iPhone 16 Pro Max HELP!!! Close up pics on 16 are terrible compared to 13

[Guacamole]

Thanks to everyone explaining how the camera works on the newer phones. I think it says a lot about how in line this is(n't) with the "it just works" motto when us average users need an explanation for wtf is going on with our photos.

If I had a choice between the camera on the 13 Pro and the 15 Pro, I'd choose 13 Pro any day. They gave the 15 Pro a camera that is technically better, but not only does it not look better for the average user, sometimes it looks worse.

Even though my issue is not about photos, it has to do with the camera system - I can no longer scan documents with my 15 Pro because of the depth of field change, as the letters that are not in the center of the document are slightly out of focus and uncomfortable to look at. So the "advancements" to the 15 Pro camera now have me scanning images with my iPad instead. This is a ridiculous downgrade as the camera is not used for photos exclusively, and Apple had to have known that they were effectively ruining document scanning with these changes, which is a very strange decision given that the Notes app offers a built-in scanning feature.

Not saying you can't get better photos by knowing which lens to use and how far away to back up from the subject, but we shouldn't have to do this to avoid parts of the photo being just outright blurry. Is there a third-party camera app that reduces these effects without having to tinker with the camera settings?

I'm confused, which one you have the 16pro or 15Pro?

 

[zkap]

I'm confused, which one you have the 16pro or 15Pro?

15 Pro. From what I gather, Apple changed the lenses from 14 Pro onward.

 

[macbug]

I'm confused, which one you have the 16pro or 15Pro?

The OP had a 16, this is another person - I got confused too.

I think they have a point; Non-photographers don't want to re-learn taking photographs just so they can have the privilege of owning an iPhone; They just want to take pictures with their phone. Maybe Apple's taken the default photo option just a bit too far into 'confusion for normal users' territory. They just want a quick photo, and sometimes we all do too.

It's a phone first above all else; How about Apple hides everything except a shutter button behind a 'pro' interface you can toggle, and automate the process to replicate what their older iPhones could do right out of the box? Then put up a reminder popup about 'pro' mode every once in a while. I don't know. But trying to train users to use the camera app 'correctly' is only going to create angry users.

 

[FlyingDutch]

I think it's impressive that you can tell my iPhone is not working properly right off the bat.

I've been using the Microsoft Lens app for years, works great on every device except the 15 Pro. I work from home so I use my iPhone and iPad for scans, I know what kind of results I'm getting. That effect of blurring the edges of the shot happens while scanning documents, as well, since apperture is software-only, so the text on the top and/or bottom of the page will be ever so slightly blurred no matter what I do. Perfectly legible, but at least a bit blurred/out of focus nonetheless, while the text in the middle is sharp.
The scanning feature in the Notes app is far worse than Lens, because Lens at least allows you to zoom in and out, so as to influence the lenses used. The scan is passable as all of the text can be read, but still not as good as the 13 Pro, which didn't have these focus issues.

I’m scanning documents on a daily basis on my 16 Pro Max (and previously on the 14 Pro max) and nothing is blurred. That’s why I wrote that your is not working properly.

 

[HEEELP]

18.2 update has upgraded my pics. I haven’t been able to really test it but just a couple quick pics and I’ve already seen improvement. Can anyone explain this?

 

[macbug]

18.2 update has upgraded my pics. I haven’t been able to really test it but just a couple quick pics and I’ve already seen improvement. Can anyone explain this?

I think it's triggering 'macro' mode more easily or at least it seems faster to me. You'll notice it's gone into macro mode when a little yellow circle with a black flower pops up on the bottom left of the screen.

 

[FlyingDutch]

Happy to hear that. Maybe they have refined the software (I can’t say for sure since I didn’t try the 18.2 yet). As we were discussing above, quite a lot of things are done by software, so it can be improved over the time.