Photographer Austin Mann's iPhone 13 Pro Test Looks at Camera Improvements With Macro, Photographic Styles, New Lenses, and More

The photographer Austin Mann has today published his in-depth annual review of the latest iPhone's camera capabilities, this time focusing on the ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro. Mann's tests were performed in Ruaha National Park, Tanzania, looking at each of the ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro's camera upgrades, including Macro mode, increased telephoto zoom and Cinematic mode.

iphone 13 pro austin mann telephoto mainProRAW image shot with the ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro's Telephoto camera and edited in Lightroom CC.

Mann said that macro mode, which uses the Ultra Wide lens and allows users to take photos around 2cm away from a subject, is "perhaps the strongest advancement in this year's camera system" and fulfills a clear need for many photographers. Images in Macro mode are still able to be fairly sharp in low-light and amid camera shake. Macro effectively functions "as a fourth lens" and is "not just an iterative increase."

iphone 13 pro austin mann macroProRAW image shot with the ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro's Ultra Wide camera in macro and edited in Lightroom CC.

The new 13mm Ultra Wide lens with f/1.8 aperture is said to offer sharper low-light images with faster shutter speeds. While the Ultra Wide still has some lens distortion, according to Mann, the overall sharpness is "drastically improved."

iphone 13 pro austin mann ultra wideProRAW image shot with the ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro's Ultra Wide camera and edited in Lightroom CC.

The new 77mm Telephoto camera offers a 33 percent increase in size over the same lens on the ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro, but it is also boosted with a substantially larger sensor. Mann praised the results of these improvements, saying "everything I shoot with the Telephoto feels naturally cinematic and has a different feel than imagery captured by previous models" and "my eye isn't accustomed to seeing this kind of depth compression from my ‌iPhone‌."

iphone 13 pro austin mann telephotoProRAW image shot with the ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro's Telephoto camera and edited in Lightroom CC.

Mann also experimented with the new Photographic Styles feature, which allows photographers to finely tune a distinctive look for all of their photos without sacrificing the sense of depth. He commented that Photographic Styles are intentionally "very subtle" and feature "a lot more depth instead of the flat nature of a preset." While Mann noted that photographers are likely to shoot in ProRAW for clients, Photographic Styles "will be perfect" for times "when I just want great looking images right now versus maximum processing control later."

iphone 13 pro austin mann photographic stylesImage shot with Photographic Styles on the ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro.

He added that features like Photographic Styles and Smart HDR 4 are among the more nuanced upgrades this year, saying that they "will impact every single photo you take, but not at the same transformative level."

Mann shot a range of video clips in Cinematic mode and was impressed by the ‌iPhone‌'s new computational videography capabilities. He noted that it was particularly impressive that you can change focus at the perfect frame later on in the editing process.

See Mann's full report for many more images and additional information about the technical capabilities of the ‌‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro‌'s improved camera setup.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

ios 19 messages app

Apple Sues Jon Prosser Over iOS 26 Leaks

Thursday July 17, 2025 8:40 pm PDT by
Earlier this year, YouTuber Jon Prosser shared multiple videos showing off what he claimed to be re-created renderings of what was then presumed to be called iOS 19 and which was eventually unveiled by Apple as iOS 26 at WWDC in June. In his first video back in January, Prosser showed off a Camera app redesign with a simpler set of buttons for moving between photo and video modes, and he...
iPhone 17 Colors

All 15 New iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro Colors Revealed in Latest Leak

Wednesday July 16, 2025 6:50 am PDT by
We may finally have a definitive list of all color options for the iPhone 17 series, ahead of the devices launching in September. MacRumors concept In a report for Macworld today, Filipe Espósito said he obtained an "internal document" that allegedly reveals all of the color options for the upcoming iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max models. The report includes ...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

Here's When to Expect the iOS 26 Public Beta

Tuesday July 15, 2025 11:07 am PDT by
Apple previously announced that a public beta of iOS 26 would be available in July, and now a more specific timeframe has surfaced. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said that Apple's public betas should be released on or around Wednesday, July 23. In other words, expect the public betas of iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, and more to be available at some point next week. Apple will be releasing...
iPhone 17 Pro Dark Blue and Orange

Ranked: The Best Features Rumored for the iPhone 17 Lineup

Wednesday July 16, 2025 4:17 pm PDT by
We have just under two months to go until the debut of Apple's iPhone 17 models, and rumors have been ramping up in recent weeks. We went through everything we know so far, pulling out the most exciting rumors and highlighting some other changes that aren't going to be so great. Top Tier Ultra Thin iPhone 17 Air - The iPhone 17 Air is 2025's most exciting iPhone rumor, because it's the...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Foldable iPhone's Thickness and Price Range Detailed in New Reports

Wednesday July 16, 2025 11:31 am PDT by
Apple's long-rumored foldable iPhone will likely have a starting price between $1,800 and $2,000 in the U.S., analysts at investment banking firm UBS said this week. If so, the foldable iPhone would cost more than a MacBook Pro, which starts at $1,599. With a starting price of at least $1,800, the foldable iPhone would be the most expensive iPhone model ever released, topping the Pro Max at...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 16 New Features

Friday July 11, 2025 12:40 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are only two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:A redesigned Dynamic Island: It has been rumored that all iPhone 17 models will have a redesigned Dynamic Island interface — it might ...
Apple Watch Ultra 2 Complications

Apple Watch Ultra 3: What to Expect

Sunday July 13, 2025 10:30 am PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 is nearly over, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the Apple Watch Ultra 3:Satellite connectivity for sending and receiving text messages when Wi-Fi and cellular coverage is unavailable 5G support, up from LTE on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 Likely a wide-angle OLED display that ...

Top Rated Comments

jz0309 Avatar
50 months ago

Editing the photos in Lightroom is cheating.
But the iPhone 13 sure has a great camera.
I take it you don’t know what RAW is and what editing in LR entails…
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Iconoclysm Avatar
50 months ago

i cant help myself but this photo looks like an oil painting, it looks terrible



It's a photo showing off the telephoto depth compression, it's literally SUPPOSED to look like this.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mollyc Avatar
50 months ago

Editing the photos in Lightroom is cheating.
But the iPhone 13 sure has a great camera.
no it isn’t
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CouldBeWorse Avatar
50 months ago

Editing the photos in Lightroom is cheating.
Most professional photographers edit their photos, even when using an expensive full-frame camera. The way I see it, he was able to treat the iPhone as a regular camera which is saying a lot.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
citysnaps Avatar
50 months ago

Exactly! For all the years I've had iPhones and taken photos with them I've immediately edited them in one or another photographic software editing program.....it does make a difference! Did the images "need" it? Could I have simply sent them off to friends and family SOOC without editing? Sure, but running them through an image editing program can make just that much of a subtle difference that turns an image from a "oh, how nice...." shot to a "wow!!" shot......
Absolutely. All photographers who take photography seriously edit their photos. Either digitally or in the darkroom.

Here's a typical set of dodge and burn instructions Richard Avedon (one of my most admired portrait photographers, and passed away in 2004) gave the person printing his photos.



Attachment Image
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PrecisionGem Avatar
50 months ago

Most professional photographers edit their photos, even when using an expensive full-frame camera. The way I see it, he was able to treat the iPhone as a regular camera which is saying a lot.
ALL professionals edit their photos.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)