Buongiorno from the
Dolomite mountains!

At Apple’s keynote last week, I was most interested in the new 48-megapixel 4x telephoto lens, the 8x telephoto lens, Center Stage selfie mode, 4K ProRes Log at 120FPS, and the new Photographic Style, Bright.

As always, Apple’s presentation is full of flashy new tech, but I always have one question:

HOW WILL THIS NEW TECH MAKE
OUR PICTURES AND VIDEOS BETTER?

Over the past few days we’ve covered a ton of ground in the mountains of northeastern Italy. We’ve cycled more than 150 miles, climbing 19,715 feet by bicycle through this stunning landscape to put the new iPhone 17 Pro camera system to the test on this adventure.

We’ve gained a ton of insight to share with you and had an absolute blast doing it.

Huge thanks to our partners for making this journey possible: Dolomite Mountains for crafting our incredible bespoke tour, Lux Optics, creators of the best manual camera apps Halide and Kino, and WHCC, the premier service for printing your iPhone photos and more.

Let’s jump in.

Shot on iPhone 17 Pro w/ 24mm (1x) lens in Pano mode. Rifugio Franz Kostner al Vallon.

more megapixels, more millimeters!

After extensively testing the iPhone 17 Pro camera system, I can confidently say the biggest improvement for photographers this year is the new 48MP 4x lens and the 8x telephoto. These focal lengths feel right and open up opportunities to capture fresh perspectives.

Shot on iPhone 17 Pro w/ 100mm (4x) lens at 48-megapixels. Photographic Style: Natural.

On the 16 Pro, the 5x (120mm) often felt a little too tight. The new 4x (100mm) feels far more natural and much more familiar. It’s a classic portrait and landscape focal length in the photography world, and with the bump up from 12MP to 48MP I’ve been really happy with the results.

The mountains + fog have been stunning and this is the first time I feel like I can really capture the beautiful landscapes I’m cycling through… here’s a few favorites with the new 4x telephoto:

The Ra Gusela atop the Passo Giau.
Shot on iPhone 17 Pro w/ 100mm (4x) lens at 48-megapixels. Photographic Style: Natural

Shot on iPhone 17 Pro w/ 100mm (4x) lens at 48-megapixels. Photographic Style: Stark B&W

Shot on iPhone 17 Pro w/ 100mm (4x) lens at 48-megapixels. Photographic Style: Vibrant

Shot on iPhone 17 Pro w/ 100mm (4x) lens at 48-megapixels. Photographic Style: Cozy

Here’s a picture of my Moots bicycle at the top of Passo Giau, with a 100% crop to show detail:

My Moots Vamoots RCS at Passo di Giau.
Shot on iPhone 17 Pro w/ 100mm (4x) lens at 48-megapixels. Photographic Style: Stark B&W.

Here’s the 100% crop:

Shot on iPhone 17 Pro w/ 100mm (4x) lens at 48-megapixels. (100% crop.) Photographic Style: Stark B&W.

Some of these scenes really call for even more telephoto and that’s where the new 8x comes in:

Shot on iPhone 17 Pro w/ 200mm (8x) lens. Photographic Style: Natural

The Val Badia (Gadertal) as seen from Rifugio Franz Kostner. Shot on iPhone 17 Pro w/ 200mm (8x) lens.

Rifugio Franz Kostner. Shot on iPhone 17 Pro w/ 200mm (8x) lens. Photographic style: Rose Gold.

When switching to the 8x lens, a preview appears to help the photographer understand what they are looking at. Here are a couple “what I see, what I shoot” examples:

**Left**: Screen shot of 8x in-camera preview. Right: Shot on iPhone 17 Pro w/ 200mm (8x) lens. Photographic style: Rose Gold.

Shot on iPhone 17 Pro w/ 200mm (8x) lens in ProRAW. Processed & stylized in Adobe Lightroom on iOS.

With the opening of my art gallery, Maven, I’ve begun making select prints available to collectors, and now I’m eager to get back home to proof some of them with White House Custom Colour. A few have the resolution needed to make truly fantastic fine art prints in my on-going series Where Light Lingers.

