Using the iPhone 15 Pro Max for Travel
Judy and I have done a fair amount of travel, and I’ve documented it primarily with still photography. When we first started traveling, I tried using a small, folding camera that I could put in my pocket when not in use. I thought that having a camera around my neck would mark me as a tourist – but I probably stood out anyway 
.
But small cameras have small sensors and small sensors produce images with noise in the image.
So, I kept upgrading my camera until I got to an APS-C camera that I use today.
But I still have the dream of a small camera that I can put into my pocket when not in use, and that led me to the iPhone.
When I first started using an iPhone, the images were not that good – but they’ve gotten better over time – except for telephoto pictures, which were not so great. The pictures produced were not sharp and crisp if you tried to zoom in a fair amount.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max has some photo enhancements that I felt might improve on that. The Pro and Pro Max have a telephoto lens. The Pro can do a 3X optical zoom and the Pro Max can do a 5X optical zoom.
I’ve had the 15 Pro Max for a short while and have done some testing with it. That’s what I’ll cover here.
The Pro Max has three cameras: a wide angle camera, a standard camera, and a telephoto camera
First, the standard camera can produce a 12- or 24-megapixel image. For better quality you should select the 24-megapixel option. But beyond that, you can set the ProRaw option, and it will produce a .DNG file with 48 megapixel resolution. [Note; DNG stands for “Digital Negative Format”. But DNF is used in sports for “Did Not Finish” so I think they jumped the “F” to “G”.] I recommend this option. My testing showed that the 48-megapixel DNG file produced very good images which could be manipulated well in post processing (PhotoShop).
The ProRaw selection will show at the top of the camera when you are using the camera. But the default is that you will have to select it for each picture – it will reset between pictures. I’d recommend you set the “Pro Default” to “ProRaw Max”. This way the ProRaw option will stay on until you turn it off. Next time you use the camera, it will return to whatever you had it set on last time you used it.
If you do not do post processing, you can download the DNG image as a JPEG from iCloud. The JPEG will be produced from that high resolution DNG.
The standard camera is very acceptable for travel photography, especially if you use the ProRaw option.
But what about the telephoto camera? The telephoto camera will only produce a 12 megapixel image – but it will produce a DNG image, or a JPEG image. In the testing I’ve done with the telephoto lens, I don’t see a lot of difference between the DNG or the JPEG image. The DNG might provide some advantage in post processing.
The telephoto images from the Pro Max are significantly better than telephoto images from earlier generations of the iPhone.
Here are some pictures with the telephoto camera. First, a photo at 5X optical zoom with the subject about 45 feet away (I measured the distance).
Overall, a good image. But let's zoom in a bit further and see what happens. Here I've digitally zoomed to get a close up of the leaves.
The image is not as good, or sharp, as would be produced by a standard camera with a telephoto lens, but it's not too bad. A lot better than previous generations of iPhone telephoto images.
Apple says that this last image is equivalent to about a 600mm lens on a 35mm camera. With digital zoom, the software attempts to figure out what the image is, and if it can, it can do some things to improve the image, especially the sharpness of edges in the image. I suspect leaves are easy to identify. Pictures of other things may not be as sharp.
Overall, the telephoto images are not too bad. Maybe not magazine quality, but acceptable for Internet blog uses.
[Added note: The iPhone 15 Pro Max is the same width as the 15 Pro, but is 13mm (about a half inch) longer, so it fits into my pocket fine. The Pro Max comes with 256GB of storage, minimum, while the Pro comes with 128GB of storage, minimum (you can buy either with a lot more storage but you don't need it if you use iCloud). If you price a minimum Pro Max against a 256GB Pro, the cost is not that much more.]
Comments
Mike: wow! I need to read again to clearly understand. Would you use the iPhone15 in Africa on a Safari photographing animals?
@OurTravels34 - For the Safari trip I did we were often some distance from the animals (maybe 50 to 75 yards). I think you'd get better pictures with a standard camera with a long lens. That is, if you want close-ups of the animals.
For the pictures I posted here, I was only 15 yards from the tree (about 45 feet).
Thank you.
A good camera with a good lens will out perform any cell phone camera. It's not the pixels, it's the physical size of the lens and the sensor, and the quality of the glass. Cell phones do alot of tricks computationally to give the appearance of a better image, but that tiny lens and sensor just don't compare. Cell phones meet the needs of many people and if that's you, that's just fine. Ultimately, the eye of the photographer and the knowledge behind it are more important. The camera is just a tool.
Ken From Vegas is generally correct. But there are trade-offs between cameras. For me, the question is "Can I get acceptable photographs from an iPhone?" because the iPhone is so much smaller and more convenient than a large standard camera. That APS-C camera I have takes a lot of space and is heavy.
The Apple software people do use a lot of tricks to give you a better image and if it gives you an acceptable image, that's okay.
One "trick" is that small sensors generally have more noise in the image. What computational photography does is take many Images (they're actually shooting video, maybe 24 frames per second) and then combine those images into one final image.
Noise is random, so if a pixel has the wrong value in it (noise) that noise will be over-ridden by the value of that pixel in the other 23 (or so) images. That's how they get a better image out of a small sensor.
But you might have moved the camera during those 24 images. The software has to recognize that the images are not exactly the same and align everything before combining the values. It takes a lot of processing power to do that, but smartphones have that processing power now.
They can also recognize what is being photographed (to a degree) and modify the image to make it look better.
Every year, they learn new "tricks" and get more processing power. If all that produces photographs that meet my standards, I'm fine with it. The iPhone 15 is not perfect but it can produce some very good images under certain conditions (good lighting, subject not too far away).
