Adam Kos As you probably know, the 3rd generation iPhone SE has already officially gone on sale. And as you probably already know, he also made it to our editorial office. After unboxing and first impressions, we also subjected it to the first photographic test. How did he succeed? Surprisingly good, actually.
The new iPhone SE does not bring much news. This is perhaps not even expected from him, because his purpose is to provide the highest performance in a design that has been proven for years. For mobile photographers, it may be disappointing that the hardware specification of the device has not changed in any way. But there is no need to immediately condemn the device, because it actually takes pictures really well.
The iPhone 8, iPhone SE 2nd and iPhone SE 3rd generation share the same camera specifications. Specifically, it is a wide-angle 12MPx camera with an aperture of ƒ/1,8 and OIS, which will provide 5x digital zoom and True Tone flash with slow sync. Portrait mode with an improved bokeh effect and depth-of-field control was not yet available to the "eight", it and six lighting effects were introduced only in the 2nd generation of the SE model. Compared to it, however, news is also happening in the current 3rd generation.
It could be interest you
Look for the A15 Bionic behind it all
It is equipped with the A15 Bionic chip, which is also available in the latest iPhones 13 and 13 Pro. Thanks to this, Smart HDR 4 is present for photos and Deep Fusion or photo styles. Video quality hasn't moved anywhere, there's still 4K video at 24, 25, 30 or 60 fps and 1080p HD video at 25, 30 or 60 fps. There is also optical image stabilization for video, and a three-fold digital zoom.
Depth of sharpness
The front camera has remained the same, which unfortunately is still only 7MPx with an aperture of ƒ/2,2. However, there are also newly available photo styles, Smart HDR 4 for photos or Deep Fusion. Slow motion video in 1080p resolution at 120 fps is also new. But the quality of the results is not exactly general, which does not apply to the main camera.
Front camera and Portrait
There is no need to tell yourself that this should be some top among mobile cameras, it is definitely not. But for the fact that these are 5-year-old optics that have been improved with software innovations associated with the A15 Bionic chip, the results are simply great. They have ideal color rendering, faithful and accurate details, the depth of field is also nice if you are photographing close objects (macro is not present).
Photographic styles
The portrait falters, who still only knows how to take pictures of people and not pets. For this, you need to use third-party applications. But if you play around with the aperture, the results are not exactly bad. If you're content with a single main lens, the iPhone SE 3rd generation can easily handle any day-to-day photography. Apple is simply good at cameras, and where it can't handle hardware, it makes up for it with software, and I'm really curious if, in the case of wide-angle photos, you'll see any sharp details between the SE model and the 13 Pro at first glance. We are just preparing this test.
Sample photos
Sample photos are scaled down for website use. They fulfill their size and quality You can find here.
For example, you can buy the new iPhone SE 3rd generation here
