iPhone 12 Pro iPhone 12 Pro camera cannot focus up close

[CallmeBigfat]

Off topic, are these a kind of woodlouse? Which country are these from?

Hi , yes they are isopods. The yellow one is from Thailand, others can be found in the states (one being invasive in Florida). The red ones with spots are from Dubrovnik. But you can see the focusing is a bit different maybe causing these effects I’m noticing I’m not sure how much of a role the lidar sensor plays if it gets blocked.

 

[Applefan2015]

Hi , yes they are isopods. The yellow one is from Thailand, others can be found in the states (one being invasive in Florida). The red ones with spots are from Dubrovnik. But you can see the focusing is a bit different maybe causing these effects I’m noticing I’m not sure how much of a role the lidar sensor plays if it gets blocked.

Thanks for the info, unfortunately I can’t answer your question regarding camera focus from iPhone 12, how much different are your photo‘s when you tap / don’t tap the screen to focus on subject?

 

[FlipFlopsAreCool]

The minimum focal distance issue on the 12 Pro (non max in my case) is real. Today, I tested two 12 Pros side by side. I placed both on a box that is about 3 inches high with a letter in front of it.

One iPhone took shots that were 100% sharp.

The other could only take blurry pictures - it focused, so not completely blurry, but a night and day difference to the sharp shots of the other 12 Pro.

Both phones on iOS 14.2, both with their lenses cleaned (repeatedly), exactly the same camera settings, rebooted the one with the blurry shots multiple times. Nothing changed.

In order to get an equally sharp picture, the "bad" 12 Pro had to be moved 1 1/2 to 2 inches further away from the object.

Called Apple. "we get some parts from multiple companies, there might be some difference, but yours sound too severe." They ran a remote diagnostic test, but it didn't show any errors.

Either my 12 Pro is defective or there are some serious differences in macro capabilities depending on the manufacturer of some parts. E.g. like Nintendo did with the 3DS - some had TN panels, some had IPS panels.

I would be quite disappointed if that were the case.

 

[jerrycardsusa]

Same here for iPhone 12 Pro Max 256G

 

[CallmeBigfat]

Thanks for the info, unfortunately I can’t answer your question regarding camera focus from iPhone 12, how much different are your photo‘s when you tap / don’t tap the screen to focus on subject?

Same issue , it’s even harder when they move before you take the shot . It also does not help the night mode can’t be perm shut off so I have to make sure it doesn’t auto enable and then proceeds to make me wait a second or 2 while I’m moving the camera for them fast shots. I’ve also tried Lightroom’s camera so I can shorten the focus to the minimum and I’m still getting these issues. I think the minimum focal length is too far for the macro lens.

 

[richard371]

What should the min focal distance be?

 

[FlipFlopsAreCool]

What should the min focal distance be?

One 12 Pro (non-max) that I tested shot razor sharp pics 3 inches from the subject. Another 12 Pro (non-max, identical settings, identical spot & lighting) needed to be 4 1/2 to 5 inches away to take an equally sharp picture. Are there even better/worse 12 Pros? What's the norm? I don't know.

 

[johnsoninnyc]

So this is getting more complicated. I had an iphone 12 pro that i never set up, in a box for fedex, to return to apple for refund (I had changed mind after ordering / getting it, deciding on getting the Max). I’ve opened it up and noted the following:



1 - this 12 pro it’s on 14.1, and the macro focusing is indeed quite spastic; it is because it is frequently trying to use its telephoto lens at close range ( say, below 6 inches), but that lens can’t focus beyond about 8-9 inches it seems. So I def think they worked on this a lot for 14.2, so that very close range reverts to the main 1X lens once it figures out it can’t get focus w the tele lens.



2 - the min focal distance for the 12 pro is considerably lower than the 12 pro max (more on this in a minute..)



3- Surprisingly, images taken that were fully in-focus, taken at it near the min focal length, were materially more detailed on the 12 pro than the 12 pro max.



4- Taking photos at min focal length, i found that the field of view of the 12 pro max was 1.8 times that of the 12 pro.



So overall , at least for the two devices I have in hand here, the 12pro is a much better macro shooter than the max!?



Min Focal Lengths: I measured by framing up a small laser printed white copy paper in normal indoor room lighting. I achieved the same results with camera App, Procam8, and Halide.