Again, thank you. I think my brain is being squeezed with so much to learn by each of your expertise on the subject of iphone vs c the camera.
We are taking our big cameras to Africa next week. Our past few vacation it’s just been our iPhones. 14 model. For our purposes the photos are adequate and they are so easy to share immediately to family at home.
I took an amazing iPhone photo in Sicily that I thought was a great composition, so we had it blown up to a 30x20 canvas print and the quality is excellent and sharp. I could not believe how great it looked and all without dragging along a big camera. For Africa, we will take both and it may be fun to take the photos and see the differences.
I'm contemplating this very topic. I'll be traveling to India-Nepal in December.
Cathy...if I thought there would be someone on the tour who could capture an excellent shot of a tiger and share it with me, I would gladly leave behind the Canon DSLR with the large lens. It's just so heavy. I remember feeling so unburdened when I recently traveled abroad with only the iPhone 13 Pro. I got great shots; however, the majority of the shots were at a close distance.
As this is my second tour of India, I really only need to capture pictures on the safari portion of the trip. Regardless, I'm planning to order the iPhone 15 Pro...decisions decisions decisions...
Our experiences on every Africa trip is that you always get at least one opportunity to photograph all of the big 5 and more right next to your safari vehicle. I’m talking elephants, rhinos, lions, cheetah, leopards. So of you don’t have a big fancy camera but have a late model phone, you will be fine.
@PureLuxury - If you're thinking of the iPhone 15 Pro, I'd recommend looking at the Pro Max to get the additional optical zoom (5x vs. 3X). It is a bit more expensive but it's not a whole lot bigger - same width and only about a half inch longer. It fits into my pocket just fine.
The biggest issue with the iPhone is all the photos that are sideways on the forum!
As the old saying goes, "What is the Best camera?" "The one you have with you!"
If you are going to Africa to see animals and want small mementos of the sightings that you can look at on your phone then an iphone or similar will work for you. It is small light and very portable and works for many who do not put high demands on the quality of the shots or want to control aperture or shutter speed for artistic effect.
However if you are going to Africa and have significant desire to get good quality shots in low light when the animals are most active. Or high speed action shots, then the iphone will not cut it. That is why you always see the pros carrying "big glass" when they are out there looking for "the shot". The downside of this is that you have to make a significant investment in acquiring and being prepared to carry pieces of kit that are significantly larger and more cumbersome than the ubiquitous iphone. Only you can define your purpose for being on that trip and your expectations for it. The photographic kit required will fall out of that decision.
For reference, none of the following were taken with an iphone
I, for one, love the idea of using my smart phone when traveling. It is super light and there are so many opportunities to quickly capture an image, no matter what time of day or distance. A couple of my favorite Photographers, Scott Kelby and Rick Sammon have been using the I Phone for travel for a couple of years. Matter of fact, Rick Sammon just came back from a safari trip to Tanzania and he solely used the I Phone 14 Pro Raw for close to middle range shots and the Samsung S23 for telephoto shots as it has the 10X lens. He left his full frame cameras at home. His shots were absolutely amazing. Now, of course, the out of camera shots are great but he brings them to a new level using some post processing software like Photoshop/Lightroom and these images can be processed into large format prints and retain the sharpness. I have been to Photo Exhibits locally where the Photographer presented various images, some with the standard full frame Mirrorless Cameras and other with the I Phone and the prints were 20 x 30 and I couldn't tell which was which, unless you read the fine print on the tag which camera was used. These smart phone cameras are getting better and better each year. If you are a member of Kelby One, Scott Kelby has a great class "Beginner's Guide to I Phone Photography" from this year. Rick Sammon also has some new classes this year on the I Phone. I would say take both cameras and decide for yourself. Always use Optical zoom .5, 1x, 2x etc for better clarity and never digital zoom, in other words don't pinch to zoom. This makes a huge difference. Plus always shoot in raw. I have an older Samsung S21 and I use the Expert Raw setting and do my post processing with Lightroom/Photoshop and ON1 software as needed. I took several great shots on a workshop to Lisbon this past April and was able to capture great images quickly and not fiddle with settings on my mirrorless camera , especially in early morning, low light situations. I am not giving up my Mirrorless camera as there are many situations where only this type of camera should be used but for Travel Photography, my Samsung Smart Phone Camera is my preferred choice.
Just wanted to mention there is a Group on Facebook, "Explorers of Life" that has some incredible images taken by Rick Sammon and others that use their Smartphones , I Phone and Samsung. Rick created the group and is also the moderator. Check it out.
rwilso15 spectacular photographs...thanks for sharing. I agree...the best camera is the one you have with you.
travel maven thanks for the recommendations. I'll check out the FB group and look up Rick Sammon.
rwilson15 amazing photos, thanks for sharing.
What do all you smart phone users do about the issue when posting to the Tauck forum that cause photos taken with you camera sideways to appear sideways? Has anyone found an easy on-tour fix?
No on tour fix but then I don't try to post photos then. It's always the photos where I've turned my phone vertically to take the picture that cause problems. At home I edit the photo to make It wider than taller. Usually by cropping out unnecessary parts like extra sky. Several photos from my recent review I did that to.
I did this some time ago but don't remember the results. Take your iPhone and take a picture in different orientations of the phone. To remember which is which, take a picture of a piece of paper with the orientation written on the paper. Post the pictures here and you'll see which orientation gives you a right side up display. Then use that orientation when taking pictures you want to post.
You can delete the pictures or the post later.
One person can do this and post the results so everyone can know how to hold their iPhone for picture posting.
[I post process all my pictures while I'm on the trip so I didn't need to remember the orientation.]