iPhone 16 cameras vs. traditional digital cameras

I think a lot of the differences you're seeing are the result of FOV differences; the iPhone camera is a ~24mm equivalent, which is much wider than most people would shoot on a dedicated camera. That wide-angle distortion is just a natural part of the 24mm focal length, but not really the iPhone's fault.

The other effects you're seeing are related to Apple's default image processing, which, at this point, most people would agree is too aggressive. This difference goes away if you shoot in ProRAW and process your photos in an app that allows you to dial down (or ideally turn off) local tone mapping.

If you have an iPhone that shoots 48MP ProRAW, don't be afraid to crop the image significantly, which increases the effective focal length and makes the image look more like a dedicated camera. It also increases the apparent bokeh, which is actually quite noticeable on close-ups. With the RAW you can then quickly edit the image to end up colors which are much more faithful and natural.

If anyone out there doesn't have a Pro model, they can shoot RAW photos in 3rd party camera apps, including Lightroom, which is free.

1. Difference in focal length/ position.

2. Difference in color processing

But…the article is fairly weak on both points?

1. It’s unclear why the author is comparing different focal lengths without clarifying what they used. If I use the 24mm equivalent on either my full frame or my iPhone, the perspective will be largely the same modulo some lens correction. Same if I use the 70mm or whatever the focal length is.

2. Color processing is both highly subjective but also completely something you can disable on the phone and the other camera. It’s again, no different between the two.

It’s a poor article because it doesn’t focus on the actual material differences.

The phone will have a smaller sensor. It will have more noise and need to do more to combat it. It won’t have as shallow a depth of field.

The phone will also of course have different ergonomics.

But the things the post focuses on are kind of poor understandings of the differences in what they’re shooting and how their cameras work.

The child in the surf is almost identical. Maybe a few ms of difference, look at the foot position.

The facial structure differences in the players were striking despite not being identical shots.