iPhone 12 Pro Max vs iPhone 11 Pro Max Camera Test Comparison By Danny Winget

What's up everybody: this is Danny, and today I'll be doing the camera comparison between the iPhone 11 Pro max and the iPhone 12 Pro max. So I want to see if it's worth the upgrade, because the 12 pro max has the improved camera this year, bigger sensor, better ultra-wide, better stabilization. So I need to test this out in all lighting conditions, we're going to test it out during the day and at night, and we're going to see if this camera system is actually worth the upgrade from last year's model. So let's go ahead and do it so quickly. Let's talk about the testing process, the iPhone 12 series has a new scene detection feature which is on by default. So I left that on.

But, as you know, everything on the iPhone is auto, based both were up-to-date, running iOS 14.2. So, let's start with the daytime pictures. If you look, the pictures are very similar in good lighting. They are exactly what you would expect full of dynamic range. Nice colors lots of details in the photos, but there are a few differences, so I will point them out.

The first thing I noticed is that the iPhone 11 Pro max, even without scene detection, tends to process with more saturation, which I thought would have been backwards, but I think this is going to rely heavily on personal preference. Look at the sky rendition differences on the main camera. The differences are fairly subtle, so you might not notice a lot of difference there, but when it comes to the ultra-wide camera, the difference in processing seems to be amped up by the iPhone 11 Pro max look at the sky and saturation here. The processing also tends to be brighter too on the 11 pro max, which is a surprise. So I wouldn't blame you if you like the 11 pro max better on some of these shots, but that bump up in exposure sometimes compromises the overall dynamic range.

It all depends on the scene. Here is the iPhone 12 Pro bumping up the shadow detail to make a more pleasing shot, so they do go back and forth. The new addition to the iPhone 12 Pro max is that you get a 2.5 x optical zoom, instead of the 2x on the iPhone 11 Pro max. The difference isn't gigantic or anything, but that little of extra reach is nice in daylight. I don't see much of a quality difference between the two telephotos, so let me know which one you prefer the 2x or the 2.5x portrait mode seems to be about the same, since LIDAR is only used in lower light scenarios, which I will show you later here again. You can see that the 11 pro max is bumping up that saturation heavily while there is slight over exposure on the entire scene on the 12 pro max, but I do prefer the skin tone approach better on the new iPhone.

I'm going to say this again after taking tons of pictures side by side, if you're, primarily a daytime shooter, then I don't think this is the reason to upgrade. There are some slight white balance, differences between the two and the outcome might be slightly different for each side, but for the most part and to no surprise, the iPhone 11 Pro max is still an incredible camera and keeps up well during the day when it comes to video, the new iPhone 12 Pro max can shoot in Dolby Vision, HDR up to 4k 60 frames per second, where the 11 pro max cannot. But for the sake of this comparison, I left the HDR off. If you have seen my previous comparisons, Dolby Vision, HDR can only be truly appreciated on compatible displays and specifically iPhone to iPhone share so right now, it's really not something that I would consider a major upgrade feature for the average consumer, but if you're a creator that might be a little different. Here's an example of that 2.5x zoom versus the 2x, just that little extra reach can go a long way, but both of these videos look very similar. There is a new stabilization system on the iPhone 12 Pro max.

It's a sensor based shift stabilization that behaves more like in-body stabilization in bigger mirrorless cameras and while it's not a huge night and day difference, the new iPhone does pick up less of the bounce and looks more stable. When I pick up the pace a little, it's a little more noticeable pay attention more to the center of the video on the iPhone 12 Pro max. It really keeps it stable and extends it out from there. So if you take a lot of walking video or do a lot of social media, this might be something that you want. Here's a more challenging scenario with my kids running around parents.

I know that this will really strike a chord again, not a giant night and day difference and I have extremely steady hands, so that doesn't help either, but you will get better video stabilization on the new iPhone 12 Pro max, alright, so low light pictures and video. This is where we can finally start to talk about some more notable differences. Since the iPhone 12 Pro max does have a new, bigger sensor. You can see a difference, especially without night mode. There is less noise and better detail, obviously more light coming in, and when you kick on that night mode, the iPhone 11 Pro max does better, but the 12 pro max still looks better here.

The faster aperture does create a more natural bouquet or background separation. Just look here and here just a little nicer, but the iPhone 11 Pro max does keep more of the bench in focus, since it does have the smaller sensor- and this is natural- it started raining here, so I had to get a little more creative, with my shots being stuck underneath the canopy and for the most part I was getting improved images with the iPhone 12 Pro max. Just like the daytime pictures. The 11 pro max is bumping up that saturation, which I think works better for some nighttime shots, but I must admit, after taking a bunch of pictures side by side for the most part, the 12 pro max does show that slight nighttime photo improvement. That I think a lot of people will appreciate.

