Mobile

Smartphone cameras have become one of the main ways everyday people capture photos and document life, and even professional photographers may use phones to shoot paid work. PetaPixel covers the latest news and information on how smartphones are transforming the way photographs are made.

$200 vs $4,000 Camera: Is Your Phone Good Enough for Travel Photography?

Sensor image quality has advanced so much over the last few years that phone manufacturers are boasting photographs that rival those from larger mirrorless and DSLR cameras. Some, like the Xiaomi Mi CC9 at 108 megapixels, quadruple the resolution of my best camera.

iPhone 11 Pro’s Night Mode Isn’t What You Might Think

After PetaPixel shared a story I shot with the new iPhone in Russia’s Arctic North, the response was enormous. One email that I received pointed out a technical detail I think deserves more attention. It turns out that the “Night Mode” doesn’t actually work with the iPhone’s telephoto lens, yet the phone goes out of its way to look like it does.

Anker Unveils First Ever ‘Made for iPhone’ Certified External Flash

Less than a week after reports indicated that "Made for iPhone" certified strobes were on the way, we have our first official product. Made by Anker—better known for their battery packs—the cube-shaped LED flash is compatible with the iPhone 11 and 11 Pro models, and will be available to purchase next month for a reported $50.

Apple May Put Sensor-Based IBIS in the Next iPhone: Report

A fresh report citing "industry observers" claims that Apple has a big change in store for next year's iPhones. Certain 5G models of the 2020 iPhone, claims the report, will come with sensor-shift stabilization instead of the lens-based OIS that's currently being used.

Using iPhone’s ‘Night Mode’ to Shoot 40 Days of Darkness in Russia’s North

For my latest photo essay "Forty Days Of Darkness," I bought the new iPhone 11 Pro and went to Russia's Murmansk, the biggest city in the Arctic circle. From December until January the sun never rises over Murmansk. With the iPhone camera (most of the time) set to "night mode," I shot life in the darkness there.

The Most Unfair Camera Comparison Ever: iPhone vs $250K TV Camera

You'd have to look long and hard to find a more absurd camera comparison than this. After putting together a very useful video that explains why broadcast TV cameras are so huge and expensive, YouTuber Zebra Zone pit this $250,000 setup against its most obvious rival... the iPhone 11 Pro.

Apple Acquires UK Start-Up that Could Provide Major Boost to iPhone Camera

Apple has quietly acquired a UK-based imaging start-up whose technology could lead to a huge boost in iPhone camera performance. The company, called Spectral Edge, pioneered an "image fusion" technology that uses infrared photos and machine learning to produce photos with more "colour, detail and clarity."

Photographers: Should You Buy an iPhone 11 Pro?

Should you buy an iPhone 11 Pro? That’s a big question many people have had on their minds since Apple recently released their latest flagship smartphone that contains 3 different rear-facing cameras. However, a thorough answer to that question isn’t cut and dry.

This Pro Tried to Shoot a Professional-Grade Timelapse on a Smartphone

Professional timelapse photographer Morten Rustad is used to chasing the ultimate image quality when he's working for clients like Sony or LG. He's used to working with the best cameras and the highest resolution files. His followers wanted to know if he could capture the same quality using only a phone.

Massive Android Exploit Lets Hackers Control Your Camera, Affects ‘Hundreds of Millions’ of Users

A security firm has discovered a major Android exploit that would allow hackers to take control of your smartphone's camera in the background and use it to take pictures or record video while the phone is locked. The security report reveals that the exploit affects Google and Samsung smartphones, bringing the tally of affected users into the "hundreds of millions."

How to Double the Resolution of Your Smartphone Photos

"Super-resolution" and "pixel-shift" photography isn't just possible if you have a fancy camera that can move the sensor 1 pixel between shots. As Usman Dawood of Sonder Creative demonstrates in this video, you can even do it with your run-of-the-mill smartphone, shooting hand-held.

Using an iPhone 11 Pro to Capture the Northern Lights

The latest crop of smartphones all feature incredible low-light photography modes that can capture things that were unthinkable just one year ago. Case in point: Zach Honig, Editor-at-Large of The Points Guy, recently captured the Northern Lights in Coldfoot, AK using just an iPhone 11 Pro Max... handheld!

iPhone 11 Pro vs 100MP Medium Format Camera

When commercial photographer Josh Rossi first came up with the idea of comparing the iPhone 11 Pro against his new Fuji GFX 100, he wrote it off. But he decided to do it anyway, because even if the GFX 100 was going to be the obvious winner, he still wanted to see how the RAW files stacked up.

Xiaomi Mi Mix Alpha 5G is the First Smartphone with a 108MP Camera

As promised in its teaser from a few weeks ago, Xiaomi has become the first manufacturer to release a smartphone with Samsung's crazy 108MP image sensor inside. The newly announced Xiaomi Mi Mix Alpha 5G concept phone uses the ultra-high-res image sensor and a wrap-around "surround screen" that is a sight to behold.

Profoto to Release $300 Smartphone Flash Next Week: Report

Earlier this week, high-end lighting brand Profoto released a teaser for a new light that it claimed would "forever change the world of photography." Don't get too excited though: according to the most recent rumors, this "game-changing" product is an expensive LED flash for smartphones.

The Polaroid Lab Transfers Your Digital Photos Onto Analog Instant Film

Polaroid Originals has released its latest product, and it's an instant printer... with a twist. Rather than just printing digital files, this so-called "miniature table top darkroom" actually turns digital files into analog prints by projecting your phone screen onto a piece of instant film.

Leaked Promo Video Shows Google Pixel 4 Astrophotography Mode

Google already took smartphone photography to a new level when they released their Night Sight mode, but it looks like they're planning to improve low-light smartphone photography even further by adding some sort of astrophotography mode to the upcoming Pixel 4.

NeuralCam Night Photo App Brings AI-Powered Low-Light Mode to iPhones

One area where Apple has been lagging behind its Android competition is low-light photography. Google's NightSight and the Night Modes on other Android devices have been blowing away reviewers, so Halcyon Mobile stepped in and developed Neural Cam Night Photo: a third-party app that brings these capabilities to the iPhone.

RED Founder Blames Chinese ODM for Hydrogen One’s Poor Performance

When it was first announced, the RED Hydrogen One smartphone promised to be a game changer for photo and video pros; when it arrived, it fell far short of that mark. Now, RED's founder is speaking out about what happened with the Hydrogen One, and sharing what's next for the Hydrogen product line.