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Apple iPhone 12 Camera test: Pro-level video, amateur zoom

This device has been retested in the latest version of our protocol. Overall, sub-scores and attributes are up to date. For detailed information, check the What’s New article
OTHER AVAILABLE TESTS FOR THIS DEVICE

The iPhone 12 is a mainstream offering from Apple, situated below the iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max. It features a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR screen covered by the company’s new ceramic-reinforced glass and the same fast A14 processor used across the iPhone 12 line, and comes with 4 GB of RAM and 64, 128, or 256 GB of storage depending on configuration.

There are two cameras on the back. The main wide module has a 12 MP sensor behind a 26 mm-equivalent f/1.6 lens with optical image stabilization and phase detection autofocus— apparently the same camera used in the iPhone 12 Pro and the 12 Mini. There’s also an ultra-wide camera with a 12 MP 1/3.6-inch sensor and a 13 mm-equivalent f/2.4 lens. The iPhone 12 does without the tele-modules and LiDAR sensor found in the Pro and Pro Max versions.

The iPhone 12 shoots 4K video at 24, 30 or 60 frames per second, and can encode 4K Dolby Vision HDR video at up to 30 fps for wider dynamic range and an improved viewing experience on displays that support the standard. Read on to find out how the iPhone 12’s imaging performance compares against the competition.

Key camera specifications:

  • Dual-camera setup
  • Primary: 12 MP sensor with 1.4µm pixels and 26 mm-equivalent f/1.6 lens, OIS, PDAF
  • Ultra-wide: 12 MP 1/3.6-inch sensor and 13 mm-equivalent (14 mm measured) f/2.4 lens
  • Dual-LED flash
  • 4K video at 24/30/60 fps, 1080p video at 30/60/120/240 fps, Dolby Vision HDR (up to 30 fps), gyro-EIS

About DXOMARK Camera tests: For scoring and analysis in our smartphone camera reviews, DXOMARK engineers capture and evaluate over 3000 test images and more than 2.5 hours of video both in controlled lab environments and in natural indoor and outdoor scenes, using the camera’s default settings. This article is designed to highlight the most important results of our testing. For more information about the DXOMARK Camera test protocol, click here. More details on how we score smartphone cameras are available here.

Test summary

Scoring

Sub-scores and attributes included in the calculations of the global score.


Apple iPhone 12
117
camera
127
Photo
101

130

107

130

110

125

101

124

81

117

71

82

55
Bokeh
55

85

74
Preview
74

93

60
Zoom
27

120

90

122

130
Video
96

116

104

120

105

120

100

118

106

120

78

86

111

119

Use cases & Conditions

Use case scores indicate the product performance in specific situations. They are not included in the overall score calculations.

BEST 180

Outdoor

Photos & videos shot in bright light conditions (≥1000 lux)

BEST 169

Indoor

Photos & videos shot in good lighting conditions (≥100lux)

BEST 138

Lowlight

Photos & videos shot in low lighting conditions (<100 lux)

