Last week, Apple launched a new budget iPhone powered by the A13 Bionic chip for just $399. While the design seems a bit old it carries the latest generation chipset, which not only boosts performance but also helps in image processing. Here’s all you need to know about the iPhone SE camera.

The iPhone SE sports a single rear camera. It is a 12MP sensor with an f/1.8 aperture. Both iPhone XR and iPhone 11 feature the same megapixel count. Even the aperture is the same. However, it is not identical to the iPhone SE. Hence, if you read somewhere that iPhone SE has the carbon-copy 12MP sensor as that of the iPhone 11 or 11 Pro, it’s wrong. It does not. It is not the one from iPhone XR’s either.

Essentially, the iPhone SE’s camera sensor is said to be the same as iPhone 8. So, does the new iPhone SE miss out on a good camera system? No.

At the end of the day, iPhone SE is clicking iPhone 11-like photos in broad daylight scenarios. How is that possible with an iPhone 8 sensor? Let me explain.

When iPhone 8 was launched, we were already in the world of computational photography, where software and processor could improve on what a sensor saw. It’s 2020 and we have come a long way. Moreover, the 12MP sensor is backed by a robust A13 Bionic chip, paired with a neural processing engine. Hence, the image output is similar to Apple’s $1000 iPhone.

However, the iPhone SE misses out on Night Mode. Neither does it support Deep Fusion. Portrait mode is restricted to people as well, which is the same as iPhone XR. It supports auto image stabilization as well as OIS.

As for videos, the Apple iPhone SE camera is the cheapest system that can capture 4K videos. The phone can capture 4K videos at 24 fps, 30 fps or 60 fps, 1080p HD videos at 30 fps or 60 fps, and 720p HD videos at 30 fps. It comes with stereo recording, cinematic video stabilization (4K, 1080p, and 720p) playback zoom, and can take 8MP still photos while recording 4K video.

On the front lies a 7MP selfie shooter that sports an f/2.2 aperture. It comes with features like Portrait Lighting with five effects (Natural, Studio, Contour, Stage, Stage Mono, High-Key Mono), 1080p HD video recording at 30 fps, and Cinematic video stabilization (1080p and 720p).