My iPhone is always with me. That’s what makes it so versatile compared to the big cameras I shoot with. I use it at home and I have taken it with me all over the world.
We look at the continuously declining camera market and wonder how the smartphones can inflict so much damage. And yet when I look back at the photos I have taken with mine, I realize that while we busy ourselves geeking out about sensor resolution, dynamic range, sensor size and other technical stuff, most people are happily snapping photos with their smartphones.
The declining camera market is not only due to photographers buying less cameras. It is primarily because non-photographers are choosing not to buy big cameras when their pocket phone can do a decent job. The worst part of it, is that the trend will likely continue to spiral downward, until the camera market is left for us photographers only. It is clear that big and heavy gear that comes with a thick manual and requires prior knowledge of photography isn’t cutting it for an average consumer. Not when their smartphone has a single app and a single button to take pictures or video.
People are too occupied with their daily lives and have much shorter attention spans to pick up a new tool and learn a new craft. That’s just the world we live in today. Everything is fed to us at an enormous pace and we are dealing with a huge information overload. News sites, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, television, radio, podcasts, online streaming…one could go on and on about all the sources of information and entertainment today.
In fact, I am well aware that most of our readers will not be reading this review. They will look at the title and think something like “iPhone X is already obsolete, why is PL reviewing it now?” They will skip the title and move on to click on articles from other photography sites that look more interesting, fresh and potentially click-baity. And if the comments section is filled with some hate, even better!
Little do they know that I decided not to write anything about the iPhone X or its capabilities. Honestly speaking, I don’t really care about iPhone’s technical specifications and what it can do, and I think most people don’t care about that either. This gallery could have come from an Android device and I am sure the pictures would have been quite similar.
Sometimes our brains are just too tired of reading technical junk, or hearing yet another bad news. There is so much negativity out there, and it seems like every news outlet is doing what it can to scream with their click-bait titles just to get people’s attention.
I can’t stand television. I absolutely hate it, because it is filled with negativity and provocative content that is designed to keep the masses tuned in. In-between all the junk, they fill it with even more annoying ads that have much higher sound volume to bring back people’s attention. The funny thing is, you are supposed to pay for all that “premium content”. Thanks, but no thanks!
I never subscribed to any television network and most likely never will. I have a TV at home, but it only gets turned on when my family feels like watching a movie. And the best part is – I have zero regrets about all this!
My source of news for the past 10+ years has been the Internet. However, the same disease has spread across most news outlets on the Internet as well, and it is now harder than ever to pick up the good among all the junk and the fake news. Interestingly, even the most reputable news outlets have been feeding click-bait content to their readers just to drive up their advertising revenues.
One could argue that the Internet has gotten even worse than most other media outlets. I am not going to argue with this, as it does not matter which one is more evil – they are all the same to me.
It annoys the heck out of me, so I started writing an article on click-bait content earlier last week that I am hoping to complete within the next few days. If you have made it this far into this article, I am sure you will enjoy it.
Whoops, I guess I drifted far away from the iPhone X review. Where was I? Oh, that’s right, I was talking about the camera industry. Pardon my rant, although I am not really going to stop it – just taking it to a different direction :)
The reason why I decided to write this article, is because while I was browsing through my Lightroom catalog a couple of days ago, I realized that I had a bunch of images from the iPhone X and the iPhone XS Max that I never touched. I lightly post-processed one of the images, then after seeing how good it looked on my computer, I decided to just go through the rest of them as well. So in a way, this post is meant to be a gallery of some photos I managed to capture with my iPhone X during the past couple of years.
While camera manufacturers are trying to compete to the teeth with technical specs, smartphone manufacturers are heavily investing in future technology that involves software manipulation using artificial intelligence. They have already found ways to make images look “DSLR-like”, as one of the keynote presenters highlighted, when referring to the resolution and subject isolation capabilities. The funny thing is, they even refer to “bokeh“, although it has nothing to do with smartphones! Bokeh is how out of focus highlights are rendered by lenses. If the background is blurry, it is simply a defocused area, not bokeh!
But it does not matter, because smartphone manufacturers are quickly steering people away from buying big cameras, thus bleeding the camera market. They are putting a lot of focus into camera hardware and software features. That’s why we are now seeing smartphones with two and even three cameras.
This is all happening at the time when camera manufacturers are struggling to deliver basic, workable haptics and ergonomics. We are seeing more cameras with convoluted menus and unlabeled buttons. We are seeing cameras that have so many features, that we have to write articles at PL explaining how to use them.
