I always enjoy this guy as he likes to be contrarian and not just toe the corporate line on product reviews (not just Apple, other stuff too).
Needs to be taken with many grains of salt and understand he is only speaking from a professional filmmaker use, in all other ways he loves the new iPhones.
But you won’t hear this from the “usual photographers” that are Apple fans and don’t really have the technical chops, nor interest, in laying bare some of the real world details.
I’m one of those people that while I appreciate what Apple have achieved, and believe the iPhone camera system is amazing… there has to be a qualifier. It’s amazing for a phone. Or even for a small, pocketable camera. It is not an amazing camera with no qualifiers.
I see a lot of claims that “it’s the only camera most people need” and I can get on board with that, too. But also consider that prior to smartphones with decent cameras, most people didn’t own a camera.
So yes, it is an amazing accomplishment; yes it is all the camera most people need or will use; but as “a camera” it is still very constrained due to the necessities of fitting inside a tiny enclosure alongside a lot of other stuff.
You don’t have to be a professional to see the limitations.
Hmm … A guy that hasn’t actually used the device he is pontificating about.
TL;DR - he sets up and knocks down straw men.
So I’ll pass on his channel.
And I’ll wait for folks like Austin Mann and Sebastiann de With, who both use the actual camera before pontificating and clearly know what they are talking about.
And anyone who cares about video and photography would get a dedicated app (with the manual controls he laments the lack of). The fact that this guy doesn’t mention that makes me wonder about his actual qualifications as a “pro”.
Another straw man example where he clearly shows he isn’t serious about film making is his rant about overheating. He notes that you can record to an external drive to mitigate the issue, and then says that you won’t always have an external drive. Dude, if you are planning a film shoot then if you are a pro you’ll have an external drive, and likely more than one.
I’m glad you find value in his work. For me there are too many red flags to consider him a credible source of information.
It matters not to me if he gets a review unit or buys it himself. But posting this without having actually used the device reeks of click bait. It appears he simply wanted to take advantage of the hype around Apple’s event to drive traffic to his channel. I noted Austin Mann and Sebastian de With as examples of creditable reviewers who take the time to use the product before giving their opinions. (And note that I have little interest in video, but am a hobbiest still photographer. Thus I do not know of a similar reviewer with a focus on video.)
I also found the bit where he goes on about how the EU forced Apple to adopt USB totally irrelevant to a camera review. What videographer is going to care why Apple added USB? It would have been ok to mention it, and then note why USB is of benefit to anyone transferring large files off the iPhone. But this seemed more to promote himself as a contrarian not swayed by the Apple Reality Distortion Field ™ then to provide any value to the viewer with respect to the camera system.
And his going on about how the stock camera app doesn’t cut it is akin to complaining that Reminders isn’t Omnifocus or the Photos isn’t Lightroom. And made me question his credibility as a “pro”, as any pro is going to use a third party video app. He could have said something along the lines, “as usual, the stock Camera app may suffice for casual use, but even with third party apps one does have enough control …”, then discussing what was lacking. Instead, he actually does his viewers a double disservice here.
First, he could have discussed which manual controls are and are not available in third party apps, helping the viewer to understand if this was a good fit for them. Second, he gives the impression that no manual control is possible at all and thus folks who might have found the iPhone a good fit won’t even know to look for third party apps.
I’ve already mentioned how he dismisses the ability to record to an external drive, with the silly assertion that one won’t always have an external drive. While this is a trivially true statement, anyone going out for a planned video shoot will have an external drive.
I got the overall impression that he was trying very hard to show he wasn’t an Apple Fanboy, to prove his bonafides as an independent reviewer. But at the cost of actually providing useful information, and instead batting down straw men.
I do not disagree that the iPhone can’t replace a dedicated video camera, just as I wouldn’t sell my DSLR equipment to use only the iPhone. But a good review would have discussed what the camera both can and can do. This didn’t.
Finally, just as I don’t go to the National Enquirer for news I don’t go to some random YouTube site for technology reviews. Thus claiming that this is somehow an antidote to that is again irrelevant to me. Any credible review (or preview) will stand on its own. I care not and avoid what fanboys (and anti-fanboys) say. But I am interested in reading and watching about what a device can do. That is of value to me. Alas, this video was not of value.