The Latest Photographic Style: Bright

Over the last year I’ve found myself using ProRAW less because I’m constantly impressed by the power and flexibility of Photographic Styles.

They are so much more than filters. Semantically aware, they adjust different elements of the image in different ways.

Photographic Styles come in two categories: Undertones and Moods. Undertones are optimized for photographs with people, while Moods are more suited for everything else, though they can work with people too.

This year, we got a new Undertone style called Bright. It adds contrast, brightens faces, enhances foliage, and still protects the highlights in the sky.

In the shot below, Bright really nailed it—lifting the shadows under Aurelio’s ball cap while keeping natural skin tones and preserving all the detail in the sky.

Shot on iPhone 17 Pro w/ 24mm (1x) lens. Photographic style: Bright.

I’ve been using Bright not just on portraits but on landscapes and environmental portraits too.

Shot on iPhone 17 Pro w/ 13mm (.5x) lens. Photographic style: Bright.

Some Photographic Styles are moodier than others and can be used to achieve a more stylized and unique aesthetic, like Cozy:

Shot on iPhone 17 Pro w/ 24mm (1x) lens. Photographic style: Cozy.

I also like this Photographic Style called Dramatic:

Shot on iPhone 17 Pro w/ 24mm (1x) lens. Photographic style: Dramatic.

Go play around with the new Photographic Style called Bright… and with all the Photographic Styles. They’re powerful, fun, and a great way to shape your artistic vision.

Crossbody Camera Strap

I was curious to try the new “Crossbody” camera strap. The texture is super smooth and it slides easily over the shoulder. It feels a lot like the Peak Design Slide Lite strap I use on all my cameras, but even slicker. The integrated magnets keep the extra slack tucked in, and it worked well as a safety strap while I was paragliding.

I don’t see myself using it most of the time, but I can imagine a few situations where it could be useful. It actually feels like carrying a traditional camera slung over the shoulder, and I could see using it as an additional camera alongside my Sony or Hasselblad (which more and more seems to be how Apple is positioning the pro iPhone cameras).

The strap and anchors weren’t especially quick to put on or take off, and the connection relies on a very thin tether line that doesn’t inspire tons of confidence in the strength. Time will tell how it holds up. I tested the Light Blue color but will definitely buy it in Black… surprised?

new Camera user interface

iOS 26 brings one of the biggest camera makeovers I can remember. At first it felt a little awkward since I was so used to the old layout, but once I settled in, I started to really appreciate it. Switching modes is noticeably faster now. I can swipe from Photo all the way to Pano with a single quick gesture, which I now do all the time.

Night mode has also been simplified. Instead of adjusting exposure time with a slider, it’s now just Off, Auto, or Max (which is 10 seconds handheld and 30 seconds on a tripod). It makes sense and keeps things streamlined. Another change I’ve grown to love is the ability to tap the glassy mode selector to access settings for each shooting mode. From there I can quickly tweak settings like aspect ratio, exposure, and Photographic Styles, and because all the options are at the bottom of the screen, it’s simple to select quickly with one hand.

Apple also added the option to turn off indicators in the camera UI, which lets you simplify the experience and hide features you don’t use. I went into Settings > Camera > Indicators and turned off both Flash and Live Photo since I can still control them through the settings drawer that pops up when I tap the glassy mode selector.

iPhone Air as a pro camera?

I love a small, lightweight, and discreet iPhone and camera, so I was immediately drawn to the idea of the Air. But after just a few minutes with it, I realized I couldn’t live without the ultra-wide and telephoto.

That said, Halide’s latest update really supercharges the iPhone Air’s camera.

The Air does have a closer minimum focus distance than the other iPhones this year, so with Halide it can actually focus quite close. On top of that, Halide has pulled some magic to give Air users a strong 3x telephoto option and native RAW support.

So if you go with the Air, definitely grab Halide and play around to get the most out of its camera.

two quietly released features

AirPods Pro Remote Camera Trigger

I’ve written before about the potential of using AirPods as a camera remote trigger, so I was pumped to stumble across this new Camera Remote feature tucked away in AirPods settings. It’s new in iOS 26 and works with most recent AirPods on the latest firmware.

