3x lens will give better image between 77 to 119mm which a practical range for portrait shots

The standout feature for me this year is the 5x telephoto lens. I am amazed with the amount of background compression in this 120 mm shot 12:38. Imagine if i phone 16 pro max comes with something like 300 mm telephoto lens and a good stabilization. The depth of field should be at par with a budget mirrorless zoom camera, and that's a fantastic thing. You would't need the gimmicky portrait mode and cinematic video because you will get the true bokeh in both photos and videos. Wishlist- i phone 16 pro max, 300 mm optical zoom, take my money.

Great review guys, was waiting to see this!

thanks guys a very informative and helpul review

The log footage looks really great, if they weren't labeled I would've thought they weren't shot on the phone honestly.

The big question for me is this: How many really “serious” photographers will decide it’s time to give up their traditional dslr or mirrorless cameras and only use a smartphone for their photography? It’s tempting for me, as an old retired pro, because it’s gotten so much less fun to lug lots of heavy equipment around. Is the image quality and handling now good enough?

Wo you put so much effort to make this detailed video review so nice and everything is covered in single video.. great 👍

Excellent review…. Thank you

I thought it was a missed opportunity to have 4 cameras in the Pro Max with the two telephoto cameras. Now you have to really ask if you take more portraits or if you want the 5x spy camera.

The HDR colours are odd at times. Other times it looks quite nice.

Great review. Thanks for this as it’s been super helpful to me.

Great work as always, gents, thank you!

Cool to see a comparison with the Pixel for example.

Increíble performance in good lighting conditions. After watching both of you for years you could fool me with many shots. Keep the great work!

Love how at 1:11 we see the sign warning of uneven surface and then Chris trips in the next short cut. It’s these little things plus so much more that has me stalking you on KZfaq wherever you go.

The best camera review I've ever watched. FR you guys covered everything

Your team came through again. Yours and Ted Forbes’ reviews are the first professional and trustworthy deep dives on the photography and videography side of the new Pro and Pro Max models. As always, I learned a great deal from this review and the notations regarding lens and format are a great idea. I think the jump to 24MP without Pro Raw will prove a big deal for casual users. I’ve been impressed with my 14 Pro Max, which I use in Raw, and it appears the Apple engineers (or Mother Nature) have made significant improvements.

The cinematic Mode evolved to something pretty impressive i have to say. The oversharpened hdr look really isn’t mine, the graded log however looks great

Excellent video, thank you for covering everything I was thinking about and shot with iPhone a great touch to your professional production.

You guys are awesome. So glad you started this channel after DP

honestly that prores log is so good I wouldn't have really noticed a switch between your pro camera as long as the DOF wasn't crazy thin. But the hdr footage looks very Iphony as usual, lol. Will be perma-strapping an SSD to mine and shooting video that way only, I think. This might be the first iPhone ever that can actually intercut with pro cameras even though everyone has always said they could, the workflow is actually doable now with the SSD recording!

The new Blackmagic app looks very nice, and can use the new log, you should try it out. I’d love to also hear your opinion on how to handle shutter speed for video when recording outside, since aperture is fixed and if you lock SS then ISO gets locked too.

I was waiting for your guyses review of this. Ive seen other reviews but you guys have a better way of showing off even a phone's camera in terms of framing and subject matter.

I love you guys. Please never stop reviewing...

I’ve been using my iPhone SE (2/2020) for KZfaq for the past couple years, and the iPhone 8 (so, same camera afaik) for a couple years before that. This is the first time I’ve felt excited to upgrade. As a decades long SLR user and pro photographer wannabe, this is huge for being prepared all the time with something amazingly usable. Thank you, Lads!

Nice review. I am more curious about whether iPhone still does the "auto-sharpening" thing. As a 14Pro user, I am often annoyed by this feature that makes my picture too contrasty and unnatural. Changing the "photographic style" in settings doesn't help. I guess this is related to the auto HDR function. I wish Apple can give users more flexibility on this

Excellent review 10/10 bravo

Thank you. This was a very good review. You explained things well.

Great review, great format. It would have been beneficial to see Pro and Pro Max side by side photos at 77mm. 77mm is my favorite for portraits and curious how the Max handles the gap between the lenses.

Great review, guys. Two questions: 1. Jordan: Is the prores video now without that dreadful oversharpenin? Or at least the log footage? Its my biggest complaint on iPhone 13 pro 2. Chris: Similar question on the photo side. The prores pics shot in the iphone 13 pro lack over sharpening which makes all the difference importing them into LR. But as you said, you do loose HDR output like with heif. Does the 48mp HEIF on the 15 pro combine detail, lack of over sharpening, high dynamic range AND hdr output capability? Thanks guys🎉

Great review. Thanks!

best review ever about the Iphone 15 in terms of photography/videographey. Thanks

Good job. The Cinematic and manual graded Log were good. HDR looked bad. It would be nice if you tested the Sony Xperia 1 v as well as the current top line Samsung. The Sony in particular is fairly rarely covered, and it interesting that it is a camera company. I have a Sony Xperia 10 iii, and I do think there is a "Sony look" in common w/the Alpha cameras.

Thank you for uploading in HDR! I feel like I get a much more realistic idea of what the cameras will perform like

This was a fantastic review for fellow video photo nerds. Huge thanks!

Really nice review and tests of the cameras! Would have loved to see the handling of the new lens flare, besides that though really nice detailed video!

I have ordered the Pro. I prefer the smaller form factor. The 120mm was tempting, but it seemed an awfully big gap for the main camera to have to fill with digital zooming. How do the images out of the two sizes compare between 3x and 5x?

