Is the iPhone a Good Street Photography Camera?

There have been so many times when I've forced myself to bring my iPhone 16 Pro (and 14 Pro, and 13 mini—you get the idea) as my only camera on an excursion, whether a trip to the city or an extended family vacation to someplace beautiful. Here's how it goes with the latest model.

UK-based freelance photographer and videographer Tom Rich decided to put the iPhone 17 Pro through its paces for the purposes of street photography. While I'll never say that I've been fully satisfied using only a phone as a street photography camera, it is true that it gets closer and closer to being the ideal tool for the purpose with each release—and such seems to be the case in Rich's opinion. It's certainly better with its larger sensor and computational imaging prowess, but there's a limit to how far things can go.

First, some of the basics: It goes without saying that the ProRaw mode is the one you'd want to use as a serious photographer, rather than compressed HEICs, as Rich points out. Then there's watching out for Apple’s funny business with marketing. Rich notes that though the phone provides a 200 mm-equivalent zoom, the reality is that the phone crops into the sensor to achieve this, with all the attendant loss in detail that entails. Rich points out that computational imaging can somewhat make up for this, but it's no substitute for using the full sensor—or even a larger sensor in a dedicated camera.

Shallow depth of field in street photography with a phone is difficult to achieve, and without being able to control your subjects for this genre of photography, something is lost in translation when a phone is used for it. Check out the video above for Rich's full take on the iPhone as a street photography tool, and leave your thoughts on the matter below.