Apple’s latest smartphones went on sale Friday.

You might have seen comparisons between the cameras on iPhone 6s and 6s Plus to those installed in their immediate predecessors.

However, there are a lot of folks who upgrade every other year … and if you’re one of those people, this camera comparison of iPhone 6s versus iPhone 5s is for you, based on my initial impressions, for what they’re worth.

The smaller pixels in the new iSight sensor don’t appear to have degraded picture quality.

Upon closer inspection, it appears the default sharpening is more aggressive in iPhone 6s. It’s especially noticeable in photos with lots of grass or foliage, or photos that contain type (smaller type in particular).

It appears tone mapping is improved, as advertised.

I can’t seem to determine how the camera’s auto white balance works, however. Some scenes show the 6s coming up warmer while the 5s comes up with a warmer photo in other scenes.

EXIF data show the iPhone 6s is capable is capturing images at ISO 25 whereas the 5s topped out at ISO 32.

Colour reproduction appears improved for indoor and night scenes. At night, the new noise reduction and increased sharpening appear to work in concert to provide a cleaner image.

To see some of my observations for yourself, please check out the sample images below. The iPhone 6s photos are shown first (left or top, depending on how you’re viewing the page). Click on the photos to see the larger, original image.

Daytime shots are from Heritage Park in Calgary; nighttime shots are from the Kensington neighbourhood and along the Bow River. All are full frame and unedited, straight out of the camera.

And if you’ve also come into possession of an iPhone 6s recently, I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.

Happy iPhoneography to you!