To use it, pop at least one AirPod in your ear, open the Camera app, and press (or press and hold) the AirPod. The iPhone starts a 3-second flashing countdown and then fires the shot.

It’s a fun little trick. I could see it being handy for tripod shots, long exposures, or the occasional selfie. For now, it only works with an AirPod in your ear (not sure I want that in my selfie…), and you can’t disable the timer or flashing light—which makes it less practical. If Apple let us trigger instantly and turn off the blinking flash, this would be a much stronger tool for wildlife or night photography.

Lens Cleaning Hints

Another feature I hadn’t heard about: Lens Cleaning Hints in Settings > Camera. I turned it on right away.

Ever notice your iPhone isn’t focusing well, the image feels soft, or lights at night flare all over your shot? Most of the time the culprit is a dirty lens. It’s so easy to fix, yet so many people never think of it, which is why I was glad to see Apple add this little reminder. The only catch is it’s off by default, so the folks who need it most may never know it exists.

I tried testing it by making my lens extra dirty with soap, but the alert never popped up. Later I did see it trigger when I was shooting light rays passing through a valley that looked a bit like lens flare.

I’m curious to learn more about how this feature actually works. Either way, I’m glad it’s here and hope it improves over time.

simply Better selfies

This is one of those features that just works without any effort and will make everyone’s selfies better, and many users won’t even be aware of what it’s doing. Just as I hoped, I can hold the iPhone in horizontal or vertical orientation and the camera automatically adjusts based on whether I’m alone or surrounded by others.

It was especially nice using this while on the bike. Operating the iPhone single handed, in the sunlight, wearing sunglasses, and summiting the Passo Giau, is not an easy way to see or fiddle with settings. But that didn’t matter, this feature simply did the fiddling for me and adapted to capture both Doug and me in a photo of this memorable moment together.

Shot on iPhone 17 Pro with Front 18MP camera. Photographic Style: Brightl

These “surprise and delight” features are my favorite… they make the experience better without asking anything of you. No need to turn it on, activate it, or adjust anything. Just hold the iPhone in front of you and click.

Color: form and function

I absolutely love orange — I’ve used it extensively in branding and design throughout my career, and the Cosmic Orange of the new iPhone 17 Pro is gorgeous. But if you are serious photographer and considering this year’s new color, here’s some food for thought. Orange is the color of my high-vis cycling jerseys, hard hats, and the safety vests hunters wear to be seen in the wilderness. It attracts attention. That is the last thing I want as a photographer. I want to be discreet, unnoticed, stealth and for that I want my camera to be black.

This may come across as blown out of proportion, but it can be the difference between getting the shot and not. And my job is to get the shot.

Shooting through an airplane window into the sun? You want black to minimize reflection. Shooting behind the stage in a concert hall? You want black to blend into the shadows. Walking through a market in the developing world and trying to remain discreet? You want black.

Obviously most iPhone users aren’t taking their photography quite this seriously. For them, the Cosmic Orange is stunning. But as Apple continues to position the iPhone camera as an increasingly “pro” camera option, I see a black color option as essential.

Thankfully for now there’s Deep Blue with a dark case as an option for the pros who want to remain less eye-catching with their iPhone 17 Pro.

4K ProRes Log @ 120FPS

We played around with this new feature along with a bunch of the other new video features but I just don’t quite have the time to dive deep into all that. For now, I wanted to share this clip that Taylor shot in 4K ProRes Log @ 120 FPS:

What’s most interesting to me is this the frame grab from it… so sharp, it looks like a photo!

Shot on iPhone 17 Pro Max in 4K ProRes Log @ 120FPS (frame grab.)

With plenty of light, this feature could almost be used as a super fast 120FPS Burst mode!

A few wishes

I wish the iPhone came in black. As a photographer, black helps me stay inconspicuous and disappear into the background.
I wish we had 8x at 48MP. The 4x looks so good that I use it constantly, but doubling that would be incredible.
I wish Dual Camera settings could be preserved. When I move the overlay to the bottom right, it should stay there until I change it. I’d also love to resize the overlay.
I wish the camera could auto-select video settings based on orientation…vertical defaulting to HDR, horizontal to ProRes Log. This would streamline my workflow between Instagram clips and YouTube footage.
I wish we could record ProRes 4K at 60 or 120 fps without an external drive, even if limited to 30 seconds. I believe this alone would make pros far more likely to fully embrace ProRes because it could be fully embraced on the run without SSD.
I wish time-lapse could be captured in ProRes Log or RAW. Right now, keeping consistency means rolling long ProRes clips and burning storage.

