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iPhone 6 Camera Review

This article is more than 9 years old.

Apple has made hardware and software changes to the camera in its new iPhone 6. A new sensor promises faster focus speeds and better low light images, and is backed by a more powerful and efficient image processor. And of course, the screen has gotten a big increase in size and resolution. Do these changes add up to a significantly better camera? Is it time to upgrade from your current iPhone? I've spent some time shooting real-world images with the iPhone 6 to find out.

Ever since Apple began issuing interim "s" updates to its phones, the company has saved its most dramatic camera changes for the biennial number upgrades. The iPhone 5, for example, was a huge camera upgrade over the iPhone 4 that came out two years before it. Photographers who were expecting a similar leap in image quality this time around were disappointed when Apple announced the specs for the iPhone 6. Resolution remains at 8MP, with the same sensor dimensions, pixel size, and lens specs found on the iPhone 5s. Let's take a look at what Apple did change.

Usability

If you're upgrading from a previous iPhone, the first thing you'll appreciate when shooting with the iPhone 6 is its bigger screen. At 4.7 inches with a 326ppi resolution, the larger, more detailed viewing area makes the act of shooting much more immersive and enjoyable. This is something Android shooters have experienced for some time now. The Samsung Galaxy S5, LG G3, Sony Xperia Z3, and Nokia Lumia 830 are four flagship phones released in 2014 with screens larger than the iPhone 6. And all but the Nokia sport a higher display resolution to boot.

Apple is touting the iPhone 6 as the world's thinnest smartphone. Excluding the camera bulge, it is indeed thinner than its rivals. But from a handling standpoint, Apple may have gotten too clever by half. The ultrathin 6.8mm profile, severely rounded edges, and smooth aluminum frame don't offer much in the way of a solid gripping surface. When shooting in landscape orientation my hold on the camera always feels tenuous. Indeed much of the time I've spent shooting the last week has been devoted to consciously thinking about not dropping the phone. And the ever-so-slight lens protrusion on the rear of the phone means the lens cover is in direct contact with whatever surface you place the phone on. Yes, Apple is using Sapphire crystal for the cover, but all it takes is one scratch to wreck your photos. I'd strongly recommend buying a slim case that offers a more secure grip and protects the lens cover without making the phone unwieldy. Personally, I'll be ordering Apple's grip-friendly leather case.

What about the iPhone 6 Plus? Ah yes, the Hummer of the iPhone lineup. The iPhone 6 Plus offers every camera advantage of its smaller sibling and, like flagship models from Nokia and LG, offers optical image stabilization (OIS). It's disappointing that OIS was not offered on the smaller iPhone–likely a casualty of the phone's ultrathin profile. But this feature cannot make up for the fact that the iPhone 6 Plus is simply too big for most users. One-handed operation isn't practical and even two-handed typing is difficult in landscape orientation. Once a smartphone becomes too big to fit in your pocket, you may as well go for a standalone compact camera like the Sony RX100 III or  Canon  G7 X, both which are pocketable, have zoom lenses and will vastly outperform the iPhone 6 or any other smartphone. Outside of use in a mobile video rig, where the 5.5-inch screen would be a plus, not a hindrance, I can't see much practical benefit to shooting with the iPhone 6 Plus.

Image quality

Apple abandoned the megapixel race a while ago and often plays catch-up to its rivals in terms of features (Android users have long enjoyed manual exposure controls, for example). The thing that keeps photographers coming back for more, however, is the high image quality Apple delivers out of the box. Colors are rendered with reasonable accuracy and images pack pleasing contrast without appearing oversaturated. Exposure and white balance render natural, realistic image tones in most daylight situations and in-camera sharpening algorithms avoid an overly processed look even at a 100% view. These traits all continue with the iPhone 6.

I've read reports of poor auto white balance performance from the iPhone 6, but running iOS 8.0.1 I haven't been able to duplicate similar results. What I have seen in daylight shots is a white balance rendering that errs a touch on the cooler side of the spectrum, as shown in the image set below. I'd prefer a more neutral result but I've certainly seen much worse from smartphones and compact cameras. The cooler cast is relatively mild and easily corrected in most any editing app. I should also note that if you're not satisfied with the Auto setting, camera app developers can now offer you the ability to set a custom white balance that's more to your liking.

Shooting at night

In low light scenes the iPhone 6, much like the iPhone 5s, opts for much lower ISO settings than the iPhone 5, which has a slightly slower aperture (F2.4 vs. F2.2). Even at identical shutter speeds, the iPhone 6 will set an ISO value about 1 stop lower than the iPhone 5. The result is a slightly darker exposure, but one with less noise. In these situations the iPhone 6 images appear sharper at slower shutter speeds like 1/15 and 1/20 sec. as well. Presumably the iPhone 6, like the 5s before it takes a multi-image burst at slow shutter speeds, blending the sharpest parts from each exposure for a more detailed result. While this form of digital image stabilization isn't as effective as the optical method found other phones, including the iPhone 6 Plus, it is effective in delivering sharper images than earlier iPhones without it.

