A thorough review of the iPhone 17's camera performance: How does the upgraded 48-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera perform?



The iPhone 17 is the first non-brand model to feature a 48-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera, allowing you to capture dynamic, high-quality photos with a wide angle of view. I was curious to see what kind of photos it could capture, so I took the iPhone 17 out and took some photos.

iPhone 17 - Apple (Japan)
https://www.apple.com/jp/iphone-17/

The iPhone 17 is a smartphone that was released on September 19, 2025, and unlike the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air, which were released on the same day, it retains the look of previous models. Details of the iPhone 17's appearance and comparisons with other models can be found in the article below.

A detailed look at the appearance of the 'iPhone 17', an orthodox model compared to the Pro and Air - GIGAZINE



The back of the iPhone 17 is equipped with a 48-megapixel main camera and a 48-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera. The maximum aperture is F1.6 for the main camera and F2.2 for the ultra-wide-angle camera. In addition, only the main camera supports sensor-shift optical image stabilization.



The iPhone 17's default setting is to save photos at 24 megapixels, so I turned on 'Resolution Control' in the Settings app to save them at 48 megapixels. The photos in this article were originally HEIF files converted to JPEG format using the conversion function of the image transfer app

ACDSee Mobile Sync , then resized to 560 pixels on the long side. Click on each photo to see the original size before it was reduced.



This photo was taken with an ultra-wide-angle camera from the platform at Hankyu Osaka-Umeda Station. The focal length is equivalent to 14mm in 35mm format, allowing for an extremely wide area to be captured in the frame.


'Focal length (35mm equivalent): 14mm' 'F-number: 2.2' 'Shutter speed: 1/332 seconds' 'ISO sensitivity: 20'

The home page was also photographed. Click to see the full-size photo and check the resolution.


'Focal length (35mm equivalent): 14mm' 'F-number: 2.2' 'Shutter speed: 1/30 sec' 'ISO sensitivity: 80'

The russet-colored vehicle. Photographed with an ultra-wide-angle camera, the depth is emphasized, making the vehicle appear very long.


'Focal length (35mm equivalent): 14mm' 'F-number: 2.2' 'Shutter speed: 1/30 sec' 'ISO sensitivity: 100'

I headed west to photograph Lucua Osaka and Links Umeda, capturing the large buildings perfectly within the frame.


'Focal length (35mm equivalent): 14mm' 'F-number: 2.2' 'Shutter speed: 1/400 sec' 'ISO sensitivity: 16'

This photo was taken close to Links Umeda. An interesting point is that Lucua Osaka appears to be tilted at an angle on the left side of the photo.


'Focal length (35mm equivalent): 14mm' 'F-number: 2.2' 'Shutter speed: 1/366 seconds' 'ISO sensitivity: 16'

Photographed looking up at Lucua Osaka.


'Focal length (35mm equivalent): 14mm' 'F-number: 2.2' 'Shutter speed: 1/414 sec' 'ISO sensitivity: 16'

Taken between the West and East buildings of Lucua Osaka.


'Focal length (35mm equivalent): 14mm' 'F-number: 2.2' 'Shutter speed: 1/61 sec' 'ISO sensitivity: 50'

The stairs were decorated in the style of the Osaka-Kansai Expo and had Myaku Myaku painted on them.


'Focal length (35mm equivalent): 14mm' 'F-number: 2.2' 'Shutter speed: 1/60 sec' 'ISO sensitivity: 50'

Toki no Hiroba is located overlooking the Osaka Station premises.


'Focal length (35mm equivalent): 14mm' 'F-number: 2.2' 'Shutter speed: 1/120 sec' 'ISO sensitivity: 64'

The ceiling structure of Osaka Station was photographed with an ultra-wide-angle camera. Click to see the full-size image, and you can see that even the finer details have been recorded clearly.


'Focal length (35mm equivalent): 14mm' 'F-number: 2.2' 'Shutter speed: 1/171 sec' 'ISO sensitivity: 16'

When you take a photo of the same place with the main camera, it looks like this.


'Focal length (35mm equivalent): 26mm' 'F-number: 1.6' 'Shutter speed: 1/709 sec' 'ISO sensitivity: 32'

This photo was taken from the '

Wind Plaza ' on the 11th floor, looking towards Umekita Park . You can capture a wide view without using the panorama mode .


'Focal length (35mm equivalent): 14mm' 'F-number: 2.2' 'Shutter speed: 1/1225 sec' 'ISO sensitivity: 32'

We went to the Apple Store '

Apple Umeda ' which opened on July 26, 2025.


'Focal length (35mm equivalent): 26mm' 'F-number: 1.6' 'Shutter speed: 1/120 sec' 'ISO sensitivity: 40'

Photographing the Apple logo.


'Focal length (35mm equivalent): 14mm' 'F-number: 2.2' 'Shutter speed: 1/36 seconds' 'ISO sensitivity: 64'

I took a photo of the giant iPhone Air POP in the store with an ultra-wide-angle camera.


'Focal length (35mm equivalent): 14mm' 'F-number: 2.2' 'Shutter speed: 1/120 sec' 'ISO sensitivity: 25'

Genuine accessories are lined up in a row.