Now we can't do a camera comparison without sometimes the iPhone 11 Pro max beating it, especially when it comes to closer up photos. The leaf here is clearer. The raindrops are also sharper and that extra saturation pops here again and here even without night mode, the eleven pro max did a little better but kicking in that night mode. You can see more of the light coming in with the 12 pro max in that extra background separation, but the 11 pro max does keep things more in focus, but this is about the only advantage the 11 pro max had I found that on most shots with and without night mode that the 12 pro max had the sharper shot overall, and the advantage of the bigger sensor is that most of the time I was able to get these results with shorter exposure times. In this scenario, the 11 pro max exposed for two seconds, while the 12 pro max only exposed for one here, is the result of that shot.

So, to extend on the comparison, I took non-night mode shots of moving subjects to see if there were any significant improvements in shutter speed, since the 12 pro max has a bigger sensor. But in terms of motion blur, I didn't see a huge difference, but improvements are noticeable. Look at how bright that building is and how much more texture there is on the brick. Look at the improved shadow detail on the trees and the increased sharpness, and in this scenario you can see the detail, difference. Here's where you can see more of the truck.

You can see the rim detail while it's moving and the individual doors where you can't see this on the 11 pro max and those improvements also come with better noise reduction and sharpness. If you're a fan of portrait mode at night, then you need to step up to the iPhone 12 Pro series. This uses the new LIDAR sensor and the results are perfect. It's incredible what this mode can do for people, but it's also awesome on non-human subjects as well. Even though you can only use this mode with the main sensor and not the telephoto, I really love it.

These differences alone might not be enough for an upgrade, and I totally understand that, but the ultra-wide camera is where I think you can clearly see the difference. The first huge improvement is in the distortion correction. Just look here that is so much better on the iPhone 12 Pro max, and this year you also get night mode on the ultra-wide on the new iPhone. So look at that difference. It's major look at the columns here on the iPhone 11 Pro max.

The distortion makes the image look weird, while the correction works perfectly on the iPhone 12 Pro max even without night mode. Just look at the center of this image. The detail on the 12 pro max is so much better and then, when you kick in night mode, it's game over. So if you're a nighttime ultra-wide fan, this is worth the upgrade. The front facing camera is the same on both so regular images.

Look pretty similar, maybe slightly better on the iPhone 12 Pro max. But when you kick in that night mode, it's really a game, changer, so much more detail. You do have to stay still for one to two seconds, but the end result is totally worth if it's night and day for sure so to round out the differences. Let's talk about video, I do this test to see how it handles exposure changes and how it handles noise reduction. And if you look closely, you can see that the iPhone 12 Pro max's video is cleaner with less noise and has more detail.

Here's a closer look punched way in. I know no one's doing this in real life, but this is just to show you the difference. So you can see it better. Here is that rainstorm that I was caught in makes for interesting video. This is a better example of the detail.

Difference just look at that tree. It's noise, central on the iPhone 11 Pro max, but the iPhone 12 Pro max is so much cleaner. This is with the auto frames per second feature off on both phones, so I can get the best quality video. It does not drop the frame rate to make the image brighter, so here's an example with that feature turned on it's going to drop to 30 frames per second for maximum light capture. Just look at the street the tree and how muddy that brick is next to the car.

The iPhone 12 Pro max is looking a lot better here. This is a major improvement in low-light video. Even with this feature on the green spots or light reflections are on both of these iPhone models. I'm not sure why people focused on this so hard since the prior iPhones had this as well. But if you look closely, it does look like the reflection is more pronounced and more detailed on the iPhone 12 Pro max, but they are present on both here's some walking footage.

So you can see the stabilization at night again, you can see the improvements in detail while walking so nighttime video is a definite win on the iPhone 12 Pro max. So in the end, is it worth the upgrade, and my answer is: it depends on if you are primarily a daytime photo and video taker. I say no, but if you want the benefits of better low light performance all the way around, then I say it's worth the look. I honestly think that the iPhone 11 Pro max is still so solid. Furthermore, I think you'd be just fine skipping this one, but the nighttime ultra-wide front facing camera and video improvements are there.

So if you do want to pony up for the upgrade, you know exactly what you can expect. Thank you for watching this. I hope this helped. You make the right buying decision hit that thumbs up if it did subscribe for more comparisons. Just like this, and I will see you in the next one.

Source : Danny Winget