Watch: Apple iPhone X Portrait Mode vs. Professional Studio Lighting

One of the iPhone X’s leading features is its dual-camera setup at the back. The vertical camera setup with an f/2.4 aperture has been pegged by Apple for taking professional style photographs.

It also features dual optical image stabilization and 4K recording at 60 frames per second and 1080p slow-mo recording at 240 frames per second.

Photographer Daniel DeArco tested the lighting feature of the iPhone X in both natural conditions and studio lighting conditions. He made a video of the comparison and uploaded it on YouTube on Thursday.

DeArco found that while the camera did perform well, the phone's Portrait Lighting does not compare with the likes of studio lighting. While the iPhone X’s camera represents an advancement for smartphone photography, it is still not as good as studio lighting.

The company has introduced the Portrait Lighting mode on both the iPhone X and iPhone 8 Plus, and which simulates lighting conditions normally found in a studio environment. The lighting effects are combined with other camera effects such as the background softening depth effect that was introduced with the iPhone 7 Plus.

The Portrait Lighting mode offers different settings including Studio Light, Natural Light, Contour Light, Stage Light and Stage Light Mono.

Apple says about the mode on its website, “Portrait Lighting on iPhone 8 Plus lets you create dramatic studio lighting effects in Portrait mode.”

iPhone X has received mixed reviews in terms of its camera — the device has received a review score of 97 on camera review site DxOMark. DxOMark compared it with one of the most advanced cameras currently available — a professional mirrorless camera. While a mirrorless camera comes for $2,000, the iPhone X retails at around half the price, around $1,000.

In its comparison, the website found that while the iPhone X's camera did not perform up to the mark of the mirrorless camera, it nevertheless performed admirably.