After reviewing the cameras on the iPhone 17 and the iPhone 17 Pro, photographer Tyler Stalman has released his review of the iPhone Air camera. Here are a few highlights.
During its Awe Dropping event last September, Apple explained that the iPhone Air’s single rear camera packed “a total of four lenses in your pocket,” with a 26 MM, a 28 MM, a 35 MM, and a 52 MM lens.
As he usually does, photographer Tyler Stalman put Apple’s claims to the test, and came to some very interesting conclusions as to how the iPhone Air fares against the iPhone 17 Pro, as well as what are the strengths and weaknesses of the iPhone Air’s single-but-multi-camera setup.
No meaningful difference at 1x, with one caveat
Right from the top, Stalman notes that when it comes to the regular, 1x camera of the iPhone Air, most users won’t notice any meaningful differences compared with the iPhone 17 Pro’s 1x camera.
He does note that text tends to smear a little bet towards the edges of the frame, but that is largely imperceptible, especially when viewing photos when they’re not zoomed in. Or, as he puts it:
“Seems to be a strange artifact that doesn’t appear much. So, I don’t want to overemphasize it, but I found it. So, I want to make sure you’re aware of it.”
Other interesting tidbits of the review include the difference between the minimum focus distance of the iPhone Air and the iPhone 17 Pro, the practical impact of the lack of a a macro lens when it comes to taking photos of subjects who are really up close, and when users will be more prone to miss the telephoto lens.
He also points out some of the tradeoffs of not choosing a Pro model, such as the lack of ProRAW and Apple Log support, and the fact that the iPhone Air only supports USB 2, while the iPhone 17 Pro offers USB 3.
He notes that these are professional-grade features not aimed at the iPhone Air’s target audience, but as he puts it, they’re the ones he missed “as a Pro photographer.”
As with every Tyler Stalman review video, he offers a very interesting and practical take on what to expect from the iPhone Air, including video capture, sound quality, and the new Center Stage feature of the front camera.
Watch his review below, and be sure to check out 9to5Mac’s review of the iPhone Air, which has its own section dedicated to the camera as well.
Did you get the iPhone Air? What has your experience been like? Let us know in the comments.
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