Comparing a $10,000 Camera Setup With the iPhone 15 Pro Max

The new iPhone 15 Pro Max has garnered a lot of attention thanks to its new capabilities such as recording to external storage, bringing it ever-closer to being a professional photography and videography tool (with particular focus on the latter). So, how close is it now?

For slightly over a decade now, content creators, photographers, videographers, and filmmakers have been comparing phones to professional equipment. I used to find that sort of comparison boring because the answers were typically the same: there are a few scenarios where phones can hold their own against professional photography equipment, and that might surprise you, but it'll lose in most areas.

However, in recent years, these tests have continued to surprise me with just how many areas the top-spec phones can compete in. When I bought the iPhone 12 Pro Max, it was the first phone that integrated itself into how I took pictures. My phone used to be for situations where I didn't have my camera, but the 12 Pro Max was strong enough that I used it as my wide-angle option in everything but professional shoots. Now, with the 15 Pro Max, it's getting dangerously close to making entry-level cameras — particularly ones without interchangeable lenses — obsolete. And that's before we discuss how strong it is with video!

Rob Baggs's picture

Robert K Baggs is a professional portrait and commercial photographer, educator, and consultant from England. Robert has a First-Class degree in Philosophy and a Master's by Research. In 2015 Robert's work on plagiarism in photography was published as part of several universities' photography degree syllabuses.

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24 years ago I was shooting a broadcast spot on my Red One and the creative director pulled out his point and shoot camera and joked "Hey, let's shoot it on this." I told him that would actually be a reality some day and here we are.