January 19, 2023

You Live, You Learn, You Upgrade

It took seven years, but at the end of December I upgraded my cellphone from an iPhone 7 to an iPhone 14 Pro — almost exclusively because of the camera upgrade. Is there a difference between a photo taken with an iPhone 7 and one taken with an iPhone 14 Pro?

Compare these two photos: the first one was the last one I took on my iPhone 7 on December 27 at 7:05 a.m. The second one was taken exactly 24 hours later with my new iPhone Pro 14:

December 27, 2022 at 7:05 a.m.
December 28, 2022 at 7:05 a.m.

What about these two photos of the Wolf Moon at 6:50 a.m. in January 2020 and three years later in January 2023?:

January 20, 2020 at 6:50 a.m.
January 8, 2023 at 6:50 a.m.

Or these two of Goose Pond at 7:05 a.m. in January 2020 and then three years later in January 2023? Please note that three years ago, Goose Pond was completely accessible and I could shoot much closer to the water.

January 20, 2020 at 7:05 a.m.
January 7, 2023 at 7:05 a.m.

Last, compare these photos taken from Eagle Bridge at 8:15 a.m. on January 8, 2021 and exactly two years later on January 8, 2023:

January 8, 2021 at 8:15 a.m.
January 8, 2023 at 8:15 a.m.

To be fair, the morning of January 8 a couple of weeks ago was very, very cold which accounts for the frost. Still, I can see a difference in some of these, though I am not schooled enough in photography to accurately describe that difference. Can someone help me out with the proper lingo? Is it “exposure,” “balance,” “focus” — what is it?

9 Comments

  • I traded in my ancient iPhone 7 (unbelievably getting $400 for it) when I got my new iPhone 14 Pro, so was unable to actually use both cameras to take the same shot at the same time on the same day.

    That being said, I was kind of surprised that over the last five years, I had taken so many photos that a lot of the locations, days and times matched.

      • Beth — you should have seen the expression on the face of the customer service representative when I pulled out my iPhone 7 to begin the upgrade process. She looked at me like I was 70 years old!

        Oh, wait . . .

  • Beautiful. I see it; like the difference between my old contact lenses and my new prescription. I think the lingo is “bread,” “dough,” “bucks,” “dinero,” “cold hard cash,” “Benjamins,” but I could be wrong. I’m not as skilled as you.

  • Once upon a time I knew the lingo … but, that was way before digital photography existed. There is more clarity to the photos with your new phone camera, which must partly relate to the equipment itself: higher quality lenses and the ability to automatically adjust to a wider range of light settings. There is definitely more clarity in the low-light or shadow areas of your images with the new camera. Have you ever considered taking a digital photography class at a local community college or center? If so, you will be guaranteed to learn the lingo and probably some cool new tricks to do with your phone camera as well.

    • Beth — I’ve done a couple of YouTube tutorials specifically on using the iPhone 14 Pro. I will keep reviewing them. Looks like practice helps the most, but an actual course might be helpful, too. I sometimes wonder about hiring a photography tutor — one that won’t insist that I edit photos his or her way as a friend who is a professional photographer tried to do in the past. In my opinion, his color saturation choices were awful, to the point that Adrienne wondered if he was color blind. ):

  • Sorry for late arrival. What is interesting is that if it were not for side by side comparisons I probably would think that the first photos were great. I am not an expert either–however something about clarity–really being fully right there. Either way you still have a great eye and a heart that comes through the pictures.
    love you

    • Charlotte — no need to apologize. Your voice is always welcome here 24/7. Sorry it took me so long to reply, and thank you again for your steadfast (and I mean steadfast, steadfast, steadfast over nearly five decades) affirmation.

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