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Over the last couple of years, I’ve seen phone makers dial down the optical zoom range of their telephoto cameras. The iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max are no exception to this radical change, as they ditch the 5x optical zoom of their predecessors for a 4x lens.
The average person will automatically think it’s a downgrade, but there’s more to it than just hardware zoom. That’s because the iPhone 17 Pro pairs that 4x optical zoom with a much larger 48MP sensor — up from the 12MP sensor on the previous iPhone 16 Pro. On top of that, the latest iPhones benefit heavily from new advancements in computational photography.
That’s why I wanted to see how the iPhone 17 Pro’s zoom performs against a modern mirrorless camera to see exactly which one delivers the best results. For this test, I’m specifically going to look at how the iPhone 17 Pro compares at 16x because it better illustrates the enhancements that Apple’s making. Here’s what I found.
What you need to know
First, let's talk about the $1,099 cost of the iPhone 17 Pro. That’s up $100 over its predecessor, but it’s one of the best camera phones around with good reason. Its triple-camera setup consists of a 48MP main sensor, a 48MP ultrawide, and a 48MP telephoto with 4x optical zoom.
By contrast, the Olympus E-M10 Mark IV I’m using packs a 20.3MP Four-Thirds sensor — but the ridiculous telephoto lens I’m pairing it with is what makes the setup just as versatile. I'm using the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-200mm lens, which covers practically every focal length. While the E-M10 Mark IV is largely considered a budget model with a starting price of $799, the lens tacks on a whopping $1,099 to the bottom line. When you add them up, the Olympus kit comes out to $1,898 before any discounts — giving the iPhone 17 Pro a clear initial price advantage.
To ensure a fair comparison, I’ve adjusted the framing of the Olympus to align with the iPhone 17 Pro at 16x zoom. Because of the Olympus's 2x crop factor, this means setting the lens to a 200mm focal length to perfectly match the iPhone's field of view.
Finally, it’s important to mention their resolutions at this distance. The Olympus captures a full-sensor 20.3MP snapshot (5,184 x 3,888 pixels). Meanwhile, the iPhone 17 Pro relies on a 12MP crop on the center of the sensor (4,032 x 3,024 pixels) that uses computational photography to upscale the digital zoom back to size.
Test 1: Building under construction
If you’re looking at the comparison shots above on your phone, you’d be hard-pressed to see any major differences between them, apart from the warmer color temperature of the iPhone 17 Pro. There’s also slightly more contrast in the iPhone sample, but it's nothing I’d wager to be a deal-breaker — both are absolutely good enough to share on social media.
The true advantage for me emerges when I look closer at the details, like the individual bricks on the building. On the surface, it’s pretty clear that both cameras do a great job defining each brick. However, it becomes obvious that the Olympus draws out sharper details and more natural definition once you really inspect the textures.
Winner: Olympus E-M10 Mark IV
Test 2: Times Square
This matchup is fascinating because it showcases the power of the iPhone 17 Pro’s computational photography working heavily in the background. Looking at the two images at face value, it’s an overwhelming win for the iPhone — mainly due to how perfectly it balances the scene's complex exposure. From the rich blue sky to the darker, shadowed sections of the skyscrapers, it dials everything in just right.
The Olympus really struggles here, overexposing the entire frame in an attempt to compensate for the deep building shadows, which leaves the sky completely blown out. However, I’m still impressed by how well the iPhone 17 Pro matches the dedicated camera in pure definition — which is especially evident when you look closely at the wooden water tower in the lower-middle section of the frame.
Winner: iPhone 17 Pro
Test 3: Flower closeup
At the corner of Broadway and 42nd Street in New York City, there are several large flower beds, so I pointed both devices toward them from across the street. This time, there are distinct qualities I appreciate from both images.
For starters, the iPhone 17 Pro’s ability to deliver accurate colors and balance the exposure (IMG_1209.jpg) is downright impressive, especially with how well it preserves the finer details and red speckles on the yellow flower’s petals.
The Olympus (P5270184.jpg) again struggles to rein in the exposure, resulting in the slight highlight clipping you see on the main petals. However, its large sensor and glass lens pull through with a beautifully creamy, natural background blur that gives the entire shot a much more professional, artistic touch. Still, the Olympus blows out too many details.
Winner: iPhone 17 Pro
Test 4: Lefcourt Colonial Building
There are a lot of ornate details on the Lefcourt Colonial Building thanks to its Neo-Gothic architecture. While these 16x zoom samples look nearly identical at first glance, the matchup highlights the same processing differences I’ve noticed previously. This time, however, the Olympus E-M10 Mark IV nails the exposure on the stone facade a bit better.
That said, the iPhone 17 Pro’s shot holds up nicely because its deeper contrast delivers a much more dramatic look against the dark windows of the building behind it. You can’t really see the difference unless you crop in close, but the Olympus's true optical zoom proves to be far more effective at resolving the finest textures and sharpest lines in the architecture.
