iPhone 15 Pro Max The 5x zoom pictures are disappointing

[adrianlondon]

Can someone please post a 5x of sunset

 

[wamsankas]

Perhaps you guys can help me understand because the people on Reddit were dicks… I wasn’t aware the sensor the 5x uses was so much less resolution than the 1x. (Raw 48mp vs 12mp) so in theory 5x on that 12mp sensor is really not a 5x photo compared to the photo you take using the 1x. As far as video though it is 5x though right? The 4k being shot on the 1x sensor is 4k and on the 5x it’s 4k so you’re actually getting a 5x closer view at the same resolution. Or is that wrong? The photos are noticeably not “5x” but video seems to be

 

[Rainshadow]

Unpopular opinion: The 5x zoom on the iPhone Pro Max is only beneficial in ideal lighting conditions and isn't a compelling reason to upgrade from a previous iPhone as the quality is just meh (if not in great light condition).

I sold my 14 PM, and now I regret it. This generation is disappointingly underwhelming. Resale values might take a hit next year since many will opt for used 14 Pros or skip this generation and go straight for the 16 Series.

I don’t think this is an unpopular opinion. I think this is exactly what every review said from day one. It blows my mind you would have sold a 14PM to upgrade and that decision is on you.

Will this affect resale value!?!?! lol no. This phone has new materials, new chip architecture, new cameras. Bigger changes than most years.

Try to remember this feeling next year when some marketing makes you think you should get the 16.

 

[MarkNewton2023]

I love 5x zoom camera as I found it is very helpful in some situations. This feature might not be satisfying enough for some users. Keep calm because nothing is perfect for everyone and everything 😊
My suggestion for future is to keep what you have and compare it to newest phone at store or buying it to see which one you like better then make a decision to avoid any regrets.
In the meantime, be happy what you got because you are one of the luckiest ones who has iPhone 15 pro max due to currently its supply at stores are almost none and anyone who wants it must wait.
No products or nothing in this world is perfect. If we keep looking for imperfection, we are never happy. Life is too short for unhappiness😊

 

[aspenextreme03]

I find it totally fine in good light. Low light it is not good but that makes sense as I have a full frame dslr and don’t expect a phone to do that.

below is a 1x and 5x pic to compare. About 18 floors up and I think the 5x does pretty well and enjoying it for what it is and way more useful for me vs the 3x I had with 14pm I gave to my Dad.

And the 5x is not cropped at all.

https://imgur.com/a/U9t7oRU

 

[krspkbl]

Can't say I've had any problems with it. I love the camera on my Pro Max. I takes significantly better photos than my 12 Pro Max. Like any small sensor you're going to need decent lighting and if you're trying to take x5 zoom pics of something up real close then it's not going to look its best.

 

[maerz001]

Perhaps you guys can help me understand because the people on Reddit were dicks… I wasn’t aware the sensor the 5x uses was so much less resolution than the 1x. (Raw 48mp vs 12mp) so in theory 5x on that 12mp sensor is really not a 5x photo compared to the photo you take using the 1x. As far as video though it is 5x though right? The 4k being shot on the 1x sensor is 4k and on the 5x it’s 4k so you’re actually getting a 5x closer view at the same resolution. Or is that wrong? The photos are noticeably not “5x” but video seems to be

I don’t fully understand your questions.
The 5x is optical zoom (tele).
The 48MP sensor only does a digital crop from 1x-4.9x.
For example delivers 12MP at 2x and 3MP at 4x

 

[matrix07]

so in theory 5x on that 12mp sensor is really not a 5x photo

5X refers to the distance light travels from lens to the sensor which is the focus point, not a resolution of photo.

 

[Rychiar]

Maybe it's just because most of my paid stuff was event photography, but I come at it from the opposite angle.

Any camera can give you great photos in controlled or otherwise good light. Apple's marketing photos show that clearly.

Where a camera truly shines is what it can do in adverse situations, like when your child is blowing out the candles on a birthday cake in a darkened room, in a dimly lit theatre at a recital, at an evening celebration, such as a wedding or anniversary or birthday. In those situations you need every f stop and every point of usable ISO to make a photo that you (or your client) will love.

That's where I think Apple has gone wrong by focusing on zoom, which is basically just a feature spec point, and ignoring the slow aperture and high noise of the telephoto sensor.

But it does seem like zoom is the new megapixels and will be the focus for a while yet.

Man I would love a larger sensor in an iPhone, even if it came at the expense of zoom.

Apple has to compete with Samsung which has a 10x zoom but apple decided not to go that far and instead give us a 5 with a more open aperture than Samsung so its better in low light

 

[hieubui]

Here’s a photo of my cat at 120mm f/2.8. Be sure to check the exif because it may still be using the main sensor when there isn’t enough light.

