iPhone Panoramas In Depth: Shooting & Post Processing Tips, Numerous Examples up to 11K Resolution

2016-07-07 • SEND FEEDBACK |
Related: 4K and 5K display, Apple, Apple iOS, Apple iPhone and iPad, computer display, Eastern Sierra, iMac, iOS, Lundy Canyon area, panorama, post processing

A few days ago I posted some iPhone panorama examples.

I was intrigued by how far I could push the limits of a camera phone, so I spent some serious effort on seeing what I could extract from the iPhone panorama mode.

The results here I think will be of keen interest to some and IMO mighty impressive (maybe jaw-dropping some cases), especially if you can view the examples at full resolution on an iMac 5K (see iMac 5K: Sheer Viewing Pleasure in the Fastest Mac Available).

I didn’t stop at two pages of extensive examples—I added a bunch of how-to and general discussion, the fruits of my own experimentation. It is possible to make really good images by virtue of many more pixels in panorama mode.

• iPhone 6s Plus: General Discussion
• iPhone 6s Plus: Tips for Shooting Panoramas
• iPhone 6s Plus: Dealing with Lens Flare
• iPhone 6s Plus: Color Correction
• iPhone 6s Plus: Sharpening and Downsampling
• iPhone 6s Plus: Fixing Gaps in Panoramas with Context-Aware Fill
• iPhone 6s Plus: Example Panoramas
• iPhone 6s Plus: Example Panoramas with People

Examples are at resolution up to 11K pixels, depending on much the originals offered. I’ve separated the examples into this with people (pretty amazing to be able to do panoramas with people in them) and those without people.

I’ve included “best possible” examples as well as problematic cases like flare situations (and how to fix it) along with a few examples of what can go wrong. Most examples are color, but some are black and white and some offer a color/BW toggle option.

I now consider the iPhone 6s Plus an essential field tool for a quick-grab panorama. Processed properly, the results can be very good. It fits into my pocket and is ten times easier than dealing with a regular camera—I’d have killed for a camera like this as a teenager! It’s just shocking that no camera vendor has brought to market something like an iPhone 6s Plus with a Retina display with a far better sensor—now that would be slick. The downside? As per above, the best results require post processing—the iPhone cannot work miracles, and indeed inserts its own issues into images.

Rest Break in the shade

f2.2 @ 1/1000 sec, ISO 32; 2016-06-27 17:24:38
iPhone 6s Plus + iPhone 6s Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 @ 29mm equiv (4.2mm)

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Fresh snowfall along Lundy Canyon Road

f2.2 @ 1/2000 sec, ISO 25; 2015-11-03 10:19:03
iPhone 6s Plus + iPhone 6s Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 @ 29mm equiv (4.2mm)

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Wet forest after early winter snow, Lundy Lake area

f2.2 @ 1/120 sec, ISO 125; 2015-11-02 09:40:20
iPhone 6s Plus + iPhone 6s Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 @ 29mm equiv (4.2mm)

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Boulder Field, Dana Glacier Canyon

f2.2 @ 1/1500 sec, ISO 25; 2016-06-14 19:20:47
iPhone 6s Plus + iPhone 6s Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 @ 29mm equiv (4.2mm)

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Freshly-tracked June snow at bend in road, White Mountains

f2.2 @ 1/8500 sec, ISO 25; 2016-06-12 10:43:36
iPhone 6s Plus + iPhone 6s Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 @ 29mm equiv (4.2mm)

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Mt Conness Watershed with view to Saddlebag Lake

f2.2 @ 1/1000 sec, ISO 50; 2016-06-29 19:14:11
iPhone 6s Plus + iPhone 6s Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 @ 29mm equiv (4.2mm)

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