In view of the arrival of theiPhone 15 and 15 Pro At first customers on September 22, Apple executives shared some behind-the-scenes details about the new camera systems. This includes the company’s design approach, how the new default 24MP lens and its benefits, and more.
Jon McCormack, Vice President of Camera Software Engineering, and Maxime Veron, Senior Director of iPhone Product Marketing, answered some questions during an interview.
Executives also reveal who Apple is designing the iPhone’s camera systems for. McCormack shared that it’s meant for both parents of young children and professionals:
“In my mind, it’s really about empowering people to chase their vision, which ranges from the parent of a young child whose vision is ‘can I frame my child taking that first step’ to the professional or creative who has a ‘artistic idea in mind and wants to get there as quickly as possible,’ says Jon McCormack, Apple’s vice president of Camera Software Engineering.
Delving deeper into the new option Choose from three focal lengths with the iPhone 15 Pro’s main camera, McCormack shared that this was made possible through a combination of “the resolution of the sensor and Apple’s software.”
It should be noted that 24, 28, and 32mm focal lengths are only available for still photos, not videos with the primary iPhone 15 Pro. Here’s the reason:
Videographers may notice that these specific focal lengths are not available to them, and there is a reason behind this. McCormack explains that when taking photos, the iPhone is constantly active, shooting and combining that information into a final photo.
“When you take photos, we collect a lot of data to allow you to keep shooting and we process it in the background, so we have more time and that’s something we can’t do in video,” he explains.
In video mode, the iPhone must process each frame, limiting its computational photography capabilities, which is why it offers only one zoom ring and no dedicated primary focal lengths.
As for recording video with the new log recording option, McCormack notes that it’s set up to provide an “intermediate exposure.” Since there’s no tone mapping, users get “much finer control” over exposure.
In addition to log logging, Apple plans to release LUT profiles as early as September 22nd. McCormack also explained how the new 24MP default photos with the new iPhones and the benefits users should see:
“You get a little more dynamic range in 24-megapixel photos,” explains McCormack.
Moving on to computational photography and videography, Maxime Veron shared Apple’s approach:
“For the vast majority of our customers, we simply aim to process everything in the background so that the process is invisible and out of the way so people can take great photos and videos and capture beautiful, true moments in just one click,” says Veron.
Veron states that at the same time, Apple wants to meet the growing needs of its passionate customers.