 

[wamsankas]

5X refers to the distance light travels from lens to the sensor which is the focus point, not a resolution of photo.

Right but when Apple markets it as a 5x optical zoom the consumer assumes that they are receiving 5x zoomed in with same quality as the photo taken with the normal 1x lens but that’s just not the case

 

[wamsankas]

I don’t fully understand your questions.
The 5x is optical zoom (tele).
The 48MP sensor only does a digital crop from 1x-4.9x.
For example delivers 12MP at 2x and 3MP at 4x

Yes but the 5x optical zoom is only on a 12mp sensor. The consumer assumes that a phone marketed as 5x is getting 5x optical on the same sensor as the 1x lens. But with video because 4k is not constricted by MP count you are actually getting that 5x

 

[matrix07]

Right but when Apple markets it as a 5x optical zoom the consumer assumes that they are receiving 5x zoomed in with same quality as the photo taken with the normal 1x lens but that’s just not the case

Don’t think Apple can fit 120 mm. to the same 48MP sensor because the distance will be greater. It’s just not possible this year. (At the very least not with f2.8)
The main lens is very short. That’s why they can shoot 48MP.

 

[aParkerMusic]

And also your phone is so hot you literally can’t hold it, right?

Your phone is a marvel of modern technology and you take it for granted. That’s it. I bet your photos are very nice, give yourself more credit! Stop torturing yourself.

 

[danpass]

Unpopular opinion: The 5x zoom on the iPhone Pro Max is only beneficial in ideal lighting conditions and isn't a compelling reason to upgrade from a previous iPhone as the quality is just meh (if not in great light condition).

I sold my 14 PM, and now I regret it. This generation is disappointingly underwhelming. Resale values might take a hit next year since many will opt for used 14 Pros or skip this generation and go straight for the 16 Series.

In-store I tried my 3x 14PM vs the 5x on the 15PM and when pixel peeping I preferred the zoomed-in view of the 3x photo.

Definitely a “hmmmmm” moment.

-

 

[bigtuna1]

Unpopular opinion: The 5x zoom on the iPhone Pro Max is only beneficial in ideal lighting conditions and isn't a compelling reason to upgrade from a previous iPhone as the quality is just meh (if not in great light condition).

I sold my 14 PM, and now I regret it. This generation is disappointingly underwhelming. Resale values might take a hit next year since many will opt for used 14 Pros or skip this generation and go straight for the 16 Series.

Not sure about 14 but much better than 13 pro max. Two examples: Video of Friday Night Lights flag football under poor field lighting was at least 50% better when viewed on 84” 4K TV. The boca was also much better than the shorter lens. DSLR quality no but for most applications petty dam good!

 

[erikkfi]

This was how I felt about the macro mode on the 13 Pro. Big promises (huge!) but then the reality disappoints.

 

[matrix07]

Not sure about 14

The 3X on 14 Pro is also f2.8 so it’s objectively the same. It’s just more X on 15 Pro.

 

[OneBar]

An f/2.8 aperture isn't anything to sneeze at for a 120mm equivalent smartphone camera. However, you'd be asking for disaster using it on anything moving. Take about 10 steps toward your subject and use the main f/1.78 with the broader field of view and crop if you want it closer. Use a tripod if possible. I wouldn't use anything longer than a 50mm f/2.0 on my dslr for low light situations and even my 35mm f/2.4 I'm very careful about how I shoot in less than optimal lighting.

 

[w_aldo]

Halide app forces the 5x telephoto. The stock camera app does not do a good job of selecting the correct camera. I took two identical 5x zoom photos in medium light, one with the stock camera app and one with Halide. The stock camera app switched to the 1x and cropped to 5x, while Halide used the 5x telephoto. Of course, text was readable on the photo from Halide, and the text was completely illegible from the stock camera app. It cropped a 1x shot to 5x for no reason at all.

 

[novagamer]

I strongly disagree with your post. After a week with the 15 Pro Max there is no way I would go back to the 14 Pro.

