Comparison of iPhone 14 Pro Max and iPhone 13 Pro Max cameras. The iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max have received some significant improvements in camera technology, with a 48-megapixel lens and improved low-light performance across all lenses with the new Photonic Engine. MacRumors did an in-depth comparison of the iPhone 14 Pro Max and iPhone 13 Pro cameras to see how the iPhone 14 Pro Max camera is better than the iPhone 13 Pro Max.
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Even though the iPhone 14 Pro has a 48MP sensor, the device uses pixel linking to combine four pixels into one, resulting in a standard 12MP shot. Of course, you can turn on the ProRAW option in the settings, then you will get 48-megapixel images. When comparing a 12-megapixel image taken on the iPhone 14 Pro Max to a 12-megapixel image taken on the iPhone 13 Pro Max, there is no immediate difference in quality, especially when the shot is taken in perfect lighting.
You’ll notice slight improvements in shadows and highlights thanks to improved HDR, and colors can be more vibrant on the iPhone 14 Pro Max, but it’s a subtle difference most of the time.
The camera difference can be seen with ProRAW enabled, in high-quality 48-megapixel shots. There’s a lot more detail in the 48MP image compared to the 12MP image from the iPhone 13 Pro Max, but file size is the main downside. 48MP images can be over 60MB in size, which can quickly use up your iPhone’s storage. However, if you want to take a special photo in the highest quality, turn on ProRAW and you will see noticeable improvements over what you can get from the iPhone 13 Pro Max.
Apple uses the 48-megapixel camera for a new 2x zoom option that crops a full-resolution shot. This adds a whole new focal length to iPhone 14 Pro models, with iPhone 13 Pro models limited to a 3x telephoto lens. A 2x telephoto lens is a great focal length for portraits or if you just want to zoom in a little, and because the shot is taken with the main lens, the quality is better than a shot taken with a telephoto lens, even with the image cropped.
Designed to enable Deep Fusion at the beginning of the computer photography process, Apple says the Photonic Engine provides at least a 2x improvement on all camera lenses, but these changes are hard to see when comparing photos taken on the iPhone 14 Pro Max and iPhone 13 Pro Max. in night mode.
Photos taken with the iPhone 14 Pro Max in Night Mode have less noise and less light reflection, so the difference is noticeable, but not huge. Some photos from the iPhone 14 Pro Max may also look brighter, but there are no drastic changes here, because the camera on the iPhone 13 Pro Max is also top-notch.
In terms of video, Apple has added an “Action” mode, which is designed to mimic the stabilization you can achieve with an electronic gimbal, and there are also improvements to the cinematic effect mode. Movie Effect mode now runs in 4K at 24fps, up from the maximum 1080p resolution on the iPhone 13 Pro Max, so it’s just more flexible for those who like to shoot in 4K.
Action mode really improves stabilization when shooting videos while moving, so it’s useful for capturing pets or kids while running or shooting action videos. Since it’s limited to 2.8K resolution, you probably don’t want to turn it on all the time as it lowers video resolution compared to 4K resolution in normal mode, but it’s a cool feature for those who need extra stabilization. In many cases, you may not need to improve the stabilization with the Action mode, since the standard video stabilization in the iPhone is quite good.
The cameras on the iPhone 14 Pro Max are definitely better than those on the iPhone 13 Pro Max, but it’s likely that most people will rarely use the new features. If you already have an iPhone 13 Pro Max, then you shouldn’t upgrade just for the camera. The iPhone 14 Pro, of course, has other cool features such as Dynamic Island, always-on display technology, Emergency SOS via satellite, and Crash Detection.
