iPhone 16 Pro Max + Fjorden Grip + Leica Lux App = Fujifilm X-PRO3?
I guess this is a very interesting question to many enthusiastic and even professional photographer. As you might know I am a seasoned photographer. In my (hobby) career I have seen 4 technology innovation jumps or even revolutions. First has been 1978-82 where “all” professionals used e.g. Nikon F1-F2 Cameras that has been 100% mechanical and only offered a rudimentary exposure measurement device. The photographers trusted that devices 100% knowing the images will be good even if the process of taking the right setting for the image is slow. Still, they looked carefully to the new technologies as automatic or semiautomatic exposure control and electrical film transport, provided first in the consumer cameras as a Nikon F301, allowed faster image taking and a stronger focus on the picture composure. Those are skills that are key in street, race, children and animal photography. It took a while before they trusted those new tools, but some started to use those consumer cameras as a second body. Not long time after, the Nikon F2 became their second body and the F301 was used for their job, till the first Nikon F3 with the same automatic exposure control had been launched.
The 2nd tech jump happened when the first autofocus cameras has been launched like the F501 or later F801 many professional photographers tried this technology first on consumer cameras till the Nikon F4 with autofocus got on to the market.
The 3rd and bigger technology step/revolution happened around 2000 when the first digital consumer cameras entered the marked. 2-megapixel resolution was nothing and every professional was laughing and said this will be never a technology for us. My first digital SLR I bought in 2008, a Nikon D1 had “only” 8 megapixels resolution. In fact, this technology developed exponential, and the resolution of the sensors doubled and tripled… very fast. The resolution of the 35mm film is around 16-megapixels. Even basic consumer cameras today are matching this resolution. Standard is 20+ megapixel full frame sensors are providing around 40-megapixels today. There is no doubt that the analog film has been replaced.
If we want to be correct, there has been a 3.5th technology step in between lately where the Mirrorless Cameras “killed” the traditional Penta Prism DSLRs.
Today the 4th camera revolution is the raise of the Smart Phone since 2008. For quite some time, the smart phone camera function has been in the range of a low-end very compact camera just with the advantage of videos calls, email, internet and calendar function.
Since 2022 with the release of the iPhone 14 Pro Max, in 2023 iPhone 15 Pro Max and last September 2024 with the iPhone 16 Pro Max the game has changed. 48 megapixels to provide in camera optimized 12 megapixels resolution are delivering an image quality that can compete with the image quality of many mirrorless DSLR cameras. Not only the strong improvements of the Sensors, optical lens system but also in phone image processing software and hardware are the reason for this quality. My Fujifilm X-PRO3 has been designed between 2018 to 2020 by Fujifilm and produced with the same hardware since then. Of course, Fujifilm has been providing in the first 3 years a lot of Firmware updates but it’s compared to an yearly updated iPhone an “outdated” technology.
The big thing, that is missing to me on all Smart Phones is the haptic and comfort of a decent grip during taking the pictures. I often have mentioned in former blog entries, that for me the haptic is a very important detail to improve my creativity. If I must cramp my fingers around the thin frame of the smart phone, being careful not to drop the very expensive phone, during setting up the photo parameters with swiping on the screen, is killing my motivation to go into the creative process of taking good pictures.
The Fjorden Grip is of course no DSLR Grip as the one of the Nikon D4 but gets close to the Grip of my Fujifilm X-PRO3 and got a camera like soft texture. The two step release button and aperture or speed selection dial are making me feel “home”. As I love prime lenses the zoom leveler on the Grip is not needed, at least for me. I also still need to find a function to be used for the additional function button.
The seamless integration with the Leica Lux app, with many Leica prime lens emulations, is even improving more this comfort of taking photos.
As you can see, I have revisited the Old Timer Exhibition Remise in Düsseldorf. For me not only the image quality and bokeh has been on proof but also my emotions and feelings during taking the pictures. The images are outstanding. Wonderful colors, contrast, details but also sharpness. The fake bokeh of the emulated selective field of depth is wonderful. This has been to me a shooting with passion and so much fun. What is your judgement of the quality of the pictures?
All in all, and honestly I would have never thought I would ever tell this, the result is:
iPhone 16 Pro Max + Fjorden Grip + Leica Lux app = 98% of my Fujifilm X-PRO3
I am so excited to verify this finding in my coming photo excurses in the next weeks.
Link to the Leica Lux App, link to the Fjorden Grip