iPhone 16 vs $5,000 Camera for Milky Way Photography

I used the iPhone 16 Pro for astrophotography, and compared the results to two professional level cameras.
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[@ironfur9150]

Nice comparison video, it's pretty impressive how far cell phone cameras have come. The sensor dimension calculation is not quite right though a typical 1" sensor is *not* a 1" diagonal (Marques Brownlee did a video on this a couple years ago) the dimensions for a 1" sensor are 13.2mm X 8.8mm (for a 3:2 aspect sensor) The sensor dimensions for the 1/1.12" sensor are 11.4mm X 8.6mm and that's slightly larger than the iPhone 16 1/1.14" sensor. It's quite a bit smaller than your calculations (16mm X 12mm) but still has increased in size considerably over the years. Marques video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/o3_UqIyVZr2Wr5Y&ab_channel=MKBHDShorts Watching that video even Marques makes a mistake, says 13.8mm X 8.8mm rather than 13.2 X 8.8mm.

[@ianlauerastro]

Ooooh that’s interesting! It was hard to find any info on the sensor (I couldn’t even find it on the Sony semiconductor website) so all I could do is guess. The 3:4 ratio came from looking at the image size dimensions in pixels Plus when I put my crude cutout up to my phone lens it was small enough to fit so I figured it was close enough 😂 I’ll check out Marques’ video, thanks for sharing it!

[@EvanKenobi]

Yep. 1 inch "type" sensor is what sony calls it. In RX100 1" type sensor is 13.2 by 8.8 mm.

[@Superfunman333]

Glad you noticed the iphone is stacking the pictures. My friend got a iphone 16 pro and when we took 30s pictures, when you look at image info it tells you 10s. Would be cool to move the actual cameras down to 10s and compare then. Edit: Also stack the real cameras 3x for true comparison.

[@ianlauerastro]

That's good to know - I got the phone 1 day before taking these images so I'm still learning the ins and outs of it

[@ShayneMostyn]

@@ianlauerastro It will stack them in both HEIF and ProRAW. The metadata will show 30s on the HEIF, but you will see it as 10s on ProRAW. The stacking got much better at the point of iPhone15.

[@deavo74]

Problem with the 5x is it will default to the main camera in low light and do a digital zoom. Good work though 🫡

[@TheScientificWonders]

Why is no body talking about the blue patches in the low light photos? Apparently there’s a manufacturer problem. If you get a 30 sec picture of your phone just sitting in a table you will see the blue patches in the dark background. It’s happening on the IPhone 16 pro models. Awesome tutorial really informative.

[@willbelial3775]

Yea, it also is on some 15 and even some 14 models and some have red instead of blue, some have more some less, i can only see the blue beams a little in his photo if you start in the bottom right corner and look it’s there in blue , when taking an actual night mode photo of the sky it’s not as noticeable though, and most people won’t even notice it because most people aren’t taking photos on nearly pitch black environments so they will never be effected by it anyway. I seen a guy comment said he’s had his iPhone 15 for a year and did the test and seen the blue but never even realized it on his own until he was shown and did the test. So for many they will never even know cause they don’t use it like that.

[@willbelial3775]

I was hoping he would mention it as well but nope lol and I could see it in his photo a little he had to notice it idk lol

[@ShayneMostyn]

What do you mean? I mention it. Im hoping a replacement will be here shortly for mine. A heap of my audience have returned phones for it already. I cant believe nobody tested this before launch. Its really sad that such an issue exists these days.

[@willbelial3775]

@@ShayneMostyn not you Shayne lol, your the reason I’m driving an hour and a half away to exchange my iPhone 16 pro and hoping to get a good exchange without the blues like some of your other Facebook and KZbin folk have, I spoke to 2 I think that had good results on exchange . But yea sorry I was talking about the guy In This video, can see some of the blue beams in his photo and it seems like he would have seen it too as it is noticeable but he doesn’t say anything about it, was hoping maybe he did and maybe had a solution outside of exchange or return. Sorry for the misunderstandings, thanks for getting the facts out so we can get a fix I appreciate you! Called apple and that’s my only solution, or just deal with it. I honestly, like many others untill now, don’t know if this has been on any other phone as I’ve never with a previous one tried to check and only took casual night photos rare sky photos and those people that use the camera that way will never even know the issue exists. The main camera for me still works great w no issues and video is good as well. But once ya know it’s there ya can’t unsee it, and even if I rarely use it I want it to work well when I do lol, since I spent so much on it i want to at least know it works properly across the board, right on!

[@prabhakarrao4922]

Well spotted!

[@Behemoth92]

Loved the last 2 seconds where the sky is still but the earth is moving

[@ianlauerastro]

Glad you noticed! It's such a cool way to get perspective on the sky's rotation.

[@jlutz63]

I tried this with my 15 pro a while back and I couldn't believe my eyes. Iphones are absolutely insane with night photography

[@ryansteere1000]

Awesome video, Ian! Thanks for posting, I learned a lot. Clear skies!