'Focal length (35mm equivalent): 14mm' 'F-number: 2.2' 'Shutter speed: 1/27 sec' 'ISO sensitivity: 64'

The iPhone 17 on display was photographed with the iPhone 17's main camera. The desk in the background is beautifully blurred.


'Focal length (35mm equivalent): 26mm' 'F-number: 2.2' 'Shutter speed: 1/121 sec' 'ISO sensitivity: 40'

Photographed with 2x zoom on the Apple Watch Series 11. Note that 2x zoom is achieved by sensor cropping, so the pixel count drops to 12 megapixels.


'Focal length (35mm equivalent): 52mm' 'F-number: 1.6' 'Shutter speed: 1/51 sec' 'ISO sensitivity: 50'

I wanted to take some food photos, so I went to Kua Aina, located in the basement of Lucua Osaka. By using an ultra-wide-angle camera, I was able to capture a wide range of images, even in a small space where it was difficult to maintain a certain distance from the subject.


'Focal length (35mm equivalent): 14mm' 'F-number: 2.2' 'Shutter speed: 1/27 sec' 'ISO sensitivity: 100'

I took a photo of the avocado burger set with the main camera, and it recorded colors that were roughly the same as what I saw with the naked eye.


'Focal length (35mm equivalent): 26mm' 'F-number: 1.6' 'Shutter speed: 1/60 sec' 'ISO sensitivity: 40'

Stacking the hamburgers looks like this.

'Focal length (35mm equivalent): 26mm' 'F-number: 1.6' 'Shutter speed: 1/60 sec' 'ISO sensitivity: 50'

To test the nighttime shooting performance, I took some photos around Ibarakishi Station at night. First, I took a photo of the road from above with the main camera.


'Focal length (35mm equivalent): 26mm' 'F-number: 1.6' 'Shutter speed: 1/17 sec' 'ISO sensitivity: 400'

The same location was photographed with an ultra-wide-angle camera. While the resolution of the details is lower than with a mirrorless camera equipped with a large sensor, the photo is still beautiful and flawless when viewed on a smartphone or PC screen.


'Focal length (35mm equivalent): 14mm' 'F-number: 2.2' 'Shutter speed: 1/17 sec' 'ISO sensitivity: 640'

The bus terminal was photographed with the main camera.


'Focal length (35mm equivalent): 26mm' 'F-number: 1.6' 'Shutter speed: 1/17 sec' 'ISO sensitivity: 320'

Also taken with an ultra-wide-angle camera.


'Focal length (35mm equivalent): 14mm' 'F-number: 2.2' 'Shutter speed: 1/17 sec' 'ISO sensitivity: 400'

An old building photographed with an ultra-wide-angle camera.


'Focal length (35mm equivalent): 14mm' 'F-number: 2.2' 'Shutter speed: 1/17 sec' 'ISO sensitivity: 400'

I took a photo of the road from a low position.


'Focal length (35mm equivalent): 14mm' 'F-number: 2.2' 'Shutter speed: 1/15 sec' 'ISO sensitivity: 640'

The iPhone 17's ultra-wide-angle camera allows you to get very close to the subject. This is what it looks like when you get close enough to focus on a 500 yen coin placed on a table.



Below is a photo taken at the closest possible distance to focus.


'Focal length (35mm equivalent): 14mm' 'F-number: 2.2' 'Shutter speed: 1/40 sec' 'ISO sensitivity: 50'

Similarly, below is a photo taken as close as possible to the focus point with the iPhone 17 Pro's main camera.


'Focal length (35mm equivalent): 24mm' 'F-number: 2.2' 'Shutter speed: 1/120 sec' 'ISO sensitivity: 200'

This is what the iPhone Air camera looks like.


'Focal length (35mm equivalent): 26mm' 'F-number: 1.6' 'Shutter speed: 1/120 sec' 'ISO sensitivity: 32'

This is what it looks like when you take a photo with the iPhone Air at 2x zoom using cropping. The macro shooting performance of the iPhone 17 is inferior to that of the iPhone 17 Pro, but it beats the iPhone Air by a large margin.


'Focal length (35mm equivalent): 52mm' 'F-number: 1.6' 'Shutter speed: 1/120 sec' 'ISO sensitivity: 32'

The iPhone 17's camera performance is somewhere between that of the iPhone 17 Pro and the iPhone Air. The ultra-wide-angle camera on previous models was considered 'convenient, but with a low pixel count, it was just a side camera.' However, the iPhone 17 now has the same pixel count as the main camera, making it a leading-edge camera.

The iPhone 17 256GB model costs 129,800 yen (tax included) and the 512GB model costs 164,800 yen (tax included). It is also available on Amazon.co.jp, but was out of stock at the time of writing.

Amazon.co.jp: Apple iPhone 17 (256GB): 6.3-inch display with ProMotion, A19 chip, center-frame front camera for smarter group selfies, improved scratch resistance, all-day battery life; Mist Blue: Electronics & Cameras



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in Review,   Mobile,   Hardware, Posted by log1o_hf