Like I said about the 15 Pro Max versus 14 Pro in another thread:
1) Mostly the 15 PM feels smoother operationally. Real world the 15 PM feels faster, but I have not tested whether or not it is objectively faster.
2) I went from 14P to 15 PM and again, the 15 PM feels good in hand. It does not feel bigger/clunkier even though it provides hella more display real estate.
3) Sound is clearly superior.
4) The action button is a huge improvement in UI for me. I have it set for the camera, and it rocks.
5) Photo capture is quicker and easier. I do not know how much of this is the larger display coming from a 14 or how much is due to iOS 17, but the 15 PM presents clear improvement to me. I constantly capture images for work purposes and for personal so any improvement is a big deal.
6) The display seems improved. That might just be because of my perception coming from the 14P to the larger display of the 15 PM, but I don't think it is.
7) The image captures from the 15 PM are real-world better in addition to being easier to capture.
8) Battery life of the 15 PM is clearly superior to that of the 14 P in my daily workflow. However battery of the 14 P was fine so the 15 PM is simply more fine.
9) The 15 PM presents as less hot than the 14 P does in my daily workflow. This was a surprise because I expected the 15 to behave similarly to the 14.
10) I like the look and feel of the Natural Titanium alloy exoskeleton and expect it to perform well over time like the Apple Watch Ultra Ti alloy has.
11) Facial ID seems faster and more consistent by a small bit.

There are no doubt other improvements that I simply have not noticed yet. The only negative that I have found is that the synch between the AW Ultra and the 15 PM is misbehaving a bit. Sometimes the AWU does not present an alarm going off that was set on the phone. This never happened on the 14 P, and may be an iOS 17 artifact (the 14 P never had iOS 17 installed).

I agree completely with every single point in this post and also had the same upgrade path.

The sound is much better and I'm surprised it wasn't mentioned. It's much louder than the 14P was and more dynamic. I think the current 15 Pro is as good as much larger speakers in Apple's older laptops were, it surprised me. If you hold it up near your face in landscape the spatial audio even kind of works now. They are clearly making massive improvements here.

The 14 Pro was probably the worst iPhone I've ever owned, I may have had a lemon but mine got insanely hot constantly, far warmer than the 15PM. It destroyed the battery and I ended a year of ownership at or below 90% remaining capacity. The screen would dim often due to heat (I turn off auto dimming) and I don't use intensive apps. It was also a total brick, two-hand using the 15PM is much more comfortable than 1 hand using the 14P. It's still narrow enough that I can comfortably hold it one handed and reach something in a pinch if I need to, but the balance overall is just a lot better.

The 5x lens is noticeably better than the 3x for me in quality. Maybe this is due to software improvements or the processing pipeline, but I was never satisfied with the 3x on any iPhone (or the ultrawide until the 14) and both are very good on the 15PM. Main sensor is great obviously. Capturing RAW on this phone is also at least 30-50% faster than it was on the 14P, possibly even faster. 35mm as an option for shooting, combining pixels, whatever it's doing, is great. That's my preferred focal length on DSLRs (I am a semi-pro hobbyist photographer) and it's nice having that on a phone in my pocket that I don't have to futz with.

In-hand feel is the best of any large iPhone since the XS Max or maybe even the 7 Plus. It's wonderful. I use no case so the design change matters a lot. I'm very happy with this upgrade, and the larger screen size lets me read research papers far easier - scrolling to get through diagrams was annoying on the 14P.

I think this is close to perfect size/weight for a large phone, lighter would be welcome but the rumors about the 16 Pro getting even larger are not making me happy. If it does get larger I may skip the 16 to see if the bezels reduce on the 17 to make it slightly smaller. The larger width would be too much for me.

I'd still kill for a 16 Pro Mini for one-handed ease of use and carry size for a "phone" and messaging tasks, but for a pocket computer I think this is really excellent and carefully considered decisions were made, almost all of them positive. I'm not sold on the action button yet but I don't hate it, I need more time to figure out a shortcut that would be useful to map.

 

[Jackbequickly]

Excellent! Glad to see there is no ghosting or lens reflections. Love my PM!

 

[jmonster]

These topics are getting so boring. You’re underwhelmed because your previous phone is only a year old. Try waiting 2-3, maybe 4-5 years if you want a big jump. Technology can only move so fast and we are hugely spoiled in that regard…

Also if you truly want an amazing experience taking photos get yourself a mirrorless camera. iPhones can’t beat physics

Apples marketing sure doesn't align with your admittedly sensible take

 

[BeatCrazy]

The f size aperture shows you how much light you sensor can capture. The lower, the better.
Higher pixels (12 to 48) or increasing of zoom affects the f size because of physics.

That's why I'll keep my iPhone 13 Pro until there will be some technical advances in the lenses area, because it has better f than 14 and 15 series and:
- I don't care of number of megapixels (if the f is affected)
- 3x zoom is more useful to me (for people portraits, street photography) while 5x seems more niched (great for wildlife photography etc)

Noob question... can you explain to me why the physics of 3X iPhone lens are preferred (better?) for people portraits?

 

[dtm84]

Man who upgrades phone after less than a year is disappointed by lack of progress? Wow, who would have thought?