[@ianlauerastro]

So glad to hear it - cheers!

[@MrRonski]

I do hope that in the future apple will introduce actual astro mode that is fully tuned for it.

[@k.skyl1n3zz]

I'm assuming you have a main sensor manufacture defect. Blue dots, lines or streaks aren't suppose to be there upon a 30sec exposure being done. You can confirm this by doing a 30 sec exposure on a table making sure no light enters the lens. If its pitch black congratulations your sensor is fine, but if theres blue lines, streaks, or blue pixels everywhere go get it replaced ASAP. It's starting to become a real problem that I gotta unfortunately get a replacement for my 16 pro max.

[@ianlauerastro]

I had no idea! I just did the 30 sec test and yep, I see a strong blue color. I'll have to see what others are doing about it, and get in touch with Apple.

[@k.skyl1n3zz]

@@ianlauerastro get a replacement by them before the 14 day warranty runs out, because if you don’t they’ll charge you extra for that, just gotta pray that the next replacement doesn’t do the same.

[@Docsthetics]

@@ianlauerastro please tell us did they replace your phone ?

[@k.skyl1n3zz]

@@Docsthetics they should, everyone that has this problem has successfully gotten another replacement as its starting to become a wider problem I can update you to see what they will do with mine's this saturday.

[@nasidctg]

I captured the Andromeda using the 10X Telephoto lens on my s23 ultra last year. It came out amazing for a phone camera. It's a shame samsung discontinued the 10x camera and replaced it with a 5x in the 24 ultra.

[@JackieDElia]

Excellent video. Amazing what the iPhone 16 Pro can capture. I thought the Fujifilm photo looked the best.

[@Preston-oe7nd]

amazing vid! crazy what the iPhone can do

[@ianlauerastro]

Thank you, I've not done much with phone cameras for astro so it's cool to see how far it's come

[@Pixeditor07]

Great Video! Please reply with the stacking s/w you featured. My 1st out of box with iPhone 16 Pro Max showed NO Blue streaks. However, did experience a number of totally blank exposures. Users Note: Even on tripod, highly recommend using timer feature of iPhone as the mere touching of the camera will instantly shift the exposure from 30 sec back to 10 sec.

[@robertbloch1063]

Awesome photo. But looking at those results, iPhone still cannot beat Galaxy S24 ultra with astromode. It can makes awesome photos with wide lens without iPhone NR artifacts, and does great job with zooms too.

[@ianlauerastro]

I'd love to try the Galaxy in a dark sky location and see what it's capable of!

[@robertbloch1063]

@@ianlauerastro Yes, that would be awesome. Sadly, I do not get proper dark sky anywhere near me. But, few weeks back, we had super clear skies. I went out to wonder early morning stars, with supermoon and whole first view on winter constellation (orion, syrius, procyon). Sky was bright from supermoon, starting twilight, and ground lights, and yet still my S24ultra managed to snap with 5x zoom M24 purple hue in Orion's sword. But photo took 7 minutes. I am pretty sure i did multiple shots and did automatic stacking, but no idea how it works in detail.

[@mostlymessingabout]

Google Pixel does this already for 4 minutes. you can also choose between star trail or fixed stars

[@ianlauerastro]

I would love to try one out in a dark skies!

[@evaristocorripio5434]

Best phone for astrophotography is the google pixel phones. My pixel 8 pro takes a 4min photo but actually it's taking 16 images of 16 secs each and stacking them up. The result is incredible, very little noise, and no artifacts as the iphone or samsung with their night modes. It gives you a timelapse as well with each astrophoto.

[@n9go]

7:50 Wrong lenses were labeled here! Caption saying 1x is pointing at 5x, caption 5x at 1x, but the ultrawide caption is correct. Fantastic video! Loved it.

[@ianlauerastro]

Whoops! Thanks for the correction :)

[@n9go]

@@ianlauerastro thanks for making the video :D

[@Apaolino21]

Very cool! Awesome video.

[@mic9657]

8:27 Is it actually the 5X or the 1X zoomed? Unless exposure is turned way down, I found a crop of the main camera is commonly used instead of changing to the 5x

[@orandaadnaro]

Outstanding review. Lots to think about here. Thx

[@whitelion204]

Basically all phones that have an astro mode do internal stacking. The Pixel series for example, does a 4 minute exposure in which I believe is a stack of 16 shots.

[@ianlauerastro]

That's so awesome, I didn't know that! I knew some phones had an astro mode, but never looked into how they worked. I've not kept up with the latest phone tech so it's great to hear they're adding astrophotography modes.

[@mark2220]

Indeed. My samsung does 10 minute "exposures" but I'm not sure how it would compare to the Apple since I got pretty good results from a Bortle 4.. but the Apple could still look just as nice without that protected dark site available.

[@WARVIATION]

hi sir would you have any advice for a telephoto lense i can get for under $35 for moon pictures?

