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Did you want the mini but needed the better features of the pro?


  • Total voters
    60

jonshort81

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 10, 2018
4
2
Oregon
I love the size of the mini but want the camera features of the pro. Need zoom and ProRaw. I intended on buying the 12 mini on launch day until they revealed it and didn’t have the camera features :-( I’m not buying this year at all because I already have the smallest iPhone with 3 lenses (11 pro). If there are likeminded people out there, let’s get apple’s attention!
 

jonshort81

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 10, 2018
4
2
Oregon
Pro raw was also missing. I held the mini last night and it was awesome and I wanted it bad but it’s a downgrade from my 11 pro
 

The Game 161

macrumors Nehalem
Dec 15, 2010
30,882
20,121
UK
rumours are the non pro models for the 13 will have the same cameras as the 12 pros we saw this year. guess will see.
 

DexBell

Suspended
Oct 23, 2016
839
1,068
As a professional photographer, I wouldn’t mind it but ProRAW is useless for most people. I did a ton of testing with it along with shots from Halide and LR. Unless you are shooting in terrible lighting and need to lift a ton of shadows, the average user will never tell a difference between a shot taken in ProRAW and one not. Not to mention that you need to edit hat DNG file in an editor, the one edited in the photos app is a not the true DNG file. It’s a very overhyped feature with zero real world benefits to the vast majority of users. Just one reason I had no problem going from the Max to the Mini. Full manual controls over all camera settings would be much more useful and its ridiculous Apple still hasn’t included manual controls on their “PRO” iPhones.
 

Pilot Jones

macrumors 6502a
Oct 2, 2020
891
1,675
Would be my dream phone, but my mind automatically goes to how much of a hit the battery would take by packing another lens and additional camera hardware into such a tiny chassis.
 

DevinNj

macrumors 68000
Apr 27, 2016
1,747
1,757
New Jersey
I've said it all along, I only buy the "Pro" versions for the telephoto lens. If the Mini or even the regular version had that, I'd be all about it. I don't care about the whole aluminium v/s stainless, regular v/s premium debate, it sits in a case anyway. In my use case, the wide angle lens isn't anything I ever use. So telephoto, on the Mini, yep, I'm in!
 

DevinNj

macrumors 68000
Apr 27, 2016
1,747
1,757
New Jersey
Would be my dream phone, but my mind automatically goes to how much of a hit the battery would take by packing another lens and additional camera hardware into such a tiny chassis.
I would think that, and with this being a "test the waters" so to say kind of release for a mini, maybe it's on the Apple's radar depending on how well the Mini does.
 

TechLord

macrumors 6502a
Apr 28, 2020
692
911
Won’t happen. It would be very popular on macrumours, Reddit and with tech youtubere but irl it would be even more unpopular than the standard mini. What they should do is find a way to cut costs with the standard mini and give a 100+ dollar price cut, whilst still providing a modern experience.
 
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kard32

macrumors member
Dec 3, 2020
38
54
I've long been annoyed by Apple's insistence that larger = 'proer', but in this case, I wonder whether there's just not enough space in the mini form factor
 
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DexBell

Suspended
Oct 23, 2016
839
1,068
I've said it all along, I only buy the "Pro" versions for the telephoto lens. If the Mini or even the regular version had that, I'd be all about it. I don't care about the whole aluminium v/s stainless, regular v/s premium debate, it sits in a case anyway. In my use case, the wide angle lens isn't anything I ever use. So telephoto, on the Mini, yep, I'm in!
The telephoto lens is slow and awful in anything but perfect light and even then, it has focussing issues more times than not. Im a pro portrait photographer who couldn't want to use the 65mm telephoto on the 12 Pro Max. It was so bad, I ended up just using the wide camera anyways. In fact, Apple knows its so bad, most the time its just cropping in on the wide lens rather than actually using the telephoto lens.
 
