iPhone 11 Pro review: What’s new and should you upgrade?

Hello iPhone 11!

It’s that time of the year again when Apple releases the new iPhone models. We warmly welcome the new iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max! With these new launches, Apple is making Smartphone Photography yet more credible, and making the iPhone a real alternative for traditional cameras. What’s so special and new about these new models and should you upgrade to them? Well, let’s have a look at this iPhone 11 Pro review.

The new models bring new exciting features and upgrades. All three models are powered by Apple’s brand-new A13 chip (which is claimed 6x faster in performance than the A12 processor), they come with iOS 13 installed and have improvements to the cameras, like a new night mode to enhance low-light photography and 4 hours of extra battery life. But the most important and major upgrade is the triple-lens camera on the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max phones. 

What’s new?

The new triple camera system boasts a trio of 12MP lenses that shoot standard wide-angle (26mm, f/1.8 OIS), telephoto at 52mm (f/2.0, OIS), and brand new ultra-wide-angle at a whopping 13mm Field of view and f/2.4 aperture.

Night Mode is a new cool camera feature on the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro. Night mode turns on automatically when the camera detects low-light situations. If you place the phone on a tripod, it will understand that and can take an even longer exposure of up to 30 seconds. This is a great new feature for taking creative night photos. You can use the Black Eye Filming Tripod or the new Filming Grip with the new phone. It’s a killer combo!

The video capabilities of the new iPhone 11 are fantastic. You’ll be able to film cinematic 4K videos in 60/30/24 fps with outstanding video stabilization and slo‑mo 1080p video at 120 fps or 240 fps. The 11 Pro also includes an extended dynamic range for 4K 60fps, which helps keep highlights from blowing out to white and shadows from turning black.

Image quality on the new iPhone 11 models is also way better than the previous iPhone models. Better dynamic range, sharper and the skin-tones and colors look much nicer. Also, the selfie camera has a 12-megapixel sensor and can record 4K video and slow-motion named slofie. The selfie camera can take a wider selfie than the previous ones, which is great.

So how do these new phones and triple-lens systems work with Black Eye Gear and Lenses? Let’s find out!

Iphone 11 and Black Eye Lenses, how do they work?

The most asked question is: Do the Black Eye Lenses work on the new iPhone models? Well, we’re happy to say YES! 

But there are a few things we found out in this iPhone 11 review, that you should note as with other triple-lens phones. 

You can use all of our lenses without a problem on the main wide-angle-lens (Just like with all the previous iPhone models) of the iPhone 11 and 11 Pro models. You can also use our Pro Portrait Tele G4 on the main wide-angle lens OR attach it on the telephoto lens of the iPhone and increase the amount of zoom, without using digital zoom. By doing this, you’ll get even more zoom without losing any quality. That’s pretty damn cool, right? (You’ll need an external app for this to lock the telephoto camera such as ProCamera.)

We don’t recommend using any of our wide-angle lenses on the new ultra-wide-angle lens on the iPhone 11, but you can use them on the standard wide-angle. Our Pro Fish Eye G4 is 12mm, even wider than the ultra-wide lens on the iPhone 11. 

Remember that the basic iPhone 11 model, does not have the telephoto lens, so using our Pro Portrait Tele G4 with it, basically makes your phone an iPhone 11 Pro! Without that third built-in lens. 😉 And will save you money as well.

Left - Black Eye Fish Eye G4 & Right - iPhone 11 Pro Ultra-wide

Test shot with Black Eye Pro Fisheye G4 on the left and iPhone 11 Pro Ultra-wide on the right.

Left - iPhone 11 Pro Telephoto mode with 4x zoom & Right - Black Eye Pro Portrait Tele G4 attached on iPhone 11 Pro with 4x zoom

Test shots from left – iPhone 11 Pro Telephoto mode with 4x zoom & Right – Black Eye Pro Portrait Tele G4 attached on iPhone 11 Pro with 4x zoom

You need an app when shooting with our Pro Portrait Tele G4 and iPhone 11 Pro Telephoto mode.

When using any of our lenses on the new iPhone 11 models, it’s a good idea to use a third-party app, like the Pro Camera app. This way you’ll get full control of the phone + lens combo and can avoid problems.

By using our lenses on your iPhone 11, you’ll get optically more focal lengths on your phone.

And what does this mean?

With the iPhone 11 Pro, you can digitally zoom even further from 52mm, but the digital zoom causes horrible image quality deterioration. We want to solve this issue by attaching a Tele-lens on the built-in telephoto lens of the iPhone. You’ll get a zoom up to 112mm, without the need to digitally zoom.

Why I would need a Lens for iPhone 11 and 11 PRO?

Besides achieving more zoom and wider photos, with our lenses, you can make your new iPhone 11 even better with a macro, tele, and fish-eye lens.

Macro G4

You can get close-up photos with the iPhone 11, but it’s nothing as close as with our Macro G4. Combine the lens with the fantastic image quality of the iPhone 11 models and you’ve got a great macro photography camera.

Pro Portrait Tele G4

The iPhone 11 does not have a telephoto lens, so this is a must! When using our Tele Lens on the telephoto lens of the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max, you’ll get even more zoom (from 52mm to 112mm) without the need for digitally zooming and losing any precious quality.

Pro Cinema Wide G4

The iPhone 11 and 11 Pro both have 13mm Ultra-Wide cameras in them, which is really ultra-wide. Pro Cinema Wide G4 gives you optically a more moderate 18mm ultra-wide field of view.

Wide G4

With the iPhone 11 and 11 Pro, you don’t need a Wide G4 lens as it is 16mm and close to the ultra-wide lens on the iPhone 11. If you own an older version iPhone, then the 16mm Wide G4 lens is a must-have.

Pro Fisheye G4

Get that 12mm fisheye (175°) and fit everything you want into one frame.
This lens is even wider than the Ultra-Wide lens of the iPhone 11. Perfect for capturing tight spaces and action.

So is there a need to upgrade to the new iPhone 11 or iPhone 11 Pro & Pro Max?

Well, it depends on your needs as a smartphone photographer. These phones have the best cameras on the smartphone market at the moment. If you are a serious smartphone photographer or videographer, then definitely go for it!

But remember that the Black Eye lenses bring these upgraded camera benefits to your older iPhones with a fraction of a cost, which is great if you do not fancy spending the extra money on a new device.

What about Photo Cases for the new iPhone 11 models?

Yes! We are happy to tell you that we are working on Photo Cases for the new iPhone 11 models and these will be out later this fall. Make sure you follow us on Instagram for the release date.

iPhone 7 – iPhone 11 Pro camera specification chart

In the chart below you’ll find which focal lengths each iPhone model covers and which they don’t.