Finally, A Real and In-Depth Review of the iPhone 6s Camera Capabilities for Travel Photographers

Having seen plenty of Apple iPhone 6s reviews and comparisons over the last few weeks, including the newly famed Lee Morris iPhone fashion shoot, it could be said we have had enough. Though as primarily a mobile shooter myself, I was looking for something a bit more in-depth and something that got down to the very details of the phone's camera capabilities. Thanks to the ever so talented travel photographer Austin Mann we have what I have been waiting for and it's the best iPhone review I have seen yet!

If you have not heard of Mann before, he has been pushing the limits of the iPhone's camera for quite some time now always giving an incredible look into the real-world uses. Today I am happy to finally see his full recap of what his thoughts were shooting with the newest flagship device by Apple while traveling in Switzerland. Below are some sample shots including some outstanding time-lapses and comparisons from last year's model.

The goal of our review is to see what the iPhone can do primarily as a standalone device, so all the gear used for this project can easily fit into a messenger bag — no big DSLR lenses, no fancy stabilizers, and no off-camera mics. Mobile photography’s unique advantage is, well, mobility, so we fight hard to maintain it.

Some of the major features that help the iPhone 6s stand out are the optical image stabilization for video and time-lapse, resolution, live photos, new water proofing, and of course the selfie camera flash. Though I think these side by sides and dynamic range comparison shots will help bring more light to these subjects. 

Outstanding look into the dynamic range and detail of the 6 Plus and 6 as well as the below images showing the amount of detail that can be seen in the recent update.

Now, if you ask me, this has been the review and close look into the iPhone's new camera that I have been waiting for all month. My biggest gripe with the 6 Plus from last year is the post-processing the phone seems to do to the image to "build quality," but in the end seems to soften it as if it's zoomed and you can see almost paintbrush-like strokes instead of pixelation or noise. Sure it helps smooth out the image but it also removes detail and sharpness. As you can see in the comparison images above, Apple seems to have gone back to a sharper technique in post, which I am highly interested in shooting with in the near future.

Impressed yet? Have you seen a difference in image quality over last year's model and this year's? Either way I am excited to get my hands on the next iteration to shoot all mobile campaigns going forward.

[via Austin Mann]

Andrew Griswold's picture

Andrew Griswold is a photographer and designer based in Indianapolis. Born and raised in Indy he has made a name for himself by staying very active in the creative community in both photography and design. He has also founded a community of photographers via Instagram connecting them with brands to work with and shoot locally.

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22 Comments

Call me when the iPhone shoots RAW...like my phone does...

the problem with tiny sensor raw is that the latitude is quite terrible anyway. its usually like a slightly enhanced jpeg. when ur used to pulling exposure from -3 to +3 quite succesfully in newer FF dslr the raws can screw up at +- 0.3

That's true, my phone saves 16MB dng files, i find them quite better than the jpeg counterpart. They are not as good, not even close to the ones from my Canon EOS 500D/T1i, even less than the ones from the EOS 6D. Still, i make this kind of comment to provoke iPhone users and the "new" tech they have...hehehehehe

HEHEHE, I like that. #KUDOS

The raw bitmap data is readily extract-able from the iPhone - and like you said, it's for for some fractional stop data that is otherwise lost, but at a pretty hefty cost: ~20-30mb / photo on an iPhone 6

LG G4? M9? Xperia? **high five**

Hey Travis, i've got the OnePlus One, that unicorn! Hehehehe :D

With the right app you can shoot raw.

yawn.......another "photo" iPhone article.

My exact reaction to yet ANOTHER post of an apple fan boy creaming his pants over an iPhone 6s.

Bravo .... ...

Android fanboys love to troll apple. I really don't think apple lovers waste the same time reading/commenting on Android phone posts. We are much more confident in our sexuality. ;) Next time just skip the article. We get it.

I would like to say most android people are not "Fanboys", we are fully aware and accepting that all phones have flaws, and that their not perfect. I will argue we are well educated and know their are far better phones on the market. We also personally do not suffer from shiny object syndrome and aren't a mass of white sheep ;)

Gracious reply... but can you admit you're wrong also as diplomatically?

Smarter people use iPhones - study - http://money.cnn.com/2015/01/22/technology/mobile/iphone-smart-study/

Did you even read this article or the study?

It focuses less on people being smarter, and more on wealth, which makes sense considering most wealthy families buy apple. Most apple users buy what's easy consumed and flashy. I'm not sure how you mark that with intelligence exactly, more than just great marketing.

