A year with the iPhone 13 Pro through a photographer's eyes

I'm a photographer: I carry two cameras, a drone and a set of lenses. So why would I care about a phone? Because the best camera is the one you have with you. And the iPhone 13 Pro was the first phone I started shooting with seriously, not just "for memories". After a year of daily use on the road, here's my review through a photographer's eyes.

The iPhone 13 Pro's cameras

The iPhone 13 Pro has three 12 MP cameras:

• Wide (26 mm, f/1.5) with sensor-shift stabilisation. The main camera, which copes even in dim light.
• Ultra wide (13 mm, f/1.8) with autofocus, which lets it shoot macro from as close as 2 cm.
• Telephoto (77 mm, f/2.8), a 3× optical zoom.

Nothing revolutionary on paper, but combined with computational photography the results are surprisingly good.

ProRAW: RAW in a phone

For me the most important feature. Apple ProRAW saves the photo as a DNG with the sensor data, but also with the computational processing (Smart HDR, Deep Fusion). You can edit ProRAW photos in Lightroom almost like files from a camera: lift the shadows, adjust the white balance, rescue the sky. The downside: one shot is 25–75 MB, so storage fills up fast.

Macro

The surprise of the year. Thanks to the ultra wide lens with autofocus, you can photograph dewdrops, flowers, lichen or details of ice. In New Zealand I used macro on koru ferns and drops on leaves, and the results were better than I expected. For real macro work, though, a camera with a macro lens is still in another league.

Night mode and the northern lights

Night mode works on all three cameras. Handheld it manages a few seconds of exposure, on a tripod up to 30 seconds. It captures the aurora well, though the noise and detail aren't comparable with a full-frame camera. On my aurora tours I show people how to set up their phones; more in how to photograph the northern lights.

Video and Cinematic mode

4K video at 60 fps, superb stabilisation and Dolby Vision HDR. Cinematic mode blurs the background and shifts focus between people like in a film: fun, but with errors around the edges of hair. ProRes video is for professionals, but it needs a lot of storage (models from 256 GB).

Display and battery

The 120 Hz ProMotion display is smooth and bright even in sunshine, so you can check your photos outdoors. The battery lasts a full day of shooting, but in the cold above the Arctic Circle it drops fast. A power bank in a pocket close to your body is a must.

When a phone can replace a camera (and when it can't)

A phone is enough: for travel snapshots, documentation, social media, quick video and situations where you don't want to get your gear out.

A camera is better: for big prints, telephoto lenses for wildlife, fast action, long exposures, the night sky and anything where you need maximum quality. My main camera is still a Canon; there's an overview in what I shoot with.

Verdict

The iPhone 13 Pro was a turning point for me: for the first time I treated a phone as a real photographic tool. Together with the MacBook and the watch it became part of my Apple ecosystem. I AirDrop iPhone photos straight to the MacBook Pro for editing.

Pros: ProRAW, macro, a good telephoto, the ProMotion display, video stabilisation. Cons: ProRAW file sizes, battery life in the cold, focus shifts in Cinematic mode.

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