TLDR;
This video reviews the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, focusing on their photography and videography capabilities. It highlights the new camera design, improved thermal dissipation, and the new center stage selfie camera available on all four new iPhone models. The review covers the ultrawide, main, and telephoto cameras, detailing improvements and changes in resolution and performance. The video also discusses image quality, portrait mode, flare, video capabilities including ProRes RAW, and Apple's approach to AI in image processing.
- New camera design with improved thermal dissipation.
- Enhanced telephoto lens and center stage selfie camera.
- Advancements in image quality and video capabilities.
- Apple's unique approach to AI in image processing.
Intro [0:00]
The video introduces a full review of the iPhone 17 Pro Max, specifically focusing on its photography and videography capabilities. The reviewer, Chris Nichols, mentions that Jordan is also shooting the video on an iPhone 17 Pro to demonstrate its video quality. He also promotes the XR Search 2026 Lightroom plugin, highlighting its AI-powered search, automatic keywording, and shot culling features, offering a 15% discount to PetaPixel viewers with the code "pedixel".
Controls [6:00]
The handling of the iPhone 17 Pro Max is very similar to the 16 Pro Max in terms of weight and screen size. The control layouts, including the power button, volume buttons, customizable button, and camera control button, remain unchanged. The reviewer notes that the customizable button functions the same as in the previous model, but he personally prefers using the touchscreen for exposure and undertone adjustments, typically reassigning the button to serve as a shutter or camera launch control.
Ultrawide Camera [6:51]
The ultrawide camera on the iPhone 17 Pro is the same as the one updated in the iPhone 16 Pro series from the previous year. However, a notable change is that the ultrawide camera can now capture photos up to 24 megapixels in HEIF or JPEG format, whereas the iPhone 16 Pro was limited to 12 megapixels for these formats, while still offering 48 megapixel RAWs. This enhancement provides a slightly higher resolution option for general-purpose files.
Main Camera [7:25]
The main camera of the iPhone 17 Pro is the same as that of the iPhone 16 Pro, featuring the same aperture and sensor size. The main camera includes a fast-scanning sensor and offers two Fusion lenses, providing 28mm and 35mm full-frame equivalent fields of view at 24 megapixels. The reviewer finds these digital lens options useful.
Telephoto Camera [8:09]
The iPhone 17 Pro features a new four times telephoto lens, replacing the five times lens from the iPhone 16 Pro series. This new lens offers a 100mm full-frame equivalent field of view, which is considered a classic portrait range. The sensor size and resolution have been significantly increased, with Apple claiming a 56% larger sensor than the previous five times camera, resulting in better low-light performance and a 48-megapixel sensor. The four times lens provides more resolution and detail compared to the older five times lens, even when digitally zoomed to five times. Additionally, the phone offers an eight times option by cropping the four times camera down to 12 megapixels, providing a 200mm full-frame field of view.
Fusion Cameras [10:12]
Apple has implemented a new pipeline for 12-megapixel cropped files, improving the detail and sharpness of images. This is evident when comparing the two times camera on both the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro, where the new pipeline enhances detail and reduces artifacting on the iPhone 17 Pro.
Selfie camera [11:01]
The iPhone 17 Pro features a new center stage selfie camera, available on all four new iPhone models, which is designed to be appealing to content creators. This camera allows users to switch between vertical and horizontal recording without rotating the phone and includes an auto-framing option that adjusts the frame based on the number of people in the shot. The 24-megapixel square sensor ensures consistent resolution for both photos and videos, regardless of the crop orientation. The new selfie camera provides better detail at its widest field of view (approximately 19-20mm full-frame equivalent) compared to older models, but the detail is comparable when cropped in tighter.
Image Quality [12:33]
The video was processed in SDR due to viewer preferences, and the reviewer primarily shot in RAW, processing the images to fit the desired color space. Apple photos are generally bright, punchy, and realistic with good color saturation and skin tones. The reviewer notes that the iPhone 17 Pro offers similar capabilities to the 16 Pro in terms of adjusting white balance and exposure, with the main difference being the larger sensor and higher megapixel count of the four times camera.
Portrait Mode [14:03]
The new four times telephoto lens is well-suited for portrait mode, offering a significant upgrade with its 48-megapixel resolution compared to the 12-megapixel five times lens on the iPhone 16 Pro. The higher resolution improves detail, sharpness, and skin tone rendering, capturing finer details like freckles more realistically. The depth maps and bokeh effects are similar to those of the iPhone 16 Pro, providing a soft background effect with a natural falloff. iOS 26 introduces a new "bright" undertone, in addition to the existing undertones like rose gold, which the reviewer still prefers. The four times lens can focus slightly closer than the five times lens, but users should be mindful of the minimum focus distance to maintain the 48-megapixel resolution, especially in head and shoulders shots.
Flare [16:57]
Flare performance on the iPhone 17 Pro is similar to that of the iPhone 16, with minimal ghosting and a slight loss of contrast when shooting into bright light sources. The lens coatings are the same as those used in the previous model.
Video [17:32]
The video capabilities of the iPhone 17 Pro include minor updates, with the most significant being the new four times lens, which offers excellent stabilization and a desirable focal length. The ability to record ProRes RAW video is a key feature, providing flexibility in adjusting white balance and exposure, and unlocking open gate recording for multiple aspect ratios. However, ProRes RAW recording lacks stabilization and is limited to external drives. The new selfie camera allows simultaneous recording with the main camera and offers improved video stabilization due to its ultra-wide lens and square sensor. While the iPhone remains a top choice for smartphone video recording, the default camera app could benefit from the inclusion of H.265 log recording.
Should You Buy It? [22:46]
The iPhone 17 Pro offers substantial hardware improvements, including the new four times lens and center stage selfie camera. Weaknesses in previous models have been addressed, and image quality is enhanced with 48-megapixel RAWs across all three cameras and improved fusion technology. Apple's approach to AI focuses on hardware and image processing rather than generative AI, which the reviewer finds commendable. Overall, the iPhone 17 Pro is a capable and user-friendly smartphone for creative professionals.