How big with the iphone 16?

The iPhone 16 (not the Pro model - that was too expensive) has impressed the hell out of me. I used to view my old iPhone as a note-taking device for identifying potential locations when I was out and about and didn't have a "proper" camera with me but the 16 has turned into a really useful tool that's capable of serious photography. Or at least my version of it.

I've been having a great time doing little square images on A5 art paper and have found them to be totally convincing and satisfying. I find no shortage of subjects, many of which I probably wouldn't have pointed the D700 at but which come out looking really nice.

I’ve been banging on about the iPhone 16 so much that Phil Rogers of Fogblog fame was worried that I might be turning into a JAIP - just an iPhone photographer. I suppose he's partially right as I now see the phone as part of my "armoury". I'll often go out with the phone - with its 26mm equivalent main lens - and the D700 with the 85mm AF Nikkor attached and be quite happy. Amazing to think that not so long ago I used to be lugging a hulking great Rolleiflex SL66 outfit around with me...

As often happens, there comes a time when we wonder just what a particular camera or format might be capable of and it's been no different with the iPhone 16. How much bigger could my square images go and still deliver sufficient sharpness and tonality? The other day I set out to find an answer to that question.

In the course of learning what the camera is capable of, I tried one of the in-built "styles", not a filter as such since the style is applied at the taking stage rather than in editing. The look was called "luminous" and it looked pretty horrible as a colour image. However, I could see that it opened up the shadows nicely and gave an attractive glow to the highlights so I thought it might work well for some black and white subjects.

I was thinking of scenes such as those found in a forest in summer where a bit of backlighting makes dark shadows of the trunks at the same time as the sun floods the top of the frame and the tree canopy with light. I tried a few random shots using this style and it looked quite promising. My first A5 print turned out very nicely with plenty of shadow detail and lovely soft highlights so I loaded up a sheet of A3 for a 10.75" x 10.75" print. That’s it above.

I would probably give the print quality of the A5 version 9/10 and the A3 print 7/10. The big print looks good at normal viewing distances but I'm quite short-sighted and can focus in really closely with the naked eye and it loses a bit of smoothness when viewed in such a ridiculous fashion. To put it another way, I'd be very happy indeed if I'd been able to produce a big square print like that from 35mm FP4 in the darkroom but I'd definitely expect more from a good 120 negative. Below is a close up of the A3 print so you can make your own mind up.

For me, I'd be comfortable printing iPhone 16 files up to A3 but I'd call a halt there. Still, that's not too bad, is it? I take my phone everywhere with me and it's basically as capable as a 35mm SLR with a 28mm prime lens on the front. Plus, I can get home after being out for the day, load the iPhone file onto the PC and have a nice print in my hand ten minutes later.

So am I just a JAIP, as Phil feared? Perhaps a more intriguing question would be would it matter if I was?