BEST 154

Friends & Family

Portrait and group photo & videos

Please be aware that beyond this point, we have not modified the initial test results. While data and products remain fully comparable, you might encounter mentions and references to the previous scores.
CAMERA
Position in Global Ranking
107th
1. Huawei Pura 70 Ultra
163
2. Google Pixel 9 Pro XL
158
2. Honor Magic6 Pro
158
4. Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
157
4. Apple iPhone 16 Pro
157
4. Huawei Mate 60 Pro+
157
4. Oppo Find X7 Ultra
157
8. Huawei P60 Pro
156
9. Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
154
9. Apple iPhone 15 Pro
154
9. Google Pixel 9
154
12. Google Pixel 8 Pro
153
12. Oppo Find X6 Pro
153
14. Honor Magic5 Pro
152
15. Oppo Find X6
150
15. Vivo X100 Pro
150
17. Huawei Mate 50 Pro
149
17. Xiaomi 14 Ultra
149
19. Google Pixel 8
148
20. Google Pixel 7 Pro
147
20. Honor Magic4 Ultimate
147
22. Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max
146
22. Apple iPhone 14 Pro
146
22. Motorola Edge 50 Ultra
146
25. Apple iPhone 15 Plus
145
25. Apple iPhone 15
145
27. Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
144
28. Huawei P50 Pro
143
29. Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
141
29. Apple iPhone 13 Pro
141
29. Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold
141
29. Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
141
33. Google Pixel 7
140
33. Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
140
33. Vivo X90 Pro+
140
33. Xiaomi 13 Ultra
140
37. Huawei Mate 40 Pro+
139
38. Xiaomi 14
138
39. Honor Magic V3
137
39. Honor 200 Pro
137
39. Vivo X80 Pro (Snapdragon)
137
42. Google Pixel 8a
136
42. Vivo X90 Pro
136
42. Xiaomi 13 Pro
136
42. Xiaomi 12S Ultra
136
46. Huawei Mate 40 Pro
135
46. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Snapdragon)
135
46. Vivo X80 Pro (MediaTek)
135
46. Xiaomi 14T Pro
135
50. Google Pixel 6 Pro
134
50. Vivo X70 Pro+
134
50. Xiaomi 14T
134
53. Apple iPhone 14 Plus
133
53. Apple iPhone 14
133
53. Google Pixel Fold
133
53. Google Pixel 7a
133
53. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6
133
53. Samsung Galaxy S24+ (Exynos)
133
53. Samsung Galaxy S24 FE
133
53. Samsung Galaxy S24 (Exynos)
133
53. Samsung Galaxy S23+
133
53. Samsung Galaxy S23
133
63. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6
132
64. Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
131
64. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos)
131
64. Xiaomi 13T Pro
131
67. Honor 200
130
67. Motorola Edge 40 Pro
130
67. Oppo Find X5 Pro
130
67. Xiaomi 13
130
71. Huawei P40 Pro
129
71. Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra
129
71. Xiaomi 12T Pro
129
71. Xiaomi 12 Pro
129
75. Oppo Find X3 Pro
128
75. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5
128
77. Apple iPhone 12 Pro
127
77. Asus Smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders
127
77. OnePlus 11
127
77. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5
127
77. Samsung Galaxy S23 FE
127
82. Google Pixel 6
126
82. Honor Magic4 Pro
126
82. Vivo X70 Pro (MediaTek)
126
82. Vivo X60 Pro+
126
86. Apple iPhone 13 mini
125
86. Apple iPhone 13
125
86. Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra
125
86. Samsung Galaxy S22+ (Exynos)
125
86. Vivo X50 Pro+
125
91. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4
124
91. Xiaomi Mi 11 Pro
124
93. Xiaomi 13T
123
94. Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
122
94. Google Pixel 6a
122
94. Honor 90
122
94. OnePlus 10 Pro
122
94. OnePlus 9 Pro
122
99. Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus 5G
121
100. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
120
100. Samsung Galaxy S22 (Exynos)
120
100. Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G
120
103. Honor Magic Vs
119
103. Sony Xperia 5 IV
119
105. Sony Xperia 5 V
118
105. Sony Xperia 1 IV
118
107. Apple iPhone 12 mini
117
107. Apple iPhone 12
117
107. Honor Magic V2
117
107. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
117
107. Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon)
117
107. Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Snapdragon)
117
113. Apple iPhone 11
116
113. Asus Zenfone 8
116
113. Vivo X60 Pro 5G (Snapdragon)
116
116. Honor 70
115
116. Motorola Edge 50 Neo
115
116. Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G (Snapdragon)
115
116. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Exynos)
115
116. Xiaomi 12T
115
121. Nothing Phone(1)
114
121. OnePlus Nord 2T 5G
114
121. Oppo Reno8 Pro 5G
114
121. Oppo Find X5
114
121. Oppo Find N2 Flip
114
126. Crosscall Stellar-X5
113
126. OnePlus 8 Pro
113
126. Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G
113
126. Xiaomi 12
113
130. Oppo Reno8 5G
112
130. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4
112
132. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 5G
111
132. Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G (Exynos)
111
132. Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Exynos)
111
135. Google Pixel 5
109
135. Xiaomi 12 Lite 5G
109
137. Asus ROG Phone 7
108
137. Fairphone 5
108
137. Samsung Galaxy A55 5G
108
137. Vivo X60 Pro 5G (Exynos)
108
137. Xiaomi 11T Pro
108
142. Samsung Galaxy A54 5G
107
143. Oppo Find X3 Neo
106
144. Sony Xperia 1 III
105
145. Samsung Galaxy A35 5G
104
146. Motorola Edge 40 Neo
103
147. Huawei P40
102
147. Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G
102
149. Black Shark 5 Pro
101
149. Motorola Edge 30 Pro
101
151. Apple iPhone SE (2022)
100
151. Google Pixel 4a
100
153. ZTE Axon 30 Ultra
96
154. Oppo Find X5 Lite
95
155. Oppo Reno4 5G
94
156. Oppo A94 5G
93
156. Vivo X80 Lite 5G
93
158. Motorola Razr 50
92
158. Samsung Galaxy A72
92
158. Samsung Galaxy A34 5G
92
158. Samsung Galaxy A25 5G
92
162. Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 5G
91
163. Oppo Reno6 5G
89
164. Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
88
164. Samsung Galaxy A52 5G
88
166. Honor 200 Lite
86
167. Motorola Moto g85 5G
85
167. Motorola moto g54 5G
85
167. Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
85
170. Honor Magic6 Lite (5300 mAh)
84
170. OnePlus Nord CE 5G
84
172. Samsung Galaxy A15 5G
83
172. Vivo Y76 5G
83
174. Samsung Galaxy A15 LTE
81
175. Honor 90 Smart
79
175. Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
79
177. Sony Xperia 10 V
78
177. Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
78
179. TCL 40R 5G
76
180. Realme 9i 5G
75
180. Samsung Galaxy A16 5G
75
180. Xiaomi Redmi Note 13
75
183. Honor Magic5 Lite 5G
74
184. Honor 90 Lite
73
185. Samsung Galaxy A23 5G
70
186. Fairphone 4
69
186. Oppo A78 5G
69
186. Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 5G
69
189. Motorola moto g34 5G
67
189. Samsung Galaxy A14 5G
67
191. Motorola Moto G62 5G
66
192. Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
65
193. Oppo Reno8 Lite 5G
64
194. Sony Xperia 10 IV
63
194. Xiaomi Redmi Note 12
63
194. Xiaomi Redmi 13C
63
194. Xiaomi Redmi 12 5G
63
198. Honor X7
61
198. Honor Magic4 Lite 5G
61
200. Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
60
200. Xiaomi Redmi 13C 5G
60
202. Honor 70 Lite
58
203. Honor 200 Smart
55
204. Motorola Moto G23
54
205. Oppo A77 5G
53
206. Honor X8 5G
52
206. TCL 406
52
208. Xiaomi Redmi 10 2022
51
209. Crosscall Action-X5
50
210. Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
48
211. Crosscall Core-Z5
47
212. Oppo A57
46
212. Oppo A16s 5G
46
214. Samsung Galaxy A05s
45
214. Xiaomi Redmi A3
45
214. Xiaomi Redmi 12C
45
CAMERA
Position in Premium Ranking
20th
1. Google Pixel 9
154
2. Google Pixel 8
148
3. Apple iPhone 15
145
4. Xiaomi 14
138
5. Xiaomi 14T Pro
135
6. Xiaomi 14T
134
7. Apple iPhone 14
133
7. Samsung Galaxy S24 FE
133
7. Samsung Galaxy S24 (Exynos)
133
7. Samsung Galaxy S23
133
11. Xiaomi 13T Pro
131
12. Xiaomi 13
130
13. Xiaomi 12T Pro
129
14. OnePlus 11
127
15. Vivo X70 Pro (MediaTek)
126
16. Apple iPhone 13 mini
125
16. Apple iPhone 13
125
18. Xiaomi 13T
123
19. Samsung Galaxy S22 (Exynos)
120
20. Apple iPhone 12
117
20. Apple iPhone 12 mini
117
20. Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon)
117
20. Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Snapdragon)
117
24. Apple iPhone 11
116
24. Asus Zenfone 8
116
24. Vivo X60 Pro 5G (Snapdragon)
116
27. Oppo Reno8 Pro 5G
114
28. Xiaomi 12
113
29. Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Exynos)
111
30. Google Pixel 5
109
31. Fairphone 5
108
31. Vivo X60 Pro 5G (Exynos)
108
31. Xiaomi 11T Pro
108
34. Oppo Find X3 Neo
106
35. Huawei P40
102
36. Black Shark 5 Pro
101
36. Motorola Edge 30 Pro
101
38. ZTE Axon 30 Ultra
96
39. Crosscall Core-Z5
47