In the following comparison between an iPhone 5 and iPhone 6, both running iOS 8.0.1, you can see that the iPhone 6 sets an exposure that yields a darker, but noticeably sharper image. Even though the iPhone 6 has a slightly wider focal length equivalent (29mm versus 33mm for the iPhone 5) the image magnification and resolution of the iPhone 5 is significantly lower. That's because in low light scenes the iPhone 5 uses a technique called "pixel binning" which combines adjacent pixels to reduce image noise. A big downside of this approach is that you end up with just a 3.1MP file.

In the image above, shot with the iPhone 5, the 100% crop at right shows softness resulting from camera movement at a slow shutter speed.

The iPhone 6 chose both a lower ISO and a faster shutter speed, which leads to a darker image, but one that is much sharper and also displays less noise.

Even when the iPhone 6 uses a virtually identical exposure value, it delivers images with significantly less color noise than the iPhone 5 as you can see in the examples below.

Looking at the 100% crop above, the iPhone 5 image above shows color noise that is significantly reduced in the iPhone 6 image below. The iPhone 6 also returns a full resolution 8MP image as opposed to the 3.1MP file the iPhone 5 generates in low light scenes.

Whether you find these low light differences to be subtle or dramatic, keep in mind that the iPhone 5s also outperforms the iPhone 5 in these kinds of settings. I've looked at iPhone 5s versus iPhone 6 comparisons by other reviewers and the differences are even smaller than those shown here. You certainly have to be viewing images at 100% to spot the relatively minor benefits the iPhone 6 offers.

Features

Most of the best new features for photographers actually lie in Apple's new iOS 8 upgrade, which is available to owners of the iPhone 4s and later. I gave an overview of those in a previous story. The most touted camera feature exclusive to the iPhone 6 is faster autofocus. By using on-chip phase-detect technology, or as Apple calls it, "focus pixels", the camera dedicates a portion of its imaging sensor to detecting subject distance. The upshot is autofocus that in many instances seems instantaneous. With the iPhone 6 you rarely see the focus wobble you'd get on previous models as the camera hunts for focus. In my time shooting with the camera I've only managed to get the camera to focus hunt under very low light, and even then, only for a moment.

Aside from the larger screen, the biggest change introduced with the iPhone 6 is the long-awaited ability to manually control exposure settings. With iOS 8 Apple has opened camera control to third party developers. In Apple's native camera app you can now lock focus and make brightness adjustments before you take the shot. Since the iOS 8 launch, several camera app makers have added even greater manual control. With apps like VSCO Cam, Camera+, Pro Camera, and Manual, you can set shutter speed, ISO, and white balance. You can even set focus manually, though without the ability to magnify the scene effectively, this feature is not nearly as helpful as you might think.

Many photographers are excited by the ability to directly control exposure compensation, making the scene brighter or darker than what the camera suggests. This is a welcome–and long overdue–move on Apple's part. But a note of caution is in order. The iPhone 6, like other smartphone cameras has rather limited dynamic range (the ability to simultaneously capture highlight and shadow detail). So in scenes of high contrast, boosting exposure to better illuminate your subject can often result in blown-out highlights containing zero detail. You can see what this looks like in the image above. Using VSCO Cam I set a an exposure compensation of +1. While the fish monger's face is a pleasing tone, much of the background is completely white.

A more effective approach in this type of situation is to work like photographers did with slide film: expose for the highlights, making sure you can still see plenty of detail in them. Your subject will come out a bit too dark, as in the comparison below. But you can then use an editing app (here I used Lightroom mobile) to open up the shadows, revealing your subject without losing detail in the sky. Another alternative, although one with less manual control available would be to shoot the image in HDR mode instead.

Battery life

The iPhone 6 has an 1810mAh battery, a capacity only slightly greater than the iPhone 5s. This is significantly lower than those found on rival large-screen phones. The Samsung S5 has a 2800mAh battery and Sony's Xperia Z3 sports a 3100mAh unit, for example. And both the Nokia 830 and LG G3 feature removable batteries, an idea Apple has always resisted for aesthetic reasons. I've been able to make it through a full day of use that included web browsing, texting and a few hours of constant shooting and editing images, on a single charge. While this doesn't represent a noticeable improvement over the iPhone 5s, its worth mentioning that the battery is now powering a larger display and faster processor.  As is typical of Li-Ion rechargeable batteries you can expect this performance to degrade over time, so at some point you'll probably be shopping for a portable charger or battery case.

Should I upgrade?

If you own an iPhone 5s, sit tight. Changes to the camera hardware and processing, while offering some real benefit, are not game-changing by any stretch. Faster AF is nice, but simply by upgrading to iOS 8, you'll reap the more significant benefits like manual exposure control. Chances are if you wait until this time next year for the iPhone 6s, you'll get more compelling reasons to upgrade.

Using an iPhone 5 or older? Then I'd say it's time to considering moving up to the larger screen, higher resolution low light images, and the convenience of Touch ID. Your new phone will run iOS 8 more swiftly, taking full advantage of the photography benefits I've highlighted here.

The iPhone 6 delivers great-looking images but it's very much an evolutionary upgrade. And the camera features that are new have been available on Android phones for some time, so Apple is essentially playing catch-up. Unless you're tied to Apple's iCloud ecosystem which lets you effortlessly sync your images among multiple iOS devices and Macs, there is no shortage of flagship Android smartphones to consider. But if you want an Apple device, the iPhone 6 is the best camera the company's made yet.

 

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