That 5x lens is pretty unremarkable considering how much time was devoted to talking about it during the launch

Really nice vidéo, like usual with you 2 guys :).

What a presentation of the video great 👍

I think the HDR video looks great on my OLED screen!

Being able to zoom through multiple lenses is one of my most-wanted features. It's unfortunate to see that there's a little jump when switching lenses - but even with that it's still something that I would use all the time e.g. when filming a soccer game. I'm also wondering if the 3x lens on the Pro might be better than the 5x on the Pro Max - since the quality dropoff just before switching to the 5x lense was really noticeable.

Great review, thank you

Thank you for your overlay brush tip!! That is super awesome!!! Very nice tutorial! Liked ✅ subbed ✅

Since you guys are covering the iphone 15 pros as camera phones, i would like to see how you guys would review the Sony Xperia 1/5 V and their performances as a camera phone.

Fantastic video as always! Upgrading from the galaxy s10 to the 15 pro. Extremely impressed with how good the 4k 30 HDR and Log footage looks. Curious what Jordan thought of the results of the apple lut vs manual grading -- or if he'd just prefer to shoot in HDR 4k 30p

Great video as always guys. Looking forward to getting my iPhone 15 Pro Max

Great video! I’ve ordered the 15 Pro Max and this has given me a better insight into its capabilities. I am not sure why I wasn’t subscribed before, but I am now and look forward to future content!

So not much difference from iPhone 14 PM. More bigger improvements coming later on to the camera

8:03 graded log looks great. SO much better than the other modes.

This is the kind of review I was looking for

When Chris mentioned he wasn't an iPhone user his legend grew ten fold. On the way home from filming this video, Chris got pulled over by the cops. They got off with a warning.

I felt like good audio really elevate the whole video

Jordan, if you could do a comparison video between the advanced-focused video apps for iPhone (Filmic Pro, Cinema P3, ProMovie, the new BlackMagic camera app) that would be excellent. Being able to crank up the bit rate in those third party apps helps a lot on the low-light video front.

Amazing efforts, great reviews. Definitely going to get iPhone 15 Pro Max ❤

This dynamic duo is always great!

The quality of video footage is uneven, sometimes the skin tones and contrast are strange especially when not shooting in log, I get much more reliable results from my ZV-1, but the photos look good, despite the lack of a periscopic lens, like in my S23 Ultra

Thank you. After 3 minutes this video tells me all I needed to know. Nothing much has changed since the 14 Pro camera wise. Unless they put the 48mp sensor behind all 3 lenses I probably won’t bother upgrading.

Nice to hear a good review from a skeptic. Chris had very pointed criticisms and justified his approvals. Jordan is much more pragmatic, uses iPhones, but he’s not blind to inadequacies. You guys do this stuff very well.

Amazing! Love you guys

Thanks for this! A couple of questions... 1) in the pseudo 35mm crop mode, does it have the same natural distortion as the native 24mm lens or does the software correct it to look more like actual 35mm? 2) Is there a way to shoot in say 75mm or 90mm equivalent since there's such a big gap between the 24mm to the 120mm? If it's possible, is it done via software cropping the 120mm image?

I have to say, I watched this episode with interest because I happened to use my iPhone to film parts of my episodes a few times (albeit with third party apps), and having a 12 pro max due for an upgrade I was curious to see how the 15 pro max did. The quality of still photos taken with Apple devices (as we have gotten used to by now) is very good. I also welcome the introduction of a 5x zoom so I can save on the weight of carrying a pocket camera with me when hiking and climbing mountains. But to my surprise… well I have to say the quality of the videos seems absolutely abysmal! That’s so disappointing considering I have been able to use footage from various iPhones in the past and mix it with that of Panasonic cameras, to the point that it’s almost impossible to tell the difference. Watching this video was utterly painful. I don’t know if it depends on using third party apps vs Apple stock Camera app, but saved for a couple of shots, the video quality (I’m talking about colours, highlights, the weird skin smoothing, etc. not the natural DOF, which we all know can’t compete with DSLR cameras) is completely insufficient for any use apart from family videos. The “pro” in Pro Max and Pro Res seems really wasted here. I was going to blindly upgrade my phone but after watching this useful video (I love all PetaPixel videos, you guys rock!) I’m going to reconsider my purchasing options.

I noticed the HDR output right away on my iPhone 14 Pro Max. It looks really good. I love it keep it up.

PLEASE UPDATE THE VIDEO OR THUMBNAIL TO SHOW THIS COVERS VIDEO AND NOT JUST PHOTO. I almost didn't watch this video and it's genuinely one of the best I've seen on this topic, thank you both!!!

My BIGGEST beef with Apple is their “sharpening”. The fact that there’s no option to control it or turn it off is disheartening. Now all my family videos make my loved ones look like playdoe skin.

I would be really interested to see a comparison between the "crop" modes and post-photo cropping, just to find out if Apple's processing is truly magical or simply a gimmick. 📷🔍 It's always fascinating to uncover the truth behind these features.

Now this was a new and interesting way to do a review 😅. Love it!

I was delighted to come across your video today, as I am from San Jose. Wish we could have crossed paths! Love your assessment of the iPhone 15 Pro. I always learn so much from your practical assessments of gear.

That cinematic mode looks amazing

Nice review. I always think you guys are better to watch then all the fanboys. Very well made. Low light was a bit underexposed. I would hope fore more next time. Technically, I have just used an iPhone 13 Pro Max for a recording of a concert. It was very nice. I recorded the scene from several angles. The bigger cameras had much better dynamic range and performed better in low light but the iPhone was still very usable.

Such a great video

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for HDR video!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please continue doing this