Shot on iPhone 17 Pro w/ 48mm (2x) lens. Photographic style: Rose Gold.

Buying Advice for Photographers

The biggest distinction between the 16 Pro and the 17 Pro is the improvement to the 4x Telephoto. It’s a better focal length and a big jump in resolution. The 8x is a great way to punch in even further at 12MP, and I’m sure I will use it a ton. If you find yourself constantly wishing you could get closer to your subject, this alone is worth the upgrade.
The Air is a beautiful device, but pretty limiting for photographers. It has a strong 1x sensor, but without an Ultra Wide or Telephoto, your options feel restricted. I liked the idea of using it myself, but once I started shooting I realized it just didn’t work for me. If you do decide to go with the Air, my favorite manual camera app for iPhone, Halide, unlocks a ton of potential in the camera.
Dual Capture is an interesting feature and I can see myself using it often, but for me it’s not enough reason on its own to upgrade.
For serious photographers, color is a serious factor. If you want to stay discreet, as I usually do, your best option will be the Deep Blue with a dark case.
I still prefer the iPhone 17 Pro over the 17 Pro Max because of physical size. It has the exact same camera system in a smaller body, which makes it more discreet and easier to operate one-handed. That said, the battery life on the iPhone 17 Pro Max is insanely great and 2TB storage is only available on Max so keep that in mind.

The Bottom Line

The last few years of iPhone cameras have all been powerful, yet somehow the camera team keeps finding ways to push things further.

The standout upgrade in this year’s iPhone Pro is clearly the 4x 48MP camera—along with the new 8x telephoto.

Photographic Styles continue to unlock the creative potential of the iPhone camera, and I think the new Bright style is going to be really popular.

Each year, Apple reduces the need for extra hardware—this time, cutting down on the need for external telephoto lenses.

At the end of the day, what matters most is using whatever tools we have to fully express our artistic vision and with the iPhone 17 Pro, you’re equipped to pursue just about any vision to the fullest.

ASK ME ANYTHING ON
INSTAGRAM STORIES

I’ll be doing an AMA on Instagram Stories shortly and will be happy to answer any questions you might have about iPhone 17 Pro, photographing in Italy, or anything else.

Join me there for more insight or to ask a question of your own.

Join me on Instagram

Special Thanks

Thanks to Agustina and the whole team at Dolomite Mountains for putting together every step of this adventure, we couldn’t have done it without you!

Thanks to Lux Optics for building the best third-party camera apps for iPhone and for giving us the manual control we need with Halide and Kino!

Thanks to Moots for handcrafting my titanium bicycle, the Vamoots RCS, it’s a joy to ride and was perfect for this adventure.

—

Thanks to Taylor McKay for the amazing film shot on iPhone 17 Pro Max and for investing so much time in building the iPhone cinema rig on the eBike and getting up to speed on using this camera so quickly.

Thanks to Doug Coe for joining me on this crazy cycling adventure and all the behind-the-scenes support and shots.

Thanks to our adventure guide Chris who went above and beyond every day — we loved your company and your intimate knowledge of the landscape was key!

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Thanks to Eric at TandemFlying, Gustav at Alta Badia Sports, Hubert at Medesc, Manuel, Cristina and Matteo at Franz Kostner and so many others who contributed to the project in different ways

Beyond grateful to the people of Italy for the incredible warmth and kindness — exploring this breathtaking landscape and meeting so many of you has truly been one of the most meaningful experiences of my life.

Have a question/comment?

More questions about the iPhone 16 Pro cameras? I’d love to hear your thoughts and I’ll be replying to every comment below.

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iPhone 17 Pro Camera Review: Dolomite mountains

Buongiorno from the Dolomite mountains!

HOW WILL THIS NEW TECH MAKE OUR PICTURES AND VIDEOS BETTER?