Pros

  • Accurate and consistent autofocus
  • Accurate exposure
  • Accurate color indoors
  • High detail outdoors and indoors
  • Video dynamic range is wide.
  • Color and skin tones generally pleasant in video
  • Stabilization effective when still or walking

Cons

  • Limited dynamic range in stills
  • White balance casts outdoors in stills
  • Noise often visible in stills, especially in lower light
  • Color quantization, hue shift, ringing artifacts often visible in stills
  • Medium- and long-range zoom detail is very low.
  • Slight white balance casts in videos
  • Fine detail is lost in lower-light videos.

The iPhone 12 earned a DXOMARK Camera score of 122, landing just outside the top ten in our database. It’s a respectable performance but behind flagships from Huawei, Xiaomi, Samsung, and Oppo. It’s also behind Apple’s latest Pro devices, and it trails last year’s iPhone 11 Pro Max by two points.

As things currently stand, its score of 132 places is just within the top ten for Photo. The iPhone 12 handles the basics well. Exposure is generally accurate, though dynamic range could be wider. Colors are pleasant and usually accurate, despite the occasional cast. Autofocus is a strength for the iPhone 12 (as it is across the family line), with focus locking quickly and accurately in any lighting condition. Photos contain plenty of detail in bright to moderate light levels.

On the downside, noise is more present than we like to see, the simulated bokeh portrait mode is disappointing, and the lack of a dedicated tele-module really hampers zoom performance on the long end.

The Apple iPhone 12 captures pleasant, accurate color and plenty of detail in good light.

The iPhone 12 achieves an excellent Video score of 112, tying the iPhone 12 Pro for third place in our database (and just one point behind the 12 Pro Max in second place). Its performance characteristics are almost identical to those of the iPhone 12 Pro— unsurprisingly, since the main camera hardware appears to be the same. Exposure is accurate and dynamic range is wide, thanks in part to the inclusion of Dolby Vision HDR. Color is pleasant despite occasional cold casts when shooting outdoors. Autofocus is fast and accurate, working well even in scenes with lots of movement. Detail is high in bright light, though fine detail diminishes indoors and at lower light levels. Noise is the weakest link here, with noise visible even in bright light. Stabilization is effective at countering shake and motion.

Let’s take a more detailed look at the strengths and weaknesses of the iPhone 12, with some sample image comparisons for illustration.

The iPhone 12 exposes accurately under most conditions, and it holds the line all the way down to a near-dark 1 lux, helping it achieve a respectable exposure sub-score. However, dynamic range is fairly limited compared to the best of the competition, with highlights often blowing out in situations where more capable phones do better.

In the example below we see that that iPhone 12 nails the target exposure on the subjects’ faces, while the iPhone 11 Pro Max lets them go a bit dark. The Huawei is also accurate, though the low-contrast tonal rendition is arguably not as appealing. However, the P40 Pro’s dynamic range advantage is obvious in the background, where both iPhones allows the buildings and sky to clip.

Apple iPhone 12, accurate exposure with limited dynamic range
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max, slightly low exposure with limited dynamic range
Huawei P40 Pro, accurate exposure with wide dynamic range

The iPhone 12 generally renders pleasant colors, though it occasionally stumbles: outdoor scenes sometimes have a very obvious blue cast (a fault we’ve noted in other members of this iPhone generation), and things sometimes look a little more orange than they should indoors. But mostly it’s good news, as seen in the examples below. Both iPhones handle the color in this scene nicely. The Huawei reference device also does a pretty good job for most of the image, but the skin tones go a little yellow.

