A couple of months ago, I purchased the new iPhone 16 Pro. Previously, I was using the iPhone 13 Pro, which had a great camera and served me well for three years. This time, the camera upgrades for photography and video caught my attention and convinced me to upgrade. While I primarily saw advantages for video, I was curious to explore the potential of the iPhone 16 Pro camera for photography and whether it could assist me with my work occasionally. After using it casually for two months while leading photo workshops around Croatia and Slovenia, here are my thoughts.
iPhone 16 Pro Camera
The new iPhone 16 Pro features a versatile three-camera setup. The wide camera (13mm equivalent) and the normal camera (24mm) both shoot at 48MP, while the telephoto camera (120mm) shoots at 12MP. By default, there’s also a 2x option (48mm), which utilizes the normal camera with a cropped view. Additionally, you can crop further by pinching or adjusting the zoom scale manually. This setup offers a wealth of creative possibilities—as long as we don’t get too fixated on megapixels.
I was particularly interested in the RAW image quality and the potential for post-production edits. All the images featured in this blog post were captured as RAW (DNG) files and processed in Adobe Lightroom Classic.
Camera Control Slider
One of the new features Apple is raving about is the camera control slider/button. It’s designed to make controlling the camera easier, much like having extra buttons on a traditional camera. In practice, however, I found it less than ideal—sometimes more of a distraction than a genuine help.
That said, here are the genuinely useful aspects of the new camera control:
- Pressing it, even when the phone is locked, instantly launches the camera app. Fantastic!
- Pressing it while the camera app is open takes a photo.
- Pressing and holding it while the camera app is open starts recording video and continues for as long as you hold the button.
However, half-pressing and sliding to access extra features like exposure adjustments, depth control, switching between cameras, or using styles is hit or miss. For me, using gestures on the screen feels simpler, quicker, and more reliable.
Despite its shortcomings, I still think the new camera control is a welcome addition, primarily for the three benefits I mentioned above.
IPhone 16 Pro Image Examples
All the photos below were captured as RAW files. I imported them into Adobe Lightroom and applied basic adjustments, including white balance (WB), exposure, shadows, and highlights. More details on the editing process can be found in the chapter below.
Editing iPhone 16 Pro Photos in Lightroom
Once the photos are imported into Adobe Lightroom Classic, the editing workflow is the same as with RAW photos from any other digital camera. The default profile is Apple ProRaw, which applies edits from Apple’s proprietary algorithms. When editing the above images I used Adobe profiles instead. This allowed me to make edits from a more realistic start, without Apple’s cooking. It is interesting to see what a difference is. Here I am including some examples how Apple and Adobe profiles differ for a few selected images.
The above examples are unedited. Apple ProRaw on the left and Adobe Landscape profile on the right side.
Workflow Problems
My biggest frustration with shooting on the iPhone is importing photos into Lightroom. I really dislike that Apple doesn’t allow the phone to connect to a Mac as an external disk, which would make it so much easier to transfer photos directly into desired folders.
I’ve found only two sub-optimal solutions for transferring RAW files to my photo archives:
- iCloud Photos: This is Apple’s “native” solution, but I find it complicates my usual workflow. First, images must be uploaded to iCloud, then downloaded manually to my computer. Additionally, iCloud Photos doesn’t distinguish between RAW files and JPEG/HEIF images, making it harder to manage files effectively.
- Dropbox: Fortunately, I’m a Dropbox user, and I use it to sync my mobile photos. The downside is that I have to wait for the sync to complete before I can move the photos into my archive folders. While still time-consuming, this process is smoother than using iCloud.
If anyone has a better method or system for transferring photos directly from an iPhone to a computer, I’d love to hear your suggestions!
IPhone 16 Pro Image Quality
The wide and normal cameras produce impressive photos at 48MP, delivering excellent detail and quality. In contrast, the telephoto camera, with its smaller 12MP sensor, is noticeably less capable. It’s frustrating that Apple didn’t make all three cameras equally strong—I suspect the telephoto lens might be waiting for improvements in the next iteration of the device.
RAW photos are truly impressive in good lighting conditions. The 48MP resolution captures incredible detail, even with challenging subjects like foliage (trees, grass). However, as the light diminishes, the usual limitations of mobile phone cameras become apparent—noise, loss of detail, and algorithmic compression.
Overall, I am impressed by the editing capabilities of the iPhone 16 Pro Camera’s RAW files. I expected less flexibility for adjustments, more noise, and a narrower dynamic range, but the results exceeded my expectations.
Conclusion
Is the new iPhone 16 Pro good enough to replace my main camera from time to time? Yes, sometimes. Over time, I’ll learn how to maximize its potential and know exactly when to use it. The wide and normal lenses produce incredible image quality in decent lighting, and the photos easily integrate into my Lightroom catalogues—often making it hard to tell which camera they were taken with.
Is it a worthy upgrade from my previous iPhone 13 Pro? Yes and no. If it were only about the stills camera, then definitely no. But with the significantly improved video features and the addition of a USB-C charging port, it’s a welcome upgrade. That said, I could have lived with my old phone a bit longer. The real reason I upgraded? My wife needed a new phone, and I generously suggested she could have mine. 😄
2 comments
Excellent overview. Thank you. I plan to upgrade from my iPhone 11 Pro to the iPhone 16 Pro next year.
As someone who’s been working in cybersecurity for 23 years, let me explain why Apple doesn’t let you use the iPhone’s file system like a regular disk.
The main reason is security. Allowing unrestricted access to the file system opens the door for malware and unauthorised apps to mess with sensitive data or critical system files. To prevent this, Apple uses something called sandboxing, which means each app is isolated and can only access its own data. It’s a smart way to keep things safe and running smoothly.
I get that this might feel restrictive, and I know it can be frustrating if you’re used to having more control. But this approach is intentional—it’s designed to protect users and make sure their data stays secure, even if they don’t think about security day to day.
If this still feels unclear or if you’re curious about the bigger picture, I’d be happy to explain more. It’s an interesting trade-off between flexibility and security, and I’d love to help make sense of it!
Thank you Khurt! I didn’t know about sandboxing and it makes a lot of sense. The power users who would appreciate flexibility are a minority. I would still appreciate to be able to access and manage photos directly when the phone is connected. It could be via special app that would allow access to the photos via Finder.