It is crazy to think that a single image has to travel from a camera to a computer, with high-end hardware and complex post-processing software to manipulate images, when our phones can take a photo, quickly process it and post to social media within a matter of seconds. No wonder the digital camera market is collapsing! Why would average Jane and Joe go through all this pain and expenses just to get a decent-looking image?
With the latest releases of camera phones, we can see that the software is becoming even more of a differentiating factor. Smartphone manufacturers are able to utilize multiple cameras to calculate depth in a scene and utilize artificial intelligence to isolate subjects and even apply different lighting on subjects.
Just a few years back one could argue that images from smartphones looked terrible due to limited resolution, high noise levels, limited lens capabilities and poor dynamic range. But things have changed a lot since then.
Most smartphones today come with 8 MP+ resolution. Almost all have built-in HDR features to reduce the potential of clipping highlights when shooting in high-contrast situations. Stitching panoramas is easier than ever with any smartphone. Some modern smartphones even offer full manual control natively or through third party apps, allowing photographers to capture images in night conditions.
The advances in smartphone technology are not going to stop. Going forward, we will be seeing smartphones that will offer variable exposure control, allowing different parts of the scene to be captured at different exposures to prevent highlight and shadow clipping.
We will be seeing more advanced noise reduction algorithms that clean up noise in high-resolution images. Subject isolation capabilities will get so good, that it will be hard to tell the difference between an image captured with a smartphone and a larger interchangeable lens camera.
All this probably sounds like doom and gloom for the camera industry. It does not have to. If camera manufacturers are willing to adapt and change, they should first figure out who their target market is. If they want to sell more cameras to average consumers who are non-photographers, they should go back to the basics and do what they can to simplify the whole process – from image capture to post-processing. They should stick to the idea of great image quality and simplicity. That means superior ergonomics, less buttons and easy to understand menus.
At the same time, one could argue that the ship has already sailed. Smartphone manufacturers are likely to advance further into the interchangeable lens camera market, offering very competitive features that most people are going to be content with.
But even if that is going to be the future, it does not mean that camera manufacturers should continue working in the same direction they have been in the past few years. A camera should be intuitive and easy to use, no matter who the target audience is.
My first suggestion to camera manufacturers is to hire a reputable design company that can provide a simplified, yet functional camera and menu layout. Nikon has done that in the past with Italian companies that helped design sports cars. Why not go back and do it again when designing the next generation camera?
And please, no more unlabeled buttons! I cannot stand looking at a camera with a myriad of buttons with either no labels or labels that say something like “C3”. Customization options are good to have, but not to the point where handling someone else’s camera is impossible.
The worst offenders at the moment are Sony and Olympus. All modern Sony cameras are an ergonomic nightmare! If you want to piss off a Sony user, just reset their camera to defaults and watch them suffer. I have seen it happen in the field and trust me, it is not a pretty sight. You have been warned.
And don’t get me started on the terrible menu systems! I don’t know who designed the menu system on Sony and Olympus cameras, but those have to be redesigned from ground-up.
Heck, from the simplicity standpoint, even Nikon and Canon menu systems should be redone. The only camera on the market I can think of that took a very different, minimalistic approach, is the Hasselblad X1D 50c and its newer sibling. And even then, it failed in so many other areas where it should not have, such as quick start-up time and initial firmware bugs. But that’s an expensive medium-format camera! I would love to see an APS-C or a full-frame camera that offers such easy to use and minimalistic approach.
Instead of seeing camera manufacturers fix basic issues, we are seeing more join the “ergonomic nightmare” club. I am currently testing the Fuji GFX 100, and while the image quality of the camera is stunning, Fuji decided to get rid of its classic camera controls and add a bunch of unlabeled buttons to the camera. Two steps forward, one step back. Or is it one step forward and two steps back?
Think of what we are being fed with today from camera manufacturer marketing departments: Loads and loads of resolution. 4K, 6K and now even 8K video recording. This is at the time when many TVs and monitors out there are still 1080p!
This insatiable appetite for more pixels, more dynamic range, more buttons, more features and more functionality isn’t going to make the situation any better.
If this is the future of camera design, we are definitely looking at the doom of the camera industry…
At the same time, we are in the golden age of photography. While camera manufacturers are struggling to come up with the next best-selling camera, we have a myriad of options to choose from that fit every budget. Cameras and lenses have never been this cheap in the history of photography! Just pick the tool that works for you and shoot away…
And with that, I am going to leave you with one of my all-time favorite images that I captured with my iPhone:
I hope you enjoyed this “review”. I am sorry that the title is so misleading. I just didn’t feel like talking about all the techs and specs this time – I will leave that for another day.
