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Apple Shares 'Detectives' Ad Promoting iPhone 17 Pro Camera

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Apple today shared a new "Shot on iPhone" ad promoting the 8x optical zoom feature on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max.


The ad includes a series of quick zooms to show off what the iPhone 17 Pro models can do. Apple's video description highlight the 200mm focal length of the lens.
With an equivalent 200 mm focal length, the 8x optical-quality zoom makes this our longest iPhone Telephoto ever. So you can get dramatically closer with iPhone 17 Pro.
Click to expand...
8x zoom is a new feature this year, exclusive to the iPhone 17 Pro and the iPhone 17 Pro Max. The prior iPhone 16 Pro models were limited to 5x optical zoom.

Article Link: Apple Shares 'Detectives' Ad Promoting iPhone 17 Pro Camera
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2025/12/31/iphone-17-pro-zoom-ad/
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I don’t think their ads have been very good lately.

But the 8x zoom is. It is actually pretty impressive the difference between 1x and 8x at same quality (not to mention the ultrawide). Really helps capture all the information of a scene.
 
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Good ad. I like the improved zoom on my 17 Pro Max and it is nice to see that both Pro and Pro Max have the same zoom capability. Will be interesting to see if Apple will increase zoom lens capability to 10X in the future, i.e. 5x and 10x (120mm and 240mm).
 
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CalMin said:
Doesn’t make me want a new iPhone. Anyone else feel differently?
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Well, I wouldn't use it to make a movie or a tv series. Looked too murky, the part where the guy fell looked very fake, and honestly zooming that quick feels unnatural, especially since it looked a little shaky. But it was kinda funny.

I'd much rather see it zoom in on birds and distant mountains or other features on a hike, where I hope it would mostly be better lit. Adding a pre-recording feature, like on action cameras, would be great for that.
 
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It’s impressive and the ads good. But 99,89% people don’t care what its shot on. And this is getting a bit stale because its unrepeatable (that’s an autocorrect but it fit…wanted to use unrelatable) old…
 
So how does one zoom in that fast while recording video without touching the phone on a tripod? Is there a shortcut that can be programmed? I doubt final cut camera can zoom in that quick. :rolleyes:
 
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Rychiar said:
It does, it’s just a 4x optical zoom with a crop to 8
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Photography nerds (me included) are used to the old fashioned definitions. The iPhone has fixed focal length prime lenses, i.e. the lens elements are fixed. The iPhone uses a digital crop to simulate a zoom lens. An actual zoom lens can change its focal length by physically moving the different lens elements. 😊
 
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pol0001 said:
Photography nerds (me included) are used to the old fashioned definitions. The iPhone has fixed focal length prime lenses, i.e. the lens elements are fixed. The iPhone uses a digital crop to simulate a zoom lens. An actual zoom lens can change its focal length by physically moving the different lens elements. 😊
Click to expand...
Great explanation and point well made. The only "zoom" is when you use your fingers to change the fixed 2x/4x/8x to something in-between and you can zoom up or down. The 2x/4x/8x are telephoto lenses not zoom lenses despite the ads saying 8x zoom.
 
pol0001 said:
Photography nerds (me included) are used to the old fashioned definitions. The iPhone has fixed focal length prime lenses, i.e. the lens elements are fixed. The iPhone uses a digital crop to simulate a zoom lens. An actual zoom lens can change its focal length by physically moving the different lens elements. 😊
Click to expand...
Photography nerds always have a Canon in the pocket)
 
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svish said:
it is nice to see that both Pro and Pro Max have the same zoom capability
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Except for the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max and iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, all iPhone models from iPhone 11 Pro and newer use the same zoom capability, even the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max also use the same zoom capability.
 
This is Apple’s best commercial in a long time! I would cringe at that disappearing cat one, and the guy running was just dumb. They’re finally showcasing an actual feature instead of treating the product like a perfume.
 
UliBaer said:
No, they have a Nikon or Leica nearby! 👍 😁
To the commercial: meh...
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Nah they have canon or a small dji cam 😏

And yeah I agree the commercial sucks... This x8 thing is completely fake and useless... Have you ever seen a lens "100mm with 200mm optical quality 💀"

The iPhone shouldn't even have the ability to do digital zoom UNLESS for macro (otherwise it could look bad in fact) but yeah that's it no more digital zoom !!!
 
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JosephAW said:
So how does one zoom in that fast while recording video without touching the phone on a tripod? Is there a shortcut that can be programmed? I doubt final cut camera can zoom in that quick. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

I use a Tilta Nano Wireless focus wheel. Normally I use this on my gimbal with my Nikon for lens control via focus motors/rings, but it can also pair via Bluetooth to my iPhone via the Blackmagic Camera App to allow changing of things like zoom or focus/ with the wheel.


tilta.com

Nucleus Nano II Hand Wheel Controller

NOTE: DO NOT POWER THE HAND WHEEL VIA P-TAP With its advanced features and seamless compatibility, the Nucleus Nano II Hand Wheel Controller revolutionizes the way users can control their lenses…
tilta.com tilta.com
 
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pol0001 said:
Photography nerds (me included) are used to the old fashioned definitions. The iPhone has fixed focal length prime lenses, i.e. the lens elements are fixed. The iPhone uses a digital crop to simulate a zoom lens. An actual zoom lens can change its focal length by physically moving the different lens elements. 😊
Click to expand...
okay well telephoto than not zoom then lol. I'm a photographer but ya get used to the phone lingo quick cus it's evolving the fastest. it used to be stuck at 1 or 2x and now we at least get 4x with an 8x cropped at a still solid resolution.
 
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