iPhone 13 Pro Macro

[justinkprim]

Apple just released a new phone with a new macro photo function so I made a video to explore how this works in the contexts of gem photography

[Barbra Voltaire, FGG]

That was extremely useful! Thanks Justin.
Are you holding the phone with your hand or do you mount on something?

[glhays]

Very well done. I am not a iPhone user. I wonder how it compares to a the Samsung s20gultra? I found somewhat the same on the s20g that in video mode has a better focal clarity.

[justinkprim]

Everything in this video is hand held. I do have an adapter to allow me to put my phone in a tripod but if I do that I can’t get it inside my diffusion box so handheld is essential for that space. If I’m doing a gem video outside or something usually I would put it in the tripod so it doesn’t shake.

[Precision Gem]

The problem I find with using camera phones especially in macro mode for photographing gems is that the camera is too close to the stone. With the phone right on top of the gem, you can light the gem properly. Also I have found that being farther away from the gem really helps. For most of my photos, I'm using a Nikon 200 mm macro lens that lets me be about a foot or more from the stone. Lots of room to work and get some light on the stone.