iPhone 15 Pro Max The 5x zoom pictures are disappointing

[MathersMahmood]

This is a 5X shot. The image looks better and clearer on the display but after I take the shot the result is worse.

I think it’s more to do with the post processing increasing sharpness. The post processing since the 14 Pro Max has been quite bad in my opinion.

 

[GuruZac]

This is just a cropped 1x image, unless it's taken from Halide. In low light, the stock camera app doesn't use the telephoto.

Well I selected 5x and took the shot. I have no idea if it just used the 1x and cropped. What makes you think it didn’t use the new 5x? It works well in low light.

 

[FunkyTang]

The sweet spot is 3x with the 15P

 

[mnsportsgeek]

On the other hand, I've been really impressed with the 5x zoom lens.

 

[drugdoubles]

You’ll never get close to the quality of a camera with a large sensor and big glass, the lack of detail and depth of field will be hard to overcome until they find a way to defeat physics.

You can get a cheap used telephoto lens on a ten year old DSLR of any make and get incredibly better results. I’ve actually contemplated buying an old Canon camera body on eBay and putting a cheap used telephoto lens on it just for the times I need the reach.

Only if you know how to take good photo with manual skill. I depend on iPhone AI to take auto photos.

 

[SteveJobs2.0]

The 5X lens also has a long minimum focus distance. I’d you try to shoot something close with it then the phone will simply default to the 1X sensor and so digital crop.

 

[dizmonk]

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.

If you knew now... would you have gone with a 15 Plus?

 

[dizmonk]

If you are buying the 15promax because of the 5x zoom, you fall into the marketing trap from Apple
I would value the lighter in weight, smaller overall dimension and USB C over the 5x lens

Then why not but the 15 Plus?

 

[dizmonk]

Couldn't have said it better myself!

I had the 12 Pro Max before upgrading to the 15 Pro this year and it's an wonderful change for me and I'm happy with the camera (the 12PM was rubbish).

I've got a 13 Pro and am leaning toward upgrading.

 

[Ryan1524]

Not the worst

 

[aspenextreme03]

5x is really great and results are fine. A shot I took tonight of my neighbors yard. Looks good to me and I have other examples.

 

[hr10]

Then why not but the 15 Plus?

Thats right and That’s why the 15 this year has more people talking about it than last couple years
Solid update but the 120hz makes enough of a difference to me

 

[w_aldo]

Well I selected 5x and took the shot. I have no idea if it just used the 1x and cropped. What makes you think it didn’t use the new 5x? It works well in low light.

Because the stock camera app is overly zealous about switching to the 1x. Even in medium light it will switch. If you swipe up on the photo in your photos app, you'll see if it's the telephoto or not.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

Because the stock camera app is overly zealous about switching to the 1x. Even in medium light it will switch. If you swipe up on the photo in your photos app, you'll see if it's the telephoto or not.

I do not find "the stock camera app is overly zealous about switching to the 1x. Even in medium light it will switch."

I find the new tele a significant, useful improvement. And obviously medium light varies but I just shot such a pic (ISO 640, 1/40 sec) and it stayed with the selected 120mm lens. I shoot RAW only.

 

[SteveJobs2.0]

Because the stock camera app is overly zealous about switching to the 1x. Even in medium light it will switch. If you swipe up on the photo in your photos app, you'll see if it's the telephoto or not.

It’s not just light. If you are close to your subject the phone will also default to 1X.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

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.

The 5x is takes decent shots for me. But not compared to the Samsung S23 Ultra (even at 10x). Anybody that's had both of these phones knows what I'm talking about.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

It’s not just light. If you are close to your subject the phone will also default to 1X.

Almost all tele lenses have lessened close focus capability (e.g. Nikon's superb new $2500 135mm loses focus below 2.7 feet). On an ILC camera one will simply lose focusability when too close for the lens, but (for better or worse) the iPhone camera is smart enough to switch to a more appropriate lens, then crop.

I just did a low light test and at ~5 feet the 120mm tele worked fine, ISO 2000 1/30 sec; a challenging capture well done. Same lighting a pic at ~2 feet and one at under a foot the camera used the 24mm lens, ISO 640 1/20 sec faux 123mm.

Personally I think it is pretty good phone camera magic that all 3 of the test pix were good usable captures.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

You compared your iPhone to your Sony, pointing out that the iPhone is the one you can take with you daily, but your sample images use tripods and 10" LED light boxes, no? And which iPhone lens were they shot with? I'll bet not the "ultra wide" or "telephoto". Did you edit them all in Lightroom on your iPhone, too?