So what? I ignore them. You should too. I have no problem with valid criticism of Apple or anyone else.
I long ago stopped paying attention to iJustine and her ilk. I advise everyone else to do the same.
I used to frequent 9 to 5 Mac. But the repeated “What we know about Product X” stories, where what was actually “known” was nothing, put an end to that. So much so I had to do a search for “Mac news sites” because I couldn’t remember the site name.
And I’ll close with one interesting comment. it seems that my negative review of a certain video linked above seems to have brought out at least one defender.
I provided valid criticisms and was met with irrelevant comparisons to iPad apologists.
Cheers.
I haven’t watched the video as I’ve no plans to get an iPhone 15. But it is possible to review a product based on the specification alone.
If I’m reviewing a car and I read in the specification that it has a wheel missing out of the box, and no way to add the missing wheel because of limitations imposted by the manufacturer, then I could make legitimate comment.
I don’t understand what’s to fight over. I appreciated the main point in the video about the focal tradeoff and that @SpivR introduced me to a name I hadn’t heard of. It wasn’t intended to be the final word on whether the phones are worth buying, for either fun or work.
No doubt this is true. And if you hunt around on Sebastian de With’s blog you’ll see he does a good job at that as well.
This is not what the gentlemen in the video did. To use your wheel analogy, he basically said there were several missing wheels, and no way add any of them, when in fact you can add some, but not all, of them, albeit via third party products. It would have been useful for his viewers to know this, so they could decide for themselves which wheels were important to them.
Look, I do not think the iPhone would make a good video rig for a professional. Just I don’t think I could replace my Canon R6 with an iPhone. And Apple should be taken to task for not providing a way to access ‘pro’ controls in the native apps.
But, this was a poorly done video from guy who could use the services of a good editor.
I do not recommend you watch the video.
No maybes. Are you now defending people like iJustine? If not, then what is your point?
There still exists reasoned well thought out content on the web. Some is free, some not.
I prefer to seek out quality and ignore, as Sturgeon’s Law puts it, the 90% that is crap. (A ‘law’ Sturgeon introduced in 1951! well prior to the ‘post paper age.’ This is not a new issue.)
And to me, this video is well within the 90%.
Others may disagree. And that’s ok. I’ve pointed out what I found problematic about the video. And the best response is that it is part of the online ecosystem of crap for the masses?
Have a good weekend. This horse has been beaten enough.
And that is the way you really need to look at the iPhone. From my perspective anyone that I connect with that sees my phone photos marvels at them. So, for the average user, what more could you ask? If I want to do serious photography I will pull out my expensive DSLR. But to be honest, most of the time I keep a larger lens on my DSLR because the iPhone takes really good photos of the every day stuff.
Admittedly I am hanging onto my 11 Pro, but I am routinely disappointed by photos of “everyday stuff” that I use it for. As a record of something, it is more than OK. As a taker of “nice photos” is where it commonly lets me down and most of it, I believe, is down to the “clever” processing. Because it has to make decisions and they are not the same decisions I would make.
There are good points in this thread regarding reviews or comments not based on actual experience. Below is a link to Tony Northrup’s video discussing the iPhone 15 Pro cameras. Like Tony, I am a big Apple fan but am a bit disappointed with the iPhone’s photo quality compared to other high-end smartphone cameras.
Link: Tony Northrup’s video - iPhone 15 Pro cameras
Edit: here is the correct link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzf2B72juCE&t=6s
I liked some of the critiques in this video, in particular calling out various claims from the keynote that did not actually show what they claimed to show.
I was having trouble with Arthur’s link. I think it’s this.
I for one will wait until units appear in the hands of enthusiasts and we can see real pictures taken with the phone cameras. While I agree that spec reviews can be helpful, they are not the end and be all.
Good point. I will eagerly await reviews based on actual use of the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max.
My apology for botching the link in my post. Post edited with correct link.
Thank you.
I’m happy to make judgement without access to the real thing, on the basis of being disappointed in the real thing compared to claims and reviews on all the models I have owned, with a sprinkling of physics. 