Apple iPhone 12, pleasant colors and skin tone
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max, pleasant colors and skin tone
Huawei P40 Pro, yellowish skin tone

The iPhone 12’s top-ten texture score indicates that the smartphone camera captures plenty of detail. This is especially true in bright light and normal indoor lighting, but when things get dimmer, detail drops, explaining the difference between the iPhone and the highest-scoring devices in this category. In the examples below we see that both iPhones and the Huawei capture a lot of detail in this scene (the iPhone 12 Pro Max and the Huawei have larger sensors, but with plenty of light here, that advantage doesn’t really come into play).

Apple iPhone 12, outdoor detail and texture
Apple iPhone 12, crop, very good detail and texture
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max, outdoor detail and texture
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max, crop, very good detail and texture
Huawei P40 Pro, outdoor detail and texture
Huawei P40 Pro, crop, very good detail and texture

Of course, we can’t discuss detail without addressing noise, and here the iPhone 12 is less impressive. Noise is more visible than ideal under moderate to dim lighting conditions, explaining the device’s depressed sub-score (though it improves over the iPhone 11 Pro Max by two points). Quite a few high-end phones handle the balance of detail and noise more effectively. In the low-light example below, it’s clear that the Huawei is keeping noise in check without too much penalty against detail, while the iPhones take a more hands-off approach to noise reduction.

Apple iPhone 12, low light
Apple iPhone 12, crop, high noise
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max, low light
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max, crop, high noise
Huawei P40 Pro, low light
Huawei P40 Pro, crop, low noise

Autofocus is a strong point for the iPhone 12. Focus is fast and accurate under essentially any lighting condition. Our new testing protocol tests AF against targets with wide brightness ranges, revealing weaknesses in some phones that were undetected before, but the iPhone 12 is unfazed: bright, dim, narrow or wide dynamic range, AF remains confident. In the chart below we see that all three iPhones have tightly clustered results a few milliseconds before the shutter button press (many phones do this to offset human reaction lag). The Huawei is much slower under these conditions, although under more uniform brightness conditions it’s also fast.

Autofocus performance in 1000 lux daylight with 7 EV brightness range

Images shot in portrait mode to create a simulated bokeh effect show more separation errors than we see on the Pro iPhones, which might be due to the lack of a LiDAR scanner on the iPhone 12. The lack of a tele-camera also means that the iPhone 12 uses its main wide module for portraits, which isn’t ideal. The blur effect is a somewhat abrupt, and background highlights are less contrasty than they should be.

Apple iPhone 12, portrait mode
Apple iPhone 12, crop, poor subject seperation
Apple iPhone 12 Pro, portrait mode
Apple iPhone 12 Pro, crop, better subject separation
Huawei P40 Pro, portrait mode
Huawei P40 Pro, crop, better subject separation

The iPhone 12 just squeezes into the top five night sub-scores as of this writing, tying its Pro sibling. The best phones in this category are quite a bit better, but there aren’t many of them. The iPhone 12 manages an acceptable exposure in the example below, though it could be slightly brighter; noise is quite high and detail is fairly low. The iPhone 12 Pro Max does a little better, its larger sensor helping some with noise levels. The Huawei opts for flash in this situation, producing a very different image, with much more detail and less noise, but also a darker background.

Apple iPhone 12, flash-auto
Apple iPhone 12, crop, high noise, low detail
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max, flash-auto
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max, crop, high noise, low detail
Huawei P40 Pro, flash-auto
Huawei P40 Pro, crop, less noise, more detail (flash fired)

Apple devices have been cleaning up in our new Preview testing: it’s clear that the company has been paying closer attention to this aspect of performance than most. The iPhone 12 image preview presents a very close approximation of what the final image will look like. Exposure in the preview is pretty much spot on. Dynamic range is a bit more restricted in the preview than the final image, but better than much of the competition. Zooming is smooth (even smoother than in the Pro models, since there’s no tele-module to complicate things). Our testers did notice more errors in the portrait mode preview— not surprising, given the iPhone 12’s reduced abilities in subject separation.

Apple iPhone 12 preview: good exposure approximation, slightly reduced dynamic range
Apple iPhone 12 final image

We deduct points for obvious artifacts or image quality flaws visible in images. The main penalties against the iPhone 12 are ringing (caused by oversharpening) and color quantization. Our testers also noticed hue shift, flare, and ghosting.