What do you think? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Apple iPhone X Camera
- Optical Performance
- Features
- Build Quality
- Focus Speed and Accuracy
- Image Stabilization
- Image Quality
- High ISO Performance
- Size and Weight
- Metering and Exposure
- Movie Recording Features
- Dynamic Range
- Ease of Use
- Value
Photography Life Overall Rating
excuse me did you use any app during take picture or after take it? thank you
Wow, this is by far the best review I ever read. I definetly like the way you see the world, even outside the viewfinder. Big up for that!
Thank you for a very rewarding reading experience. As always: your photos keep leaving me speechless with admiration…
I started out with “serious” photography some 5-6 years ago with an entry-level DSLR (Nikon D3300) with a bunch of rather good lenses. I succeeded in taking some decent photos with that lot. But I found myself far too often standing with a great motive while my camera was sitting on the shelf at home, since I got tired of carrying it around for a whole day. And considering that the D3300 is a very light-wight DSLR indeed, I can understand the feeling of dragging a much heavier camera…
So, I shifted to mirrorless and bought a Panasonic micro 4/3 with a few zooms and a prime 20mm. Loved it and carried it with me for some time, and sure – I took a number of good photos with it, but gradually the history seemed to repeat itself: the best motive and me in one place and all my gear somewhere else…
But now with my brand new iPhone 11 Pro I find myself, finally having a great camera with me all the time. It’s such a wonderful feeling. Sure, I still miss a lot of great shots due to lack of skill and experience, but I’m improving my photography at a rate I didn’t think possible, just because I’m taking so many more photos…
The only way to do photography is to have the camera with you.
The only way to do great photography is to like your gear and becoming familiar with it.
And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.
And at last I’m loving the process of taking photographs. I no longer have to decide whether to bring my gear with me or not, I don’t have to consider what lenses to bring, I don’t have to decide which bag to carry with me.
I don’t have to remember which customized button does what anymore.
I use the ProCamera app and I do some post processing in Luminar 3.
Photographing has never been this much fun…
Some unstitched comments:
After reading this wonderful column, I have the comfort of knowing—or, at least, suspecting—that Fuji will receive from you a very honest, to-the-point review of its GFX 100!
Rant? No; that was no tirade from you. Just an impassioned point of view, honest in its inception and welcomed for its clarity.
And, finally, to perfect the article’s grammar so that its style is as pitch-perfect as its content: “fewer” buttons (not “less”); and “easy-to-understand” or, if you are hyphen-avoidant, “easily understood.”
Nasim,
Funniest review ever. I just read this aloud to my girlfriend and we laughed and laughed at the sardonic insights, which we whole heartedly agree! Keep up the good work!
Best,
Matthew
Matthew, really glad you enjoyed the “review” :)
Have a wonderful weekend!
The subject of this article has been on my mind in one form or another for several years now. The cause, though, is less about smartphones being better and more about how life changes impact your ability to do photography if you aren’t doing photography as your main source of income.
I have repeatedly thought of exiting “real” cameras for several years and almost have several times. This article was just another opportunity to think about it. I came up to the same conclusion: for whatever else, I enjoy and appreciate quality. And for this time you can’t get the same quality on a phone as you can with a larger camera. That isn’t to say that I make great use of what I have or that it isn’t shared 99.44% of the time on small screens. It’s just that I appreciate the quality possible. That and perhaps not having everything be automatically determined for me.
One day I may be able to do more photography with fewer life constraints and perhaps the industry will be totally different by then. But for now, I’ll enjoy what I have and be careful about what I purchase next.
Turtle Cat, your last sentence is golden!
Nasim,
Excellent article giving the reader much good thought for contemplation. In the past year, my wife and I have traveled to Ireland, Southeast Asia, and Germany, for which I took my Nikon D850 with the Nikkor 24-120mm lens and my iPhone XS Max. The majority of pictures were taken with the Nikon camera, but many were taken with the iPhone XS Max. The latter is often quicker, more convenient, and gets the job done quickly because of the simplicity giving you the chance to get some good photos you might miss getting the D850 out and ready. In addition, what a significant difference in weight!! After getting home and reviewing all photos, of course the Nikon shot landscapes were more spectacular but I have to say that many of the iPhone photos of other types of shots were fantastic and rivaled the Nikon of the same scene.
You are absolutely correct that Nikon, Canon, and the other major camera manufacturers need to rethink completely the approach they are taking with camera development. Ergonomics, simplification, reducing techno clutter and focusing on fantastic image quality without all the other commotion required with their cameras is what they need to promote.