Apple is VERY good at marketing their products. They are very good at marketing to a particular demographic (especially those of wealth), which alone is great marketing. They used what is called in the "inverse method", which is the "Why, How, What" method. It grips people on an emotional level. It's also a common known fact that people are attracted to shiny objects, it's evolution at it's finest. Apple knows this and eats you away with it:

http://www.fastcodesign.com/3024766/evidence/an-evolutionary-theory-for-...

To broadly assume wealth means intelligence, would mean Kim Kardashian is the next Albert Einstein.

What really gets me here: CNN as your tech news/study source? Are you serious? Do you trust a plumber with your photo retouching?

Your argument has no grounds.

Considering that all US-based media has been compromised as agenda propaganda years ago, CNN is just as good as any that I found with a simple search that you could understand.

Besides:
1) Glossy object theory is very old news, so a different US media concern doesn't now make it any more worth while; and since when were Apple devices any shinier than LG, Samsung, Nokia, etc. Apple has no patent on shiny.

2) Kim Kardashian IS the new Einstein in America. You or I didn't choose the fact that she's so influential... Americans did. So yeah... she's a genius in her own right because her every move, whim and whimper is followed and swallowed and it makes her quite wealthy at the same time. She's doing something right?!

3) marketing tricks only go so far, so please explain if it's only marketing why no other manufacturer can figure that out, to even come close to beating Apple at that game, when they "obviously" have far superior & cheaper devices to sell... some even free.

Come up with some argument to boost your position. Also, you might try to find a "far better smartphone" that you claim exists instead of just saying so.

My LG G4 camera craps on the iPhone 6s, so does the Sony Xperia, and the M9 from HTC, so I already did that part, just on the sheer fact the have full manual controls, DNG capture, and Manual focus, not to mention actual quality. :)

I already did defeat your argument. If you choose to ignore it, that's your problem. Apples Marketing is far superior to Androids, even though Android spent more on advertising this past year. They just know how to reach people wallets better, which to me, does not make them a better phone by proxy.

If I told you my RX100 M4 was better than a Canon 5DMarkIII just because of the shiny casing and pocket convenience, you would look at me like I had 4 heads. Same case with Apple.

It's also evident as iPhones have the highest unit earning ratio of all smartphones.

This means that the difference between the iPhone's production cost and it market price is the highest of all smartphones, which also means you're paying a LOT for a drawing of a half eaten Apple in the backside of your phone instead of actual hardware value. Android has a better value for nearly the same price.

Not to mention app creation bias towards apple. The app support is much cleaner, which is my point towards why most people buy apple because "It's easy" and really doesn't take any thought to buy.

If you know anything about consumerism, people buy what their friends and coworkers insist or tell them to buy. It's tech envy more than people actually knowing what they are buying. Thus why I say the average apple consumer is not smarter than an android user, which CNN is way off base on.

Cheap hardware, high price, people actually buying = win win for Apple. They do however deserve a lot respect for getting people to buy cheap phones at a high price (I.E. Great marketing), it is the dream of every business man out there.

BTW: Just curious if you ran across my post that warned Lee & Patrick that they were going to experience some iPhone and Apple backlash for posting too much about them?

I knew this kind of member discussion was bound to happen... just like it always does.

Please... don't take my snark personal and no hard feelings intended(!)

I'm not, I'm just stating what I know, and as a former Apple user, I am happy I personally jumped off that train. I personally find it annoying that's all Lee talks about at the current moment. I told him so on his last post too.

You make some good points and I will agree with many of them about Apple having a grasp on their market research and marketing. I have to admit the reason I push for Apple products for the majority is the way their software and hardware work together and communicate together. It is just a really well build ecosystem overall and runs smooth. The specs are second to the experience and the work flow I have right now but in the end it takes pretty damn good pics and runs pretty fast with everything I need it to do. Great convo though man

There are so many more amazing phones out there then just the Apple phones. Look at the LG V10. It's recording in 4K 58MBPS, with full manual video controls, with a manual directional microphone that's customizable. Along with a full manual camera, 1.8 lens, and DNG files.

Got my iphone 6s yesterday, had android and windows phones before. I'm very pleased with it so far. The camera is pretty able, but I don't think it stands out THAT much from other flagship models. Fact is, my old Nokia Lumia 1020 41 MP camera still blows everything out of the water. I did realize something with the Lumia 1020, however, and that was that I pretty much never processed those 41 megapixel RAWs at my computer anyway. I'd rather get a great phone and images I can use right away in a great smartphone eco-system. When I really need all that dynamic range, low-light ability, detail and megapixels I got my Nikon FF and prime lenses.