Professional photographer Austin Mann dropped another edition of his annual iPhone Pro camera reviews Wednesday. He took his new iPhone 17 Pro up into northern Italy’s Dolomite Mountains during a biking, cycling and paragliding trip. Stunning photography resulted.
“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,” he wrote. “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?”
Find his in-depth video and a link to his full review with many more photos below.
Austin Mann iPhone 17 Pro camera review
Mann and his team cycled more than 150 miles, climbing nearly 20,000 feet through the Dolomites section of the Italian Alps in the northeastern corner of the country. He said they gained a lot of insight about the new iPhone 17 Pro camera system.
“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,” Mann wrote. “These focal lengths feel right and open up opportunities to capture fresh perspectives.”
He noted iPhone 16 Pro’s 5x (120mm) telephoto “often felt a little too tight.” But the new 4x (100mm) not only feels more natural, but 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,” he said. “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.”
Photo: Austin Mann
Read Mann’s review with many more photographs. Watch his in-depth video below.
Watch the iPhone 17 Pro camera review video
David Snow, an expert on Apple hardware and software, writes on a variety of technological and cultural topics for Cult of Mac. They include Apple news, technology buying guides, and features about computer setups and Apple TV shows and movies.
With 30 years of experience covering technology and other subjects, he has written and edited for numerous print and online publications, including CMP Media, TechTV.com, CNET, Wired News, Red Herring magazine, Law.com, The National Law Journal and Law Technology News magazine. Among other roles, he served as executive editor of the Law.com network of websites and editorial director, technology, for ALM Media.
Snow graduated with a B.A. from Syracuse University with majors in magazine journalism and psychology. While there, he worked as a reporter for The Daily Orange newspaper and associate editor of Equal Time magazine.
Founder of the blog At the Waterline, he can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) via @atthewaterline and on Mastodon via @dsnow.
