Every year, I compare the newest iPhone to my daily professional camera and always receive feedback that after compression and scaling, you lose too much detail to be able to tell the difference. So, this year, I've taken the next step by having the images professionally printed on metal and asking random strangers if they can guess which photo was taken with a phone.
This is my third year doing a print test and the second year of involving the opinions of strangers in the experiment. All the images in this come from my article comparing the iPhone 15 Pro to my Canon R5. While those results are a bit lacking, the images this year were closer than ever given the conditions they were taken in, which resulted in participants having a more difficult time figuring out which photo was which.
The first image I picked was the daytime photo from Gros Morne National Park. While this is technically a midday shot, which is where the iPhone typically has the best results, it was taken while on a boat with no tripod or stabilization. On top of that, it also has a huge dynamic range.
The second image was taken during blue hour and even has wave movement, which is normally a dead giveaway for an iPhone. Not allowing me to control the shutter speed when shooting in Apple ProRaw means no motion blur, but thankfully, using the timer allowed the shutter speed to slow down enough to have the images match well to the Canon R5. Typically, the shadow detail in these images is the giveaway; it absolutely was in last year's comparison. This year, it wasn't as straightforward, and the results match that which you can find in the video.
Last year, I had the images printed on archival paper, but this year I got the best I possibly could. The images were printed on Chromalux Aluminum by New Mexico Fine Art Printers, who graciously provided the prints for this comparison. I reached out to them because I recently had a gallery show with over 15 prints done by them with absolutely great quality, and I cannot recommend them enough. These prints don't hide details and show the images as they are, giving participants as much information as possible.
For processing, I always edited the Canon R5 image first, and then matched the iPhone 15 raw to the best of my ability. After processing, I upscaled both images using ON1 Resize to poster size (24"x36"). I highly recommend using upscaling software anytime you're printing large, no matter what camera took the images. This will always give you better results than your printing service sizing the image themselves. The daytime shot was printed at 15"x30" and the blue hour shot was printed at 24"x30".
Instead of giving my opinion on the results, I went back to my old college campus to see if people passing by could pick out which image was taken by the iPhone 15 Pro and which by my professional mirrorless camera. You can watch that experience, hear what people had to say about each decision, and find the surprising results in the above video.
Now try the same test with low light shots….or telephoto shots….
This makes no sense, as most photographers don't use a 5000$ camera to please the random people. Luckily there are still clients and agents who value high quality photographs.
Or to put it more harshly: I do not care if bystanders can tell these images apart, because they are photographically completely uninteresting.
I've done the same thing. Absolutely no one had problems identifying the cell phone images. No one.
There is no doubt, modern cellphone can compete even excel in some type of photograph (example, landscape) because it uses AI and image processing to automatically enhance the photograph. The keyword, "some". It is still a lot of work to beat real camera in other types of photographs (example, complicated scene with shallow deep of field, sports, long telephoto and lowlight).
Sorry when I said real camera, I mean dedicated camera that does not incorporate advanced computational photography techniques.
And that is exactly where the phone falls apart. Didicated cameras gives the photographer full control of the output (final image) course they are not infected with AI and computational enhancing algorithms.
You know your camera, you know what you get. Using a phone, you don't.
This isn’t really that illuminating. For many years, there’s a solid union between pro sensors and cell camera sensors. The issue is that cell cameras are a small circle within, unable to handle extremes like speed and low light. The “test” prints also mask some of these issues due to the randomness of gas sublimation putting down sub 100dpi res. Try it again with a shot of the Milky Way printed on continuous tone RC4 behind trulife acrylic. You’ll see the mobile phone camera issues from 10 feet away.
Perhaps you should explain what you mean by "gas sublimation putting down sub 100dpi res" and "continuous tone RC4 behind trulife acrylic." I don't claim to have expert photographic knowledge, but I've been shooting for quite some time and have never come across any of those terms. I think it's safe to assume that the average reader of this site likewise has no idea of what you are referring to.
I would guess it's printing terminology, not photographic.
I know. I just find it curious that someone would use such specific language on a post that is going to be read by a general audience.
The tests were done with metal prints. In this process, a print is made at say 300dpi. Then the aluminum sheet is covered by the inverted print and fed into a heater. The high temperatures cause the ink to turn into a gas which transfers from the print to the aluminum coating. That transfer process has uncertainty which lowers the final resolution of the print. Lowering the print res can mask the differences between a high res pro sensor and a lower res phone sensor, at close inspection.
Never miss an opportunity to learn something. This is what I found:
*Unlike traditional printing methods, sublimation printing uses a specialized ink that turns into gas when heated, which bonds with the substrate’s surface to create a permanent image.*
Found this too: *Continuous tone is a photographic printing term that refers to an image that is not composed of halftone dots. Instead, it consists of tone values ranging from some minimum density (such as white) to a maximum density (such as black) *
Just to make a point, as photographers, I believe we should have a modicum of understanding of how the printing process works.
This is a process of attempting to match an AI assisted image created from a phone to a camera output photo. There is zero merit to this process because it only works under the condition of having a properly created photo from a Dslr or ML camera to start with.
Sports, birds in flight, low light would be a great test.
This is why I tell most people who ask for camera recommendations, maybe just upgrade your smartphone. Except for a few genres (portraiture, wildlife, etc) and dark environments, a good edit will yield better images than a novice with "pro" equipment.
Good point. Most people will go for the easy option. Unless the person is willing to learn how to take a good photo, it's easy to let AI do the job for you.
Despite the critical comments, I feel it is a meaningful comparison. FYI: I use a Sony A1 with Sony lenses.
Hmm, still can't plug my strobes into an iPhone.
Can't change dead batteries for fresh one.
Can't change lenses.
No hot shoe
No optical zoom and no, digital zoom does not count
Can't change memory cards when they run out of space.
Can't plug an HDMI cord into it.
Can't screw a filter on the front of the lens.
Cannot attach to a tripod, no ¼ socket in bottom
Can’t use a cable release
And the real issue, client frowns at me and wonders why I am charging $3,000 day and using the same $800 camera he/she owns
Tell me again why I want to hold a phone in my hand to shoot a professional grade photo???
ProFoto does have an iphone adapter and app for their strobes. At least with newest iphones, you have three primes including that 120mm (?) tele. Tripod clamps have been around for a long time. Filters clamp over the lenses, too. There are bluetooth triggers for remote release. To address your real issue, as everyone will say, "it's the photographer not the camera" which is true in many situations that aren't too complicated or that push the limits like darkness, motion. Your client probably can't compose and expose their iphone camera like a pro could. I've made considerable money using my iphone camera though I'll grab my Nikon for 99% of my work.