As smartphones continue to evolve, one particular area always steals the spotlight and that's the camera.
Apple's new iPhone 13 Mini, 13, 13 Pro, and 13 Pro Max didn't change much with design or features, but they did go a long way in the imaging space.
It wasn't a crucial switch in camera hardware or the addition of a new lens or set of lenses.
So where do the improvements come from?
For more reviews and deals visit CNN Underscored in Spanish.
Do not forget to follow us on social networks: Telegram, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
The cameras of the iPhone 13
The big change comes from all-new sensors that capture a greater amount of light to emphasize details and improve overall image quality.
That is combined with updated hardware, which sticks to what has been working, and a number of improvements on the software side.
It differentiates the iPhone 13 from its competitors in that it can capture a scene more accurately than other devices on the market.
Apple's hardware lets in more light, but it also allows more detail to be captured and intelligently uses software to properly capture a scene.
With four new options, which iPhone should you buy?
You can read our full reviews of the phones, including the iPhone 13, which we've named the best smartphone overall, but now is the time to take a closer look at the camera.
What's new with the iPhone 13 and 13 Pro
When it comes to testing the iPhone 13 and 13 Pro, we take selfies, photos of our families and friends, along with pets, landscapes, plants and random things throughout our day.
The goal was to test it in the same way that we use our phones on a daily basis.
Both the iPhone 13 and 13 Pro now feature the largest advanced sensor.
Apple promised improved low-light performance with this camera and we saw that in our tests.
On both the 13 and 13 Pro. Compared to last year's iPhone 12, the 13 was able to take a clear image with less noise introduced into the shot.
Typically, the culprit for those items is that the camera doesn't capture enough information.
The larger sensor here (which is combined with a wider aperture on the 13 Pro) allows more light to be captured.
You can now set aside your Amazon Astro robot in the United States
With a night shot, the iPhone opted to shoot in Night mode.
With this, the device takes a series of shots at different exposure rates with AI magnification at the top.
That is combined with standard SmartHDR processing to properly separate a scene and allow for accurate colors and proper lighting for different parts.
It's Apple's vision of computational photography, which essentially uses a large amount of information to create an image.
He is also more adept at identifying elements in a shot year after year.
If you look back at an iPhone 11 or earlier, you will see some large-scale improvements.
The result is a really nice image, as you can see below.
You can still see the precise colors of the soil and plants.
Jon McCormack, vice president of camera software engineering at Apple, told us about the automatic shooting mode.
The cameras along with the processor and software work to identify the correct settings to take your photo.
For example, if it is a dark night, you could slow the shutter speed to allow more light to enter a shot.
Or you could make a focus correction if there is a lot of movement in a certain scene.
Long before you even hit the shutter, you just lift the camera and you'll see auto exposure, white balance, auto focus to make sure we're getting all the right information, the raw information captured.
The advanced software intelligence of the iPhone allows you to switch between modes, such as Macro on the iPhone 13 Pro that activates as you get closer to an object or Night mode that automatically handles an image dating from the iPhone 11.
How New Hardware Improves Your Shots
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Jake Krol (@ jake31krol)
Unsurprisingly, much of the focus in our testing was on the performance of the iPhone 13 and 13 Pro series. We quickly turned to testing in a real way, as we noted above, with selfies, photos of our pets, outside of home in pandemic safe events and with more advanced events that incorporate multiple light sources.
And with these examples side by side, the 13 offered sharper images compared to the 12, and in some cases, some that were remarkable even to the inexperienced eye.
Ultimately, it's a step forward that improves image quality, but doesn't negatively affect the way you take a photo.
In the iPhone 13, the larger sensors were packed into a physically larger camera module with a wider aperture to let in light and a wider sensor to capture light.
That also leaves more receivers to capture the light and translate it into a usable image.
Motorola Edge 20 Lite review: the good, the bad, and what can be improved
This is combined to give the software more information to adjust the image correctly.
It's the explanation behind the more accurate colors and lighting sequences that we found in our tests.
The other big plus with the main camera on the 13 Mini, 13, 13 Pro, and 13 Pro Max is image stabilization, which turned out to be a great addition.
Our hands shake and we tend to move when capturing a shot, and those small movements can have a big impact on the photos we take.
Specifically, the iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max, which feature the best camera system we've ever tested on a phone, feature an ambient light sensor that allows the device to more quickly dial in the exposure of a scene, which helps to a photo or video to quickly identify the appropriate extended setting for capture.
And this relates to the iPhone calculating a scene and the best shooting conditions from the moment you open the camera app.
It also gets the data and fires information to the software faster.
Windows 11 Review: Should You Upgrade Right Now?
The other thing to consider is the hardware included in each iPhone.
The 13 features dual lenses, while the 13 Pro has three lenses and a LiDAR sensor.
When a target is not being used for shooting, it can help collect data.
For example, if you are taking a portrait with the main lens on the iPhone 13, the ultra wide angle can work at the same time to calculate the depth to create the effect.
Bringing New Filters and Cinematic Video to the iPhone
The two new features in Apple's camera software are Photo Styles and Cinematic Mode.
The first is a kind of filter that allows you to apply a scene type to the shot before pressing the shutter button to take a picture.
It is also the first time that Apple has allowed users to truly customize how the iPhone fires.
The other big update is a portrait mode for video known as Cinematic Video, which intelligently applies focus to a video.
This way, if you have a video with two or three people or focus points, select the main one in focus while blurring the rest.
The trick is that you can change on the fly, whoever you want in focus.
That is done in real time or after the file is saved in an edit.
Asus Zenbook 14 Review with AMD Processor: Sleek, Light and Powerful
It was impressive in our testing, as you can see in the insert below.
We wanted to learn a little more about how actual video files are stitched together, and it turns out that the iPhone sticks to a file that is loaded with all the depth information.
And that file has multiple depth tracks that are captured from different lenses.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Jake Krol (@ jake31krol)
Buy an iPhone 13
The iPhone 13 and 13 Pro have some of the best phone cameras we've tested.
All versions of the new iPhone produce shots that don't get as blurry when your hands are shaking, complete with accurate colors and increased detail when zoomed in and illuminated correctly every time.
If you have an iPhone 11 or earlier, you will certainly see camera improvements on any iPhone 13 model. Those with a serious knack for shooting and capturing content should make the leap to a 13 Pro or 13 Pro Max.
You can set aside your iPhone in Amazon Mexico and the United States and pay for it in months without interest:
iPhone 13 mini: From
MX $ 17,999 or in
USD $ 729
iPhone 13: From
MX $ 20,999 or in
USD $ 829
iPhone 13 Pro: From
MX $ 28,999 or in
USD $ 999
iPhone 13 Pro Max: From
MX $ 41,999 or in
USD $ 1,099