I think for dedicated photographers, DSLR and the new mirrorless systems will always be something they love, but there is just no question that smartphone camera technology is advancing rapidly and will continue to exert downward pressure on conventional camera sales. Smartphone cameras are a “disruptive innovation” to the camera world – they must adapt if they are going to survive and prosper. And, we will all be better for it in the long run. Thanks again for a very nice thoughtful piece on the future of photography and cameras.
Dewayne
Apple has great momentum in the camera system that goes into their devices. I have bought a new iPhone ever year for the past 3. The latest iPhone XS Max which I have had since last Oct was to me a big leap in improvement compared to the iPhone X that you talk about in your article. It took me a while to realize the improvements to the iPhone this year over last as Apple did not tout them much or hardly at all. The retention of highlights in high contrast photos is now excellent on the new iPhones. And the 4K video is pretty darn good too. I also find that Apple has worked hard to be able to adjust files that come off of their phones with their free Apple Photos app and free iMovie app. These apps work with the iPhone files and almost always no advanced program like Lightroom is needed. I have done many comparisons with the Lightroom app making DNGs on the iPhone and the standard iPhone camera app jpegs – to my eye they are about equal at this time in ability to get good files. Apple has also come up with an advanced compression system that works excellently. In my experience better than jpeg.
No doubt there are some instances where larger cameras are better. I still get better 4K video files from my Sony A7iii and good lens than from the iPhone. Although the iPhone is much easier to use. I also get much better macro with my specialty macro prime lenses on This Sony than the Apple. Apple has improved macro on the phone to about the quality of the Sony with a standard non macro lens, in my opinion. For wildlife or sports where you need large long lenses then the current iPhone is no match for a large specialty camera and big lens.
Before last October I used two Nikon DSLRs as D750 and D5500. I liked both. I found both very easy to use and comfortable in the hand. The D750 did not have a touch screen but had buttons and controls on the body that were marked are very easy to find by touch. When you pushed a button usually a well thought out visual interface would pop up on the back screen. The D5500 had an excellent touch screen and was very easy to use. In addition the DX camera had some very good, light, low cost lenses that were maybe not quite as good as the FX Nikons, but still pretty good. The D5500 for me was a simple light package that I could put with two extra lenses in a small sling bag and take anywhere. I really liked the ability of my smartphones to get great exposure before taking the still or video. I wanted that in my bigger camera. I switched to a Sony A7iii full frame to get the EVF after having a good experience with 5 pocket Sony’s over the years. I also had a number of very good Minolta AF lenses that could work on the Sony with ease.
So I bought the Sony and got great files out of it from almost day one. BUT, I have never liked the way it fit in my hand compared with the D5500 and D750. The two Nikon menus and marked buttons are much easier to use even after memorizing what the Sony unmarked buttons do. So after 10 months I am still getting very good results out of the Sony but don’t really like the camera all that much.
So I think that this article wins my personal choice as being the best one I have read in a year. Why, it completely agrees with my opinion of course.
As far as the future. I agree with this article. Unless camera makes quickly adjust to the smartphone completion that cameras besides the ones in smartphones will become a very small market. Even though I have no plans to get rid of the Sony at this time I have thought to myself that I can see just having the latest iPhone and using one of my five SLC film cameras when I don’t want to use digital. I still love using film and the way it sometimes treat images. My five film SLR cameras all complete with a bunch of lenses are 2 – Olympus OM2n bodies, 2 Minolta 600si bodies and lots of lenses, one voightlander Prominent and 3 lenses. The Olympus and Minolta bodies I love. The Voightlander is beautiful and hard to use but have great lenses.
Suggestions for using iPhone cameras: Try these apps:
Camera+
HDR Merge
360
(and there are many more, mostly useful and all fun)
Nassim, I like all the customizable buttons on my ILCE-7M3 and ILCE-6500.
This is why I don’t own lenses like 24-70s.
I use my DSLRs for what phones can’t do …
My most used lenses are:
300/f4 + 1.4TC for birds and the like – with a camera with an autofocus system to match (D7500).
18-35 for landscapes – especially the 18mm end.
180/f3.5 macro for small things.
Phones can’t do those subjects.
Which is also why I won’t be buying mirrorless – those aren’t the lenses they are putting out.
(Plus I bought the dearest ones used, so I couldn’t afford a mirrorless-mount one even if it did come out).
Mind you, iPhone Xs don’t come cheap either – mine’s a 5S.