Winner: Olympus E-M10 Mark IV
Test 5: 40th Street Philosophers
Near my office, I often take photos of the 40th Street Philosophers nestled on the side of a building — with the iPhone’s shot getting my attention right away. That’s due to its warmer color temperature and the sharpening effect it applies. Side-by-side, it’s hard to tell which one has the stronger details.
However, zooming in again reveals the superior advantage of having a longer optical zoom because those fine details around the statue look more defined. That’s something most people will overlook if they just look at the general shot, but there’s a definitive winner the more I zoom into them.
Winner: Olympus E-M10 Mark IV
Test 6: Light Blue Pansy
The great thing about shooting with a long telephoto zoom is that it can sometimes mimic the tight framing of a macro shot. The images of the light blue pansy above are a perfect example of this, as both cameras do a nice job of isolating the flower from the background pavement. I’ll admit that the iPhone 17 Pro’s sample is better exposed, but to my eyes, it captures just as much raw detail and definition as its competitor.
I say this because zooming heavily into the pansy itself doesn't reveal any meaningful sharpness advantages for the Olympus. Plus, the dedicated camera's underexposure causes the surrounding green leaves to lose a noticeable amount of definition in the shadows.
Winner: iPhone 17 Pro
Test 7: A much closer shot of a building
So far, my previous skyscraper shots were taken from long distances, making them heavily affected by atmospheric distortion. For this next test, I captured the building from ground level looking straight up — eliminating all that extra air. This time, the results are pretty surprising because the iPhone 17 Pro does everything right, matching the Olymous' level of detail in the brickwork.
Meanwhile, the Olympus sample looks flat and again suffers from the same overexposure issues noticed in my earlier tests. The camera blows out the bright highlights, causing a significant amount of brick detail on the sunlit facade to be completely lost.
Winner: iPhone 17 Pro
Test 8: Perfume on a shelf
Moving indoors for this next test, I can easily make out the label on the perfume bottle in both shots, but a few key details give the Olympus the upper hand here. Not only is the Olympus significantly less noisy than the iPhone's, but the tiny fine print at the bottom of the bottle is much more legible. The dedicated camera also pulls off a slightly shallower depth of field, blurring the background bottles more effectively.
The iPhone 17 Pro’s snapshot is still adequate for casual use, but at this 16x digital stretch, it lacks the raw resolving power of the Olympus to sharpen that microscopic text without introducing heavy processing artifacts.
Winner: Olympus E-M10 Mark IV
Test 9: Co-worker portrait
While at the Tom’s Guide office, I captured a few portraits of my colleague Arif Bacchus — and they perfectly reinforce what I already know about these two setups. Immediately, I can see how the sharpness of the Olympus captures the finer, more natural details across his face, while its optical glass smoothly blurs out the background elements.
The iPhone 17 Pro’s shot is still decent, but it's overly warm and the finer details and overall definition are noticeably softer by comparison. Most people probably wouldn't spot the degradation if they only view the photo on a small phone screen, but the difference becomes glaringly obvious when you look at the samples on a larger monitor.
Winner: Olympus E-M10 Mark IV
Test 10: Moon shot
And finally, there’s the ultimate zoom test: a shot of the moon! This is a classic challenge for smartphone telephotos due to the reputation for how some phones digitally alter or enhance the scene. Because the moon is a glaringly bright speck against a pitch-black night sky, I had to rely heavily on manual touch-focusing and exposure sliders to pull out any usable detail. I ultimately had to drop the phone's exposure value all the way down, but the iPhone 17 Pro still managed a passable shot.
Meanwhile, I had to take similar steps with the Olympus because leaving it on automatic mode completely overexposed the moon into a featureless white blob. After switching over to full manual controls, I was able to dial back the exposure to cleanly capture the distinct craters and darker plains across the lunar surface. The mirrorless camera's sample is vastly more detailed, better exposed, and far more true-to-life.
Winner: Olympus E-M10 Mark IV
Bottom line
Am I surprised that the Olympus E-M10 Mark IV won more rounds than the iPhone 17 Pro? Not really. But then again, that dedicated camera setup demands a hefty $1,900 investment — which isn’t cheap by any means. The iPhone is still hundreds of dollars cheaper and proves how Apple’s years of refinement in computational photography allow it to consistently deliver better-exposed scenes.
When I look at all these comparison photos at face value, it’s incredibly impressive how far smartphone zoom technology has come. The phone's internal hardware is doing a fraction of the work, while software and image processing algorithims handle the heavy lifting.
While it ultimately lacks the sheer resolving power of the Olympus and its dedicated optical glass, the iPhone 17 Pro’s telephoto zoom performance is still absolutely worthy of sharing on social platforms.
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