iPhone 15 Pro Max 15 Pro Max 5x lense question

[krspkbl]

I was messing about with my 15 Pro Max camera and was blocking the lenses with my finger. Don't ask...I was bored. But I noticed that with my finger over the ultra wide lense (the one in between the flashlight and lidar) that at no point did my finger block out the view on the screen. I have the option for .5x, 1x, 2x, 5x on the camera and they all work perfectly fine.

Can someone explain this? Does that camera only get used when actually taking a photo?

 

[Robot21]

The one between the flash and lidar is actually the new 5x lens.

 

[krspkbl]

The one between the flash and lidar is actually the new 5x lens.

Yeah but when I select x5 i can see stuff with my finger covering it?

Am I being dumb here or is my phone broken?

edit: at x5 the bottom camera is the one being blocked.

 

[krspkbl]

omg lmao nevermind.... i'm an idiot. my finger is blocking it now!

 

[James Yancy]

Depending on the lighting (and possibly various other factors), the 15 Pro Max will switch to the Main (f1.78) camera without giving you any indication that it has done so, even at 25x telephoto. Perfect for never-fail point-and-shoot, not so good for "I know what I want, so do it my way". Receiving (what it regards as) insufficient light through the 5X Telephoto Camera lens is one of those factors.