iPhone 14 Pro ProRAW 12 MP vs 48 MP Comparison

Couldn't find any in-depth review on whether to use the 12 MP or 48 MP option for ProRAW on iPhone 14 Pro's main camera (1x) for the optimal image, so I have decided to test it out for myself.

In iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max, there is an option of choosing between 12 MP or 48 MP for ProRAW Resolution under Camera Settings

100% view: ProRAW 12 MP (left) vs ProRAW 48 MP (right)

In practical terms, we can either capture photos at 12 MP (left) and pixel binning is applied for better low light quality. Or we can capture photos at 48 MP (right), then resize to 12 MP and thus supposedly achieving a sharper image.

100% view: ProRAW 12 MP (left) vs ProRAW 48 MP resized to 12 MP (right)
48 MP resolution looks sharper and more natural

100% view: ProRAW 12 MP (left) vs ProRAW 48 MP resized to 12 MP (right)
Better details in highlights for 48 MP resolution and better details in shadows for 12 MP resolution

100% view: ProRAW 12 MP (left) vs ProRAW 48 MP resized to 12 MP (right)
More noise reduction in the 48 MP resolution

In my unscientific test, it seems that the resized image (from 48 MP) will deliver sharper and finer details in the highlights whereas capturing it at 12 MP will preserve more details in the shadows. This is especially evident in the tissue box image comparison where the 12 MP image is brighter and better defined.

100% view: ProRAW 12 MP (left) vs ProRAW 48 MP resized to 12 MP (right)
Shadows are better defined in the 12 MP resolution

Capturing at 12 MP may potentially result in moire possibly due to the quad bayer pixel binning. You can see from the chair image comparison that the fabric at 100% view in the 12 MP image suffers from moire while the 48 MP resized image does not suffer from any moire issue.On the other hand, Apple applies its computational photography technology -- Photonic Engine to optimise the images, so perhaps we will never really know the actual difference between the two options. That said, I notice that Apple applies more noise reduction to the 48 MP image to compensate for the higher noise.

100% view: ProRAW 12 MP (left) vs ProRAW 48 MP resized to 12 MP (right)
Moire problem in the 12 MP resolution

In conclusion, 48 MP is likely to give photographers an edge in quality if there is plenty of light and 12 MP will work better for low light situations.
Personally, I have decided to go with 12 MP as 48 MP has a processing lag of around 2 seconds for each photo and 12 MP will also have smaller file sizes at around 25 MB compared to 75 MB for 48 MP.
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