They are indeed beautiful photographs. But they aren't a comparison between the iPhone 5x zoom lens (which is the topic of this thread) and a DSLR, without a bunch equipment and software to control lighting and editing. Please show us those, OR show us your images from your DSLR that were taken with controlled lighting and edited as carefully.

Either way, the point remains that dollar for dollar, a DSLR captures superior images, is more versatile, and will last longer. As you say, the only advantage of the iPhone is its size. OP expressed disappointment with the 5x zoom lens on the iPhone, and a DSLR would certainly not disappoint in those ways.

As a long term DSLR photog (D2x, D3, D500, D850) I sure disagree fully. For decades I carried various Nikons pretty much 24/7/365, constantly dealing with security challenges of a photo backpack full of pricey gear - - and losing $10k+ to thefts. And my work often involves getting to locations most folks consider challenging, made more challenging with all that heavy/bulky camera gear.

So the statement "the only advantage of the iPhone is its size" is to me not some little deal, it is huge, of over-riding importance.

The idea that there is one category of "real" pix taken with ILC and another category of "snapshot" pix from phones is 2023 wrong-headed thinking IMO. A competent photog can capture competent pix with ILC or with one of the better smartphone cameras, and a poor photog can capture lousy pix with any camera.

All camera systems are different, obviously. No one should interpret this post as suggesting otherwise.

 

[allenvanhellen]

As a long term DSLR photog (D2x, D3, D500, D850) I sure disagree fully. For decades I carried various Nikons pretty much 24/7/365, constantly dealing with security challenges of a photo backpack full of pricey gear - - and losing $10k+ to thefts. And my work often involves getting to locations most folks consider challenging, made more challenging with all that heavy/bulky camera gear.

So the statement "the only advantage of the iPhone is its size" is to me not some little deal, it is huge, of over-riding importance.

The idea that there is one category of "real" pix taken with ILC and another category of "snapshot" pix from phones is 2023 wrong-headed thinking IMO. A competent photog can capture competent pix with ILC or with one of the better smartphone cameras, and a poor photog can capture lousy pix with any camera.

All camera systems are different, obviously. No one should interpret this post as suggesting otherwise.

Ok, please post a good photo of the moon taken with an iPhone.

We’re not there yet.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

Ok, please post a good photo of the moon taken with an iPhone.

We’re not there yet.

I knew someone would post something like "Ok, please post a good photo of the moon taken with an iPhone," which is why I stated "All camera systems are different, obviously. No one should interpret this post as suggesting otherwise."

My point was that every camera system has pros and cons. If the light or the subject is gone before one can bring $10k of camera/lens in place for the capture, then a different camera system with different compromises is needed. In the hands of a competent photog, top iPhone cameras are now competent enough to be utilized for more than just snapshots.

 

[andyw715]

Typically the quality of a photo is effected moreso by the photographer rather than the equipment.

I would suggest reading Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson.
A great overview of the elements of photography, that will help you turn your mediocre 120mm iPPM 15 snaps into beautiful photographs....YMMV of course.

 

[allenvanhellen]

I knew someone would post something like "Ok, please post a good photo of the moon taken with an iPhone," which is why I stated "All camera systems are different, obviously. No one should interpret this post as suggesting otherwise."

My point was that every camera system has pros and cons. If the light or the subject is gone before one can bring $10k of camera/lens in place for the capture, then a different camera system with different compromises is needed. In the hands of a competent photog, top iPhone cameras are now competent enough to be utilized for more than just snapshots.

I’m a more than competent photographer, and yes, in many conditions I can get a nice looking photo from the iPhone. In many other conditions, however, I simply cannot, at least without the aids of a tripod and lighting accessories.

And again, OP is dissatisfied with the 5X ZOOM LENS on the new iPhone, which doesn’t have the 48MP sensor. OP would be more satisfied with a DSLR.

 

[Nordman 52]

I’m a more than competent photographer, and yes, in many conditions I can get a nice looking photo from the iPhone. In many other conditions, however, I simply cannot, at least without the aids of a tripod and lighting accessories.

And again, OP is dissatisfied with the 5X ZOOM LENS on the new iPhone, which doesn’t have the 48MP sensor. OP would be more satisfied with a DSLR.

I got a Sony A1 and a bag full of GM lenses (400mm 2.8 included). For the dough I dropped on this iPhone, I was hoping it'd hold its own against the competition. End of the gripe.

We're big fans of this brand, used to top-notch stuff but this year feels kinda meh.

Bet they're stashing all the coins for the vison pro...

 

[contacos]

View attachment 2288030 5x is really great and results are fine. A shot I took tonight of my neighbors yard. Looks good to me and I have other examples.

How did you manage this shot without having green dots flying all over your screen?

 

[drugdoubles]

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.

Well 3x in 15 pro max is just digital chop from main sensor, you really feel that is good?