The iPhone 12 Pro Max comes with a superior primary camera at the rear compared to other iPhone 12 models. But how good is it in real life? Is it worth spending the extra money on the iPhone 12 Pro Max just for its advanced primary camera? Let us find out.
The iPhone 12 Pro Max packs a larger sensor at the rear for the primary camera compared to the iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, and the iPhone 12 Pro Max. The larger sensor has allowed Apple to use larger pixels, which, in turn, should offer brighter images. The iPhone 12 Pro Max also uses a sensor-shift optical image stabilisation, which is considered to be superior to the lens-shift optical image stabilisation used by other iPhone 12 models. This should result in better stabilisation in still images as well as videos.
According to Apple, the iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, and the iPhone 12 Pro capture 27% more light than the iPhone 11 Pro Max. However, the larger sensor of the iPhone 12 Pro Max manages to capture 87% more light than its predecessor. So, how big of a difference does the larger sensor make in real life? Well, Wall Street Journal has made a video comparing cameras of different iPhone 12 models, giving us a clear picture of the difference between the primary camera of the iPhone 12 Pro Max and other iPhone 12 models.
According to the publication, the iPhone 12 Pro Max churns out similar images to other iPhone 12 models in daylight. It says that there isn’t a noticeable difference in the image quality of the iPhone 12 Pro Max and other iPhone 12 models when the lighting condition is good. However, that changes in lowlight conditions. According to WSJ, the larger sensor of the iPhone 12 Pro Max does offer brighter and more detailed images in darkly lit conditions compared to other iPhone 12 variants. While the difference is not day and night, it is significant.
The primary camera of the iPhone 12 Pro Max not only offers brighter and more detailed pictures in lowlight conditions but its larger sensor also makes less use of Night mode allowing you to capture images faster. And when it does use Night mode, it uses the mode for a lesser duration compared to other iPhone 12 models, which makes it convenient for the user as they will not have to hold the phone in the same position for long. As the duration of the Night mode is shorter, the chances of getting a blurred picture due to shakes are reduced as well.
As for the benefits of sensor-shift optical image stabilisation of the iPhone 12 Pro Max, we have to look at the video from a popular YouTuber, Danny Winget, to get a clear picture of things. According to the YouTuber, the sensor-shift optical image stabilisation of the iPhone 12 Pro Max does capture more stabilised videos compared to other iPhone 12 models. However, the difference isn’t that big, especially if you record videos while walking at a normal pace. That being said, the iPhone 12 Pro Max does perform significantly better if you record video while running.
To conclude, if you are someone who captures a lot of images in lowlight conditions and records videos on a regular basis, you will benefit from the superior primary camera of the iPhone 12 Pro Max, and in that case, we think it is worth spending the extra dollar on the iPhone 12 Pro Max over its siblings.
