The past three months has seen me leaving the house without my Fujifilm camera setup that weighs like a brick, yet still feeling confident that I’ll be able to take decent pictures with that tiny brick in my pocket, also known as iPhone 12 Pro Max.

Who wouldn’t? iPhone 12 Pro Max handles the low light so well.

Granted, I could possibly have a much sharper photo with my Fujifilm. But am I willing to carry a brick on my back for hours on end on a random day when I’m not expecting to shoot anything? No, especially not in Singapore’s climate, which is characterised by hot and humid weather. And unpredictable heavy rainfall.

I wanted to test the limits of this not-exactly-tiny-but-tiny-compared-to-my-Fujifilm iPhone that weighs 226g, so I randomly did some products shots at home. Not sure if I’m killing my own profession and industry by saying this, but I actually liked the photos better than the ones I tried taking with my Fujifilm.

No professional lighting or any other professional equipment used. These photos were shot and edited entirely on iPhone 12 Pro Max.

For small business owners with tight budgets (and a bit of artistic talent), iPhone 12 Pro Max is a godsend.

The portrait mode works surprisingly (or unsurprisingly) well in low light too. And given how I prefer images that exude a sense of nostalgia, the lack of tack-sharpness works well with my style of editing with grains and soft muted colours.

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I also did a poll on IGS and most people (I’m guessing) would have thought this photo was shot on a professional camera, if not for the fact that I’d already been raving about the iPhone 12 Pro Max.

iPhone 12 Pro Max isn’t without its flaw, however. I’m still irked by how weird the HDR photos taken with my iPhone 8 looks on it, and how the smart HDR causes weird casts. But for now, I’m happy. It’s a major upgrade since I last raved about computational photography.