Measuring from the sapphire lens glass face perpendicularly down to the paper, I measured the following minimums:



iphone 12 pro: 2 15/16”

iphone 12 pro max: 4 5/8”

my old iphone X : 3 5/16”



*The definition of ‘focused’ here is not simply ‘it looks pretty good..’ , but rather the focus remains as sharp as was possible for slightly longer distances. As you get closer , the point the sharpness can’t be fully maintained is the indicator that the min limit is reached.



So in conclusion , the 12 pro max is showing some very serious weakness, comparatively speaking, both in terms of macro “effective zoom” and , most disappointingly , in macro image quality!

(to be clear, I have yet to take anything but macro pictures with these new phones , so we’re only talking macro here!)



I’m also wondering if there’s something to those concerns about switching camera supplier this year from exclusively Sony, over to the motley triumvirate of LG / Sharp / Ofilm. Do we know if there’s any situations of a camera manufacturer lottery for a particular model, in this year‘s lineup? I remember LG shutting down manufacturing earlier in the year for virus outbreak. And all of the ‘supply chain issues’ talk - were camera modules involved? Anyway i’m very curious to know who makes the modules in these two phones I have here, will have to figure out how to dump that system info..

 

[ant the ninja]

I feel like in portrait mode, my 11 Pro was able to use the 1x lens and capture better images focus wise. Almost like my 12P is focusing too much on the front of the object I’m shooting and blurring too much of the rear of it and I don’t mean behind it I mean the rear of the object I’m shooting.

 

[midkay]

Some really great investigation going on in the last page of this thread, cheers to everyone being productive and fact-based about this issue.

The minimum focal distance issue on the 12 Pro (non max in my case) is real. Today, I tested two 12 Pros side by side. I placed both on a box that is about 3 inches high with a letter in front of it.

One iPhone took shots that were 100% sharp.

The other could only take blurry pictures - it focused, so not completely blurry, but a night and day difference to the sharp shots of the other 12 Pro.

Both phones on iOS 14.2, both with their lenses cleaned (repeatedly), exactly the same camera settings, rebooted the one with the blurry shots multiple times. Nothing changed.

In order to get an equally sharp picture, the "bad" 12 Pro had to be moved 1 1/2 to 2 inches further away from the object.

This is pretty clear cut. I’m wondering if there may be a hardware-based element at play, yet something still resolvable by software? i.e., maybe all hardware is OK, but the software isn’t properly accounting for all the different variants – so only camera modules from a certain vendor have got a mis-configured minimum focus distance or something? What else could explain two 12P devices performing so differently side by side? The typical minor variation between parts from different suppliers should not explain such a dramatic difference.

The other option is that Apple has a serious hardware quality control issue here, but I wouldn’t expect that. They’re generally too careful to make such mistakes.

In any case, this seems major, and like something Apple should acknowledge. Could we get a front page article going for this? This seems like something we need to get a spotlight on so we can figure out if we’re supposed to return these phones, await an update, or accept this majorly regressed experience. I don’t think Apple would have knowingly allowed this to happen, so I think it’s an issue they will address, but we may need to prompt them to do it, right? I don’t see this issue being widely reported yet, but how many people are specifically testing macro photography? It could be pretty widespread and just not being noticed much yet.

I’m awaiting my replacement 12 Pro Max to see if it helps resolve any of the camera issues I was having, but it’s taking forever for them to ship out the new one...

 

[chanerz]

I don’t know if youtubers know this problem.

 

[Sajal]

Its pretty clear the telephoto camera should be used for macro-type shots on the 12 Pro/Max.

Thanks.. this info is very helpful. At least iPhone will be still usable when randomly needed for macro photos.

 

[cwagz78]

I take close up photos for work several times per week. The first time I tried with my new 12 pro max was very disappointing. The minimum focal distance is a couple inches farther away than with my 11 pro max. Switching to telephoto just digitally zooms the image and does not provide the level of detail I am trying to capture.

 

[DexBell]

I don’t know if youtubers know this problem.

Its not a problem. Its a new camera system and that's how it works...

 

[chanerz]

No more macro shots then.

 

[cwagz78]

Its not a problem. Its a new camera system and that's how it works...

It’s a problem when you use the phone for macro shots multiple times a week since the 6s plus and now, without warning, it stinks.

 

[johnsoninnyc]

Thanks.. this info is very helpful. At least iPhone will be still usable when randomly needed for macro photos.

This info is actually incorrect. The telephoto lens will not be used if you are any closer than 11 or 12 inches, regardless of which button you tap. Why? Because it cannot focus any closer than that. So the telephoto lens is useless for macro.