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DevinNj

macrumors 68000
Apr 27, 2016
1,747
1,757
New Jersey
The telephoto lens is slow and awful in anything but perfect light and even then, it has focussing issues more times than not. Im a pro portrait photographer who couldn't want to use the 65mm telephoto on the 12 Pro Max. It was so bad, I ended up just using the wide camera anyways. In fact, Apple knows its so bad, most the time its just cropping in on the wide lens rather than actually using the telephoto lens.
When I take a pic with my 11 Pro Max I get a closer image than I can with my son's 11. I couldn't care less what wizardry they use to accomplish this. It would be nice to have that on a mini version. That's all.
 
Last edited:

Pilot Jones

macrumors 6502a
Oct 2, 2020
891
1,675
Put a Magsafe charger on the back and you are good to go. :p

300px-Modern_Problems_Require_Modern_Solutions.jpg


innovation never stops ?
 

Pilot Jones

macrumors 6502a
Oct 2, 2020
891
1,675
I would think that, and with this being a "test the waters" so to say kind of release for a mini, maybe it's on the Apple's radar depending on how well the Mini does.

I really hope you're right and Apple continues to develop compact form factors more. As a person with medium-sized hands it's utterly infuriated me how over the years, flagship/premium has automatically equated to BIG CHUNKER PHONE, when the truth is that until the Mini, no one has even tried to make a small phone that is flagship level.

That mindset is the equivalent of saying that an SUV, regardless of which one it is, will always be better than a 2-seater coupe, even if the latter is a ****ing McLaren ?

I really want a compact flagship that I can one-hand comfortably and the iPhone 11 Pro at 5.8" was the farthest limit I was willing to go. It's a shame they junked that size so damn soon. It really was the perfect marriage between ideal size & uncompromised performance.
 
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MICHAELSD

macrumors 603
Jul 13, 2008
5,465
3,479
NJ
I think replacing the ultrawide lens with a telephoto has more utility for more most people. That being said I don’t think there will be an iPhone 13 Pro Mini since the Mini isn’t selling well enough for them to introduce a Pro model in that size.
 
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na1577

macrumors 6502a
Jan 20, 2008
899
88
I love the size of the mini but want the camera features of the pro. Need zoom and ProRaw. I intended on buying the 12 mini on launch day until they revealed it and didn’t have the camera features :-( I’m not buying this year at all because I already have the smallest iPhone with 3 lenses (11 pro). If there are likeminded people out there, let’s get apple’s attention!
I'm with you, I bought the 11 Pro for the exact same reason.

I'm hoping the 12 Pro Max having a better camera than the 12 Pro is an anomaly and going forward they'll be identical like the XS/Max and 11 Pro/Max. The 12 Pro is the same width as the 11 Pro thanks to the new design, so I could probably live with that... but ideally, I'd want a Pro mini with all the camera features.
 

ericgtr12

macrumors 68000
Mar 19, 2015
1,774
12,175
I love the size of the mini but want the camera features of the pro. Need zoom and ProRaw. I intended on buying the 12 mini on launch day until they revealed it and didn’t have the camera features :-( I’m not buying this year at all because I already have the smallest iPhone with 3 lenses (11 pro). If there are likeminded people out there, let’s get apple’s attention!
While the point and shoot aspects of the iPhone are excellent, it will never move into the realm of a professional grade DSLR camera in terms of both architecture and (especially) lenses without serious modifications in the phone's design. If one is that interested in professional photography then they should get a real camera.
 

dathomso

macrumors newbie
Jul 14, 2010
19
13
Wine Country
Drop the wide and go back to a single lens but use the lens and sensor from 12 PM - improve the lens used the most by nearly everyone. 2x zoom on the improved sensor would be enough "tele" for portraits. Maybe doing that would not take much more space and allow the battery capacity to stay comparable to the 12 Mini
 

BigMcGuire

Cancelled
Jan 10, 2012
9,832
14,032
The zoom lens is a big reason why I stick with the Pro series. I use it enough that I'd miss it. The mini was very attractive despite no zoom tho.
 
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