Apple iPhone 12, artifacts
Apple iPhone 12, crop, ringing

The Zoom score is a combination of a device’s wide and tele sub-scores, and the iPhone 12 falls short of most devices in its class. This is because it joins a very small club of current flagship-class phones that don’t have a dedicated tele-module (the only other club member we’ve met so far is the Google Pixel 5).

It does well on the wide end: the iPhone’s 14 mm-equivalent (measured— Apple claims 13 mm) ultra-wide camera squeezes more into the frame than many phones, and image quality is generally good, though detail could be a little higher. That wide coverage comes with some anamorphic distortion at the edges of the frame, visible in the example below, so you’ll want to keep people more towards the center of your compositions. The image also gets a little soft into the corners, and we see a slight green cast to the color below. The Huawei has better color and less distortion, but also a narrower field of view.

Apple iPhone 12, wide-angle: anamorphic distortion, green cast
Apple iPhone 12 Pro, wide-angle: anamorphic distortion, green cast
Huawei P40 Pro, wide-angle: better color, less distortion, but narrower coverage

At close zoom ranges the iPhone 12 delivers acceptable quality by cropping from its main wide camera. It easily bests the iPhone 11 Pro Max at a 40 mm-equivalent field of view, for example, capturing more detailed, less noisy images. However, without a dedicated tele-camera module, there’s only so much the iPhone 12 can do as the zoom extends to medium and longer ranges. Details drops precipitously, with staircase artifacts showing up as the tight crop is mercilessly upsampled to 12 MP. In the examples below, it’s clear that the iPhone 12 Pro’s tele-module does a better job and that the Huawei’s longer dedicated tele-camera captures even more detail.

Apple iPhone 12, 110 mm-equivalent zoom
Apple iPhone 12, poor detail
Apple iPhone 12 Pro, 110 mm-equivalent zoom
Apple iPhone 12 Pro, crop, better detail
Huawei P40 Pro, 110 mm-equivalent zoom
Huawei P40 Pro, crop, good detail

The iPhone 12 delivers a very good video performance that is almost identical to the iPhone 12 Pro’s. Exposure is accurate and the iPhone 12 hangs on even when things get extremely dim, producing usable videos at very low light levels (though in the chart below we see that the Huawei P40 Pro does even better at the dark end of the scale). Dynamic range is very good thanks to the Dolby Vision HDR feature, which we used in testing. Even in challenging scenes with a wide brightness range, the HDR processing usually keeps highlights from blowing out.

Video exposure comparison

Color is pleasant and skin tones look natural under most conditions, though our testers observed some cold color casts when shooting outdoors.

Detail is high in bright light, but tails off as light levels drop. That said, in the chart below we see that in our dimmest test conditions the iPhone 12 matches the 12 Pro and does better than the other reference devices.

Video texture comparison

As with stills, noise is more present than ideal, though it’s generally better than on the iPhone 11 Pro Max. Noise can be visible even when recording in bright light, though in the chart below we see that noise levels remain quite steady until shooting in near-darkness at 1 lux.

Video noise comparison

Autofocus performance remains a strength in video mode, locking quickly and accurately on subjects.

Video artifacts include flare and color quantization, though marginally less than on the iPhone 12 Pro. Testers also noted some judder effect. Video stabilization is quite effective, and residual motion isn’t a problem unless you’re running with the phone.

Apple iPhone 12, outdoor video
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max, outdoor video
Huawei P40 Pro, outdoor video

Conclusion

The iPhone 12 delivers solid photo performance and impressive video capabilities, especially for those who can take full advantage of the phone’s Dolby Vision HDR processing.

In terms of pure imaging performance, there are a few competitors that offer similar or better output quality, sometimes at lower prices. However, users drawn to other parts of Apple’s value proposition or who are committed to iOS could find the iPhone 12 interesting. If zoom and portrait mode performance aren’t priorities for you, the iPhone 12 gives essentially all the bang of the iPhone 12 Pro for fewer bucks.


In the Press

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