This is based on my actual tests, and not hot air. You can verify for yourself that it’s not being used, inside of approx 1 foot, by holding your finger over the tele lens. The regular 1X lens gets used and any “zooming” you do is digital. And you can not get closer than 4 5/8”, at least on the Pro Max unit I have in hand.

 

[johnsoninnyc]

Some really great investigation going on in the last page of this thread, cheers to everyone being productive and fact-based about this issue.



This is pretty clear cut. I’m wondering if there may be a hardware-based element at play, yet something still resolvable by software? i.e., maybe all hardware is OK, but the software isn’t properly accounting for all the different variants – so only camera modules from a certain vendor have got a mis-configured minimum focus distance or something? What else could explain two 12P devices performing so differently side by side? The typical minor variation between parts from different suppliers should not explain such a dramatic difference.

The other option is that Apple has a serious hardware quality control issue here, but I wouldn’t expect that. They’re generally too careful to make such mistakes.

In any case, this seems major, and like something Apple should acknowledge. Could we get a front page article going for this? This seems like something we need to get a spotlight on so we can figure out if we’re supposed to return these phones, await an update, or accept this majorly regressed experience. I don’t think Apple would have knowingly allowed this to happen, so I think it’s an issue they will address, but we may need to prompt them to do it, right? I don’t see this issue being widely reported yet, but how many people are specifically testing macro photography? It could be pretty widespread and just not being noticed much yet.

I’m awaiting my replacement 12 Pro Max to see if it helps resolve any of the camera issues I was having, but it’s taking forever for them to ship out the new one...

Hope you get the new unit soon and please report back here how it performs. The minimum focal distance and the actual quality of macro photos taken at or just above that distance are of great interest ! Fingers crossed for you !

 

[Sajal]

This info is actually incorrect. The telephoto lens will not be used if you are any closer than 11 or 12 inches, regardless of which button you tap. Why? Because it cannot focus any closer than that. So the telephoto lens is useless for macro.

This is based on my actual tests, and not hot air. You can verify for yourself that it’s not being used, inside of approx 1 foot, by holding your finger over the tele lens. The regular 1X lens gets used and any “zooming” you do is digital. And you can not get closer than 4 5/8”, at least on the Pro Max unit I have in hand.

I'm not an expert but the suggestion does solve my issue

CloseUp:

Zoomed (2.5x):

Also I'll love this to be solved by Apple too. But still at least I can survive till then for the occasional close ups I need to take.

 

[trifid]

Hey guys for the sake of everyone’s sanity, it might be best to ignore some repeat offender/s that just won’t listen to anyone’s feedback and is stuck in denial. It’s just a waste of time.

 

[DexBell]

It’s a problem when you use the phone for macro shots multiple times a week since the 6s plus and now, without warning, it stinks.

Pretty much everyone agrees this is the best camera Apple has ever put on an iPhone. Sorry you can’t put it on top of a subject and take photos any longer. Oh well, return it and get an older iPhone. Problem solved

 

[richard371]

So the way I’m understanding this and by reading other articles there are 2 possible things going on here

1. The min focal distance has been increased with new faster lens system.
2. The lidar needs to be fine tuned better when it’s used for closeups in lower light. I don’t think 1 is very fixable but 2 should improve hopefully.

 

[rawCpoppa]

So the way I’m understanding this and by reading other articles there are 2 possible things going on here

1. The min focal distance has been increased with new faster lens system.
2. The lidar needs to be fine tuned better when it’s used for closeups in lower light. I don’t think 1 is very fixable but 2 should improve hopefully.

This thread started with 2 for sure as the Max wasn’t out yet. Can’t say for sure Max’s issue is a combination of 2 and 1.

 

[contacos]

for me it seems to work for anything below 1,0 such as 0,5 or 0,9 or if I hold the phone further away and zoom instead. This really kind of stinks since I need to take a lot of photos to scan "IBAN Numbers" for banking purposes throughout the week and it has a hard time to focus on the digits. Same is true with scanning of credit card numbers actually. (3rd photo is from my old iPhone 7 Plus doing it just fine). Guess its partly a habit thing.

to summarise: old phones are better for focus up close
new phones: for everything else.

 

[cwagz78]

Pretty much everyone agrees this is the best camera Apple has ever put on an iPhone. Sorry you can’t put it on top of a subject and take photos any longer. Oh well, return it and get an older iPhone. Problem solved

Thank you for sharing your wisdom. This is exactly why I rarely ever engage in these forums. You people are zealots.