How to Take 48MP Photos on the iPhone 14 Pro
For the first time in several years, Apple has increased the iPhone’s camera resolution. The new and improved 48MP main camera is one of the top reasons to upgrade to the iPhone 14 Pro.
However, if you already own the iPhone 14 Pro and have tried taking pictures with it, you’ve probably noticed that it still takes 12MP photos.
So why is this happening you ask? Well, we’re going to explain it below and then teach you how to shoot at 48 megapixels.
Why does the iPhone 14 Pro take 12MP photos?
The iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max have a 48-megapixel quad-pixel sensor, which means four adjacent pixels are combined into a single large pixel using pixel binning — a computer-aided photography technique. So if you group all four pixels of a 48-megapixel sensor, the resulting output is still a 12-megapixel image; However, pixel binning allows your camera to let in more light.
As a result, you still get better 12-megapixel capture than you would with an iPhone 13 Pro, and that’s why Apple boldly claims that the iPhone 14 Pro’s main camera is up to two times better in low light. This technique is nothing new as we have seen pixel binning in other flagship Android phones like the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, Google Pixel 6 Pro, OnePlus 10 Pro and more.
How to take 48MP photos on iPhone 14 Pro with ProRAW
Although Apple wisely uses the iPhone 14 Pro’s 48MP camera to give you the best possible 12MP shot, users still have the option to shoot in ProRAW at the full 48MP resolution if they wish.
Apple ProRAW is a high-quality RAW image format that was introduced in 2020 alongside the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max. Available as a camera setting in iOS, it’s handy for professional photographers and enthusiasts who prefer to shoot in RAW format and avoid the unnecessary software processing that tends to over-sharpen the images.
So if you want your images to be full 48MP quality, you need to follow these simple instructions on your iPhone:
- open that settings App on your iPhone.
- In the settings menu, scroll down and tap camera.
- Now tap formatsis at the top.
- Here you will find the switch for under Photo capture Apple ProRAW. Tap on it to activate this RAW format.
- Now you will see a new setting called ProRAW resolution appear directly below. Tap on it and select it 48MP Possibility.
Now when you open the camera app, you will see the RAW toggle above the viewfinder, which is off by default. So when you’re ready to capture 48MP images, tap the switch to enable RAW format and press the shutter button.
The cons of taking 48MP still photos on the iPhone 14 Pro
While you would certainly be impressed by the vast improvement in your iPhone’s image resolution and the flexibility you get when cropping your 48-megapixel photos, there are two major downsides to using ProRAW.
First and foremost, Apple ProRAW uses the DNG file format, which isn’t nearly as popular and widely used as JPEG. So you will face compatibility issues when using apps that don’t support ProRAW files, which includes most social media and messaging platforms. Fortunately, you can always use a third-party app to convert these RAW files.
Second, the iPhone 14 Pro’s 48-megapixel ProRAW recordings have a massive file size. You can expect each image to be between 50MB and 100MB depending on the level of detail. So those RAW photos are eating up the storage space on your iPhone before you know it.
Unlock the true potential of your iPhone 14 Pro’s camera
Apple ProRAW lets you capture full 48-megapixel resolution photos, but don’t rely on it for regular use as the downside is probably not worth it for most people. Keep in mind that if you shoot at 12MP you will still see improvements such as: B. Better performance in low light conditions.
So save the ProRAW format for shots that really need that extra detail, or if you want more flexibility when cropping your images. And don’t forget to use the RAW toggle in the Camera app to quickly switch between the two formats – the true potential of your iPhone camera is just a single tap away.