The Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max camera is a very valuable tool for journalists, but it’s also just a lot of fun!

Our staff always says that photography should be fun. And for us, it isn’t always fun. Some cameras are too serious. Some are too complicated. But the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max camera is both fun and useful. One of my best friends is an Editor at a large Tech Publication. He’s been shooting for years, and has gotten sick of dedicated cameras. The Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max embraces the fun associated with spontaneity that Canon and Fuji don’t. It even rival’s Sony’s fantastic controls on their Xperia 1 Mk II. And if this were the only camera you had on you, I really couldn’t blame you.

Editor’s Note: We’re a blog that specializes in photography and imaging. And so we’re focusing our review on just the camera. You can read more about the phone from literally any other blog or website.

Pros and Cons

Pros

An incredibly versatile camera

Image stabilization

4K video

A return to the older ergonomics

Somehow or another, it doesn’t suffer as bad from fingerprint smudges

Cons

Apple does this really weird thing with the selfie camera where you automatically have super smooth skin and a super crispy face.

What’s Innovative

Apple has a bunch of cameras built into this thing. And the wider lens has image stabilization. Plus, there’s so much opportunity through apps.

Gear Used

We used the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max by itself.

Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max Camera Tech Specs

These specs were taken from the Apple listing.

Ultra-Wide Camera

13 mm focal length

120º field of view

ƒ/2.4 aperture

5-element lens

Lens correction

Wide Camera

26 mm focal length

1.7 µm pixels

ƒ/1.6 aperture

100% Focus Pixels

7-element lens

Sensor-shift OIS

Telephoto Camera

65 mm focal length

ƒ/2.2 aperture

Focus Pixels

6-element lens

OIS

Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max Camera Ergonomics

The Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max is a phone first and foremost. So it’s going to look and function like one. Ergonomically speaking, the camera is in a great spot. It’s well out of the way of where you’d ever put your hands or fingers. Apple’s return to their older body style really helps with this. And because of how big the phone is, you’re always gripping from the bottom anyway.

On the side, you can use the volume buttons as shutter controls. It’s rare that I’d ever really want to do this. If I’m shooting a long exposure, I feel it makes me shake the camera more. So always opt to just tap the screen instead.

Build Quality

The Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max has weather resistance for sure. I’ve taken it out into the rain and snow many times. I’ve used it to shoot product images of the cameras and lenses we test. As those products are getting pounded with rain, so too is my phone. But it’s never had a reliability problem. Apple’s return to the hard edges also makes it so much easier to hold. This is the first iPhone I’ve ever used where I felt I didn’t need a case around it.

Further, the lenses are also oddly shaped. They jut out a bit from the rest of the phone. When you put it down on a surface, it’s not totally flat. But for some odd reason, they also don’t smudge as easily. I’ve eaten lots of Korean Fried Chicken during the pandemic. And never have I seen a major effect on the lenses after handling them.

Ease of Use

The iPhone’s camera has always been simple to use. Switching between the various lenses is easy with just a tap. Going from normal to portrait mode is done with a swipe. With ProRAW, there’s a bit more that was realized. If you go to settings, then camera, and then enable Apple ProRAW you’ll get more versatility. Apple’s own software editor isn’t so great at getting the most from it. Instead, you should probably use Lightroom or RNI Films. The latter is my personal favorite. It edits RAW files with ease.

Overall, the main strength of the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max isn’t the image quality. It’s the ease of use...