iPhone 13 Pro Max How does the zoom actually work?

[kat.hayes]

How does the zoom feature on the phone actually zoom without having an actual zoom lens? Is it taking multiple photos and combining them? Is there quality loss when using the zoom vs. using regular one?

thanks

 

[now i see it]

There are two lenses. Wide & standard that Apple likes to call standard and telephoto. I’ll leave the ultra wide out of the equation for now.

Zooming is all digital except when the “zoom” setting is set to the standard resolution or the telephoto lens. In that case, the magnification is due to the optics of that lens.
Once you start zooming in from either lens, you’re fake zooming (digital zoom) by adding interpolated pixels into the image to increase its file size (but not sharpness).

You can see for yourself easily what a “rip off” digital zooming is.
Set the lens to the telephoto lens and take a picture. Then zoom in all the way to max and take the exact same picture of the object again.
Then go into the photos app and view them side by side. When you increase the magnification of the image by pinching apart to maximum- you’ll see that the unzoomed picture is actually sharper than the zoomed one.

So pro tip:
Never zoom on the camera when taking a picture. Use one of the two lenses. If you want to magnify the image later for viewing - CROP it. A cropped image always looks better than a zoomed image - and the file size is much smaller.

 

[kat.hayes]

Sorry, I am a bit confused.

You stated "Zooming is all digital except when the “zoom” setting is set to the standard resolution or the telephoto lens.
In that case, the magnification is due to the optics of that lens.
Once you start zooming in from either lens, you’re fake zooming (digital zoom) by adding interpolated pixels into the image to increase its file size (but not sharpness)."

1. Are you saying that when you use either of the two zoom options on the phone it is really just a digital zoom with added data of some sort?

2. If so, is the only difference between using one of the two zoom lenses and just pinching on the screen to zoom the added interpolation, whatever that is actually doing?

Thanks

 

[cfs]

Sorry to jump in on this.

So if one used on of the telephoto presets, for example 2x zoom on a 13Pro, does it look much different than a 2x zoom on a 13 or 13 mini?

And as kat.Hayes asks, aren’t the presets like 2x and 3x optical zoom and not digital zoom?

 

[petemy]

There are two lenses. Wide & standard that Apple likes to call standard and telephoto. I’ll leave the ultra wide out of the equation for now.

Zooming is all digital except when the “zoom” setting is set to the standard resolution or the telephoto lens. In that case, the magnification is due to the optics of that lens.
Once you start zooming in from either lens, you’re fake zooming (digital zoom) by adding interpolated pixels into the image to increase its file size (but not sharpness).

You can see for yourself easily what a “rip off” digital zooming is.
Set the lens to the telephoto lens and take a picture. Then zoom in all the way to max and take the exact same picture of the object again.
Then go into the photos app and view them side by side. When you increase the magnification of the image by pinching apart to maximum- you’ll see that the unzoomed picture is actually sharper than the zoomed one.

So pro tip:
Never zoom on the camera when taking a picture. Use one of the two lenses. If you want to magnify the image later for viewing - CROP it. A cropped image always looks better than a zoomed image - and the file size is much smaller.

What a precious advice. I wish I knew it sooner. Thank you!!!!

 

[now i see it]

The lenses are fixed focal length. The lenses themselves can’t zoom like a traditional big zoom lens on a big camera. When zooming the standard lens on the iPhone, it’s using digital zoom up to the point where you hit 2X zoom - then it switches over to the other “telephoto lens”. At that point (exactly 2X), you’re shooting straight off the lens with no interpolation. But once you start zooming beyond that - then you’re back into digital zooming again which is adding pixels between pixels where none actually existed (interpolation).
For what it’s worth, it works pretty good for a snapshot camera and it’s fast & easy to use for the end user.

The mini and pro cameras are different. I don’t know if you can see the difference in the final pictures when comparing them side by side.

 

[cfs]

Super curious if one can tell the difference.

 

[azhava]

Sorry, I am a bit confused.

You stated "Zooming is all digital except when the “zoom” setting is set to the standard resolution or the telephoto lens.
In that case, the magnification is due to the optics of that lens.
Once you start zooming in from either lens, you’re fake zooming (digital zoom) by adding interpolated pixels into the image to increase its file size (but not sharpness)."

1. Are you saying that when you use either of the two zoom options on the phone it is really just a digital zoom with added data of some sort?

2. If so, is the only difference between using one of the two zoom lenses and just pinching on the screen to zoom the added interpolation, whatever that is actually doing?

Thanks

If you're using the default zoom values of 0.5x, 1x or 3x, you're using that lens at its fixed focal length. If you go from the 1x lens to the 3x lens, it switches which lens it's using, and you're using optical zoom. If you select the 1x lens and then manually zoom from there (e.g., by pinching the screen), you're using digital zoom.

 

[kat.hayes]

If you're using the default zoom values of 0.5x, 1x or 3x, you're using that lens at its fixed focal length. If you go from the 1x lens to the 3x lens, it switches which lens it's using, and you're using optical zoom. If you select the 1x lens and then manually zoom from there (e.g., by pinching the screen), you're using digital zoom.

So you are saying if you use the default camera zoom option focal lengths it is all optical zoom and it is only a digital zoom if you pinch the screen?

 

[cfs]

I believe that is what he is saying. A big question is if 2x and 3x optical zoom is more marketing or if it actually makes legit difference in the photos.

I’m seeing in some YouTube videos there is no real difference. If that’s the case, then the only real camera difference between the mini and the 13, compared to the pro models is the macro I’m assuming.