4X 100 mm telephoto, and 8X 200 mm "optical quality" crop zoom
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Other As expected, iPhone 17 Pro / Max telephoto 8X is crop zoom
- Thread starter EugW
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Massive let down! 48mp 4x is nice though
Nah, it's exactly as what some of us expected, despite some rumours otherwise. And honestly, the crop tele 8X zoom should provide a decent option when light conditions are good. I'm also happy we didn't stick with the base 5X too, since 5X can be kinda awkward for portraits.
I'm glad I waited and didn't get the 16 Pro Max, even though I'm coming from an old 12 Pro Max.
What are people using 48mp for? All it does it fill up phone storage.
0.5X / 1X 2X / 4X 8X
The default setting is pixel binning so that the final images are not 48 MP. This can help provide improved image quality over native 12 MP sensors for example, even when the sensor is similarly sized.
Hmmm. I rarely used the 2x on my 16PM because of the digital zoom. I don't think I would use 8x either, so I'm stuck with 4x and not 5x!
In the recent phones (from iPhone 13 Pro onwards), portrait mode uses the 2x crop from the main camera rather than the telephoto lens as far as I am aware.
That's not true. For example, on the iPhone 15 Pro Max and 16 Pro Max, portrait mode can use the 5X lens.
I thought that were going to have real optical 8x zoom... not a crop!
Not really. Unless you’re always capturing in ProRAW, the HEIF 48 MP photo option produces much smaller images.
Also it’s great when you print them over 12 MP and useful for cropping later.
Yeah, as soon as I saw that slide saying the 200mm was 12MP then it was obvious this was just a crop and not a true 200mm lens.
I also find it sort of stupid that the new 18MP front camera is going to end up with less resolution than the old 12MP camera for a lot of those AI crops. A bunch of marketing BS.
I also find it sort of stupid that the new 18MP front camera is going to end up with less resolution than the old 12MP camera for a lot of those AI crops. A bunch of marketing BS.
Yeah, so far I'm not a huge fan of Center Stage on other Apple devices, so I'm not really optimistic about it on the new iPhone either. Center Stage has its advantages, but also some disadvantages as well. Hopefully the sensor quality has improved significantly enough to be able to mostly overcome some of those Center Stage disadvantages.
I think Apple is gross for labeling the digital crops as Optical. It’s achieved digitally through software selections, no optical change or selection:
The rumors of Pro Max having longer tele again seem to have been false and we are back to parity. With the battery updates, makes it easy for me to finally take a break after many Max iPhones that I’m feeling tired of using with two hands.
The rumors of Pro Max having longer tele again seem to have been false and we are back to parity. With the battery updates, makes it easy for me to finally take a break after many Max iPhones that I’m feeling tired of using with two hands.
It's "optical" in the sense that it does not require interpolation. The 12 MP image from a cropped 48 MP sensor is actually from 12 MP of true physical pixels. And it often works decently well when there is sufficient light.
Can you get a similar result by just taking a 4X 48 MP image and cropping it yourself? Yes, but it's a real pain to do this and it can be annoying to frame it correctly. I personally welcome this new option, and in fact this was the main reason why I didn't get the 16 Pro Max to replace my 12 Pro Max. I much prefer a 48 MP 4X with 12 MP cropped 8X over a 12 MP native 5X.
However...
Good point. I will be disappointed if the 4X tele can't output at 24 MP. Judging by the specs, it probably can't.
It will also be interesting to see if the 0.5X on the 17 Pro series can output at 24 MP unlike on the 16 Pro series. Also probably not, judging by these specs.
I guess it may be due to the pixel sizes. Although all three sensors are 48 MP, the pixel size is much, much bigger on the main 1X/2X sensor than it is on the 0.5X and 4X/8X sensors.
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Yes - as the prophecy foretold! As you say the move to 48mpx was always a big hint that 8x was actually 4x with a 2x crop applied. I am glad to see the "longer" lens move back to around 100mm in general. Should be a more well rounded portrait lens than the last few phones
More importantly, the tele sensor got 56% bigger. Should make for a noticeable improvement.
Wrt to 4x/8x, the „optical“ 2x on the 16 Pro is really quite fine, actually, so I‘m hopeful for the 8x, too.
Wrt to 4x/8x, the „optical“ 2x on the 16 Pro is really quite fine, actually, so I‘m hopeful for the 8x, too.
I’m aware of the reason they selected that crop and number of megapixels, but it is simply not optical and not truthful to label it as optical. Just because I can get a lovely 2MP photo by only using the middle of an 8MP sensor’s capture for example, doesn’t mean I’d be fair to say I have optical zoom options or capability. It’s simply using a smaller portion of the camera resolution and capture area to digitally output a blown up view.
They label it honestly as “optical-quality zoom in” in some places, but dishonestly as “optical” in others.
Yeah, portrait on the 17 Pro Max should be less awkward compared to the 16 Pro Max and 15 Pro Max.
I agree, but that isn't new for Apple. They've been using this terminology for years now.
Well yes, they said that Ultra Wide will produce 24MP images while introducing 48MP Ultra Wide lens with a base 17. From their website " And now Ultra Wide photos are 24MP by default, the perfect file size for high‑quality storing and sharing. " I don't see Pro not doing that.
Oh great! There's hope for the tele then! Maybe? Hopefully they don't "ration" this feature just for the iPhone 18 Pro tele.
That's great too.
EDIT: Hmmm...
iPhone 17 (non-Pro):
iPhone 17 Pro:
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Wait, I heard you right? IT IS WORSE THAN 16 PRO? Hahahahahah what an abomination.
I think someone should sue them for using these misleading terminology like “optical quality”… NOOO nothing can be “optical” except than a real glass (which 16 Pro provided, hopefully). Crop is crop, even computations won’t save that. What’s the point of a good sensor if you make it worse by cropping
I think someone should sue them for using these misleading terminology like “optical quality”… NOOO nothing can be “optical” except than a real glass (which 16 Pro provided, hopefully). Crop is crop, even computations won’t save that. What’s the point of a good sensor if you make it worse by cropping
With resolution they have increased noise, so these 56% would feel minuscule and iPhone 16 Pro would be able to beat it in independent tests.
Quad bayers are much darker than regular bayer sensors. For that reason it is hard to notice difference between 13 Pro for example and 16 Pro (main cameras)