[@Docsthetics]

there's another KZbinr from Australia @ShayneMostyn he had same blue streaks lines when performed astrophotography and 30 sec night mode photography , the phone was 14 days and 2 hours old so they charged him for the exchange , do it before 14 days

[@theunsureavenger]

Have the same issue and have been going back and forth about it with Apple. Also wonder why there aren’t more videos on it.

[@LAZZO1]

Is your mouse a redragon m801 ? it looks very close to mine!

[@mostlymessingabout]

You're wrong about the sensor size. the number is not actually in inches

[@ianlauerastro]

I just learned about that from someone's earlier comment - coming from astronomy, we used sensor diagonal measurements to see if a sensor will be illuminated by the image circles produced a telescope. Now I know when someone is talking about these particular sensors and says "1 inch sensor", it doesn't mean the sensor has a physical diagonal measurement of 1 inch. Learn something new every day!

[@l.m2517]

8:11 2,5millions of light years away but… with an apparent size 6 times that of the moon.

[@ianlauerastro]

Andromeda is a big boi

[@tombock336]

Goblin Valley!🤘

[@ianlauerastro]

One of my favoite places to shoot astro!

[@balaji_fire]

Bro need to Try Pixel for Astro and compare it with iPhone

[@ianlauerastro]

Would love to try it out!

[@w8bya]

Very cool video ! I have a 15 Pro and I was wondering if you knew how to lock the focus at infinity? For the life of me I cannot find a setting for that 😞

[@gooddad11]

No need to. It does infinity focus automatically. Just point and shoot in nightmode and make sure it is 30s, etc.

[@w8bya]

@@gooddad11 Thanks. I thought so as well but for some reason my focus hunts on bright objects like Jupiter or Venus or the recent Aurora and usually ends up not at infinity.

[@declarehisglory8602]

What you are seeing at 5:33 could possibly be the Starlink Satellite.... It shows up in my photos as well....

[@JeffHorne]

Awesome video, Ian! So cool to see iPhone images stacked in pixinsight. Great result! I have this blueish/purple vertical banding in my iPhone 16 pro astro shots, and I see it in your images, too…saw another KZbin video about it as well. You can test it by covering the camera entirely and taking a night mode image…when I do that, I see the banding, and it’s pronounced. I wonder if taking calibration frames for the iPhone would get rid of it. 😂

[@ianlauerastro]

Thanks Jeff - maybe we should try flats and darks for the iPhone shots haha!

[@JeffHorne]

@@ianlauerastroI honestly would love to see somebody do this. I’m not even sure if it would work, but it would be really interesting to find out!

[@vikrantrm4237]

what professional things in CROP xt4 ?

[@unspecialist]

2:23 that’s why he has 8k subscribers

[@creativetve3040]

which one is your BTS camera

[@smithn.wesson495]

A tripod, remote shutter control, the right camera app and editing software with AI makes all the difference in the world. There are much better 3rd party apps for the iPhone camera than the standard app Apple uses. Overall, high end DSLR is the way to go if you want perfection and got $3,000 to $5,000 bucks to spend on a camera. But for the other 95% of the world who are not professional photographers, you can get some amazing results with the right setup using the iPhone 16 Pro.

[@anthonygondola3086]

You need to check the prices on good quality used DSLR my friend.

[@smithn.wesson495]

@@anthonygondola3086I was talking brand new, 2024 models by premium manufactures, not the half ass 5 year old junk at a pawn shop or eBay. If you want to go that route, a couple hundred bucks would get you something.

[@sebw3964]

Vivo X100Ultra entered the Chat

[@Bazsi8404]

Bro, The pixels has 4 mins expo,taking 15 pics and stacking them straight...

[@ianlauerastro]

iPhones desparately need a built-in astro mode. The Pixel is wayyy ahead of the game when it comes to astrophography

[@54114142]

My google pixel has a star photo mode that takes 4 minutes for a photo. It's awesome. Also does time-lapse of clouds going by

[@ianlauerastro]

Amazing, I'd love to try one out and see how far it can be pushed :)

[@54114142]

@@ianlauerastro I have an old Pixel 6a and tested at an really less than ideal location and still got a good milky way image with andromeda and many more things. I can't even imagine what a photo at one of your locations and with the brand new Pixel 9 must look like. I shared the photos on WhatsApp and multiple friends who are not into space at all asked me about it and if they can do the same. Spreading the hype. :)

[@Bazsi8404]

Yes, same as the iphones, just with 16 pics, not 3..

[@kleneau]

Awesome review! Mobile photography has come a long way!

[@ianlauerastro]

Thanks Kyle!

[@RR-zq3mk]

Everyone these days think they are “photographers “ with their phones. It’s laughable

[@hamiltonjones9863]

Yea Fr

[@kristofeight9668]

I don't understand how you can't see the difference, it's huge, you can clearly see the pixels and noise on the phone, all phones are rubbish in low light conditions, you can't even compare them to full frame or even apsc sensors

[@bamsemh1]

Doesn't even know how to put the camera in vertical for milkyway, but uses it on a phone 🤦‍♂️

[@zerotonine807]

iPhone is not Photography, its just stupid Softwaretricks. Laughable….