Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

iPhone 16 Pro Max Rumored to Feature Super Telephoto Camera

JulianL said:
I think they might have to do that with next year's Pro Max.

Presumably a periscope lens lying sideways inside the phone is going to take up more space than the current lens assembly that simply points directly out of the back of the phone and, by the sound of this rumour, that periscope mechanism might take up even more internal space next year. If the dimensions of the main body don't change then that reduces the amount of internal space left over for the battery this year and maybe even more so next year.

Apple can probably compensate for less space for the battery to some extent by increasing component efficiency, and maybe by using stacked battery technology as rumoured in another article today (https://www.macrumors.com/2023/07/17/iphone-15-could-feature-stacked-battery-technology/) to get more capacity from a physically smaller battery but if enough internal space gets eaten up year after year by ever bigger cameras then maybe Apple's only solution, if it doesn't want to start going backwards on battery life, might be to expand the thickness of the main body of the phone in order to add back in available internal space lost to the cameras.

Personally, like you, I would quite like that since right now I consider the overall thickness of my phone to be determined by the thickness of the main body plus the thickness of the camera bump right out to the face of the protruding lenses. It is the edges of those protruding lenses that tend to get caught on things when I put the phone in my pocket so bumping up the thickness of the main body by 1-2mm would make no difference to how well it fits in my pocket and would make the camera bump at least somewhat less prominent. Weight might be an issue of course but perhaps the rumoured switch to a titanium chassis will help there, at least a bit.
Click to expand...
Remember that Apple removed the SIM slot for the higher end phones. The volume that this frees up might be useful for a better camera.
 
yossi said:
whats the "x" equivilant of 300mm? 6x? 20x?
Click to expand...
Nailing down where 1x begins could be heavily debated here. The iphone's 1x camera is 24mm (which is technically a zoomed out/wide angle view) so multiplying that by 3 gets you to their 3x zoom which is 77mm. I believe the human eye is double that 24mm at about 50mm, so multiplying that by 6 (as you mention) would get you to the 300mm. In my mind (or eye?), I'd say this is a 6x zoom or 6 times what I can see with my eye.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Saturn007
"but the extremely soft backgrounds they create also make them useful for portrait photography"

Ah, yeah on Micro Four-thirds, APS-C and FX format sensors ... but on a tiny iphone sensor, probably not going to have a very soft out of focus background.

Given the tiny size of the phone and lens and sensor this 300mm equivalent is gonna be like a 300mm f/22 lens equivalent or something ridiculous like that. It'll only be usable in full sunlight.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DrV and redbeard331
Unggoy Murderer said:
It's not directly comparable. What 3x would mean is three times the lowest focal length.

The 14 Pro main camera is 24mm, so 300mm would be approximately 12x.
Click to expand...
Thanks - 12x would be a great improvement if picture quality can match. Apple really does need more zoom on its camera, as some people do want a phone that has excellent camera qualities too and zoom really matters. I know I do.
 
  • Like
Reactions: redbeard331
alternamelka said:
Ok but I absolutely require an option to disable image processing. Currently having to quickly press the camera roll button and screenshot the image before HDR is applied
Click to expand...
yea, you might have to use a 3rd party app to get that. I too would prefer that an option in the native camera app
 
  • Like
Reactions: DocMultimedia
GrumpyMom said:
If you all are curious how thick a phone needs to be the Samsung S22 and S23 Ultra already offer this type of camera zoom. These phones feature no camera bump at all, with lenses built almost flush against the back. My S23 Ultra isn’t much thicker than my 12 Pro max. (I recently switched from 14 Pro Max to 12 Pro Max).

I get reliable acceptable quality at 30x zoom. 10x optical zoom is excellent in good daylight conditions and very good in low light. 100x zoom will allow me to identify objects over a great distance but won’t produce a usable image.

I’m interested in seeing what Apple can do with its periscope zoom because in low light like at a restaurant, I noticed my 14 Pro Max on digital zoom produced a clearer image than my S23 Ultra’s optical zoom. I think both were set to 10x. I was expecting more noise from the iPhone but the software processing cleaned that up better than Samsung’s did.

While iPhone 13 pro and 14 Pro image processing software can at times be too aggressive, it gets surprisingly good results out of the hardware.

I don’t understand why they can’t offer this super zoom stuff this year but my guess is that it will take them that long to get the software processing to work properly with the hardware.

Samsung released everything a couple of generations ago when it was still pretty rough and boy were customers mad about it. I sat that one out but my husband bought the model with the big periscope zoom and none of the lenses gave very good images. I think Apple will seek to avoid such a rough introduction.

Even now, Samsung’s camera can be a bit unpredictable. That’s why I used my 14 Pro Max to record most of our prom and graduation photos. The Samsung results can be better but can sometimes be worse. The iPhone results were more predictable.

My favorite phone camera to work with belonged to my Pixel 6 Pro and now my Pixel 7a. The hardware on my 7a isn’t the best but the camera controls are smooth and intuitive with easy control over color temperature and exposure and I get great results out of the hardware. I’d love to have that software on my iPhone.
Click to expand...
Hilariously, it looks as though Samsung was ahead of the game and beat Apple to the patent punch, forcing Apple to reinvent (as they'll likely market this) this style of zoom. I will fully admit that Apple seems to get a certain amount of ideas from the other side of the fence, but selfishly as the consumer I win out (after waiting a few years for it though;).
 
  • Wow
Reactions: 5105973
alternamelka said:
Ok but I absolutely require an option to disable image processing. Currently having to quickly press the camera roll button and screenshot the image before HDR is applied
Click to expand...
I've only recently learned of this trend/solution, but hopefully it leads Apple to tone down their over processing (not holding my breath though). My solution has been shooting raw in a third party app for ultimate control, but only reserve this for certain photos due to added time and file size required.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 5105973 and alternamelka
TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️ said:
Apple should consider calling this Super Telephoto Camera Ultra.
Click to expand...
Thats my next iphone @TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️ as I have told you keeping my 14 ProMax this year. 15 just not enough to draw me in. But this improvement (for me and I like large smartphones) will allow some great telephoto shots beyond the usual point and click wonders I already can do. Can save my DSLR 400 mm telephoto for special stuff
 
ghanwani said:
It will also be the largest and heaviest iPhone ever.
Click to expand...

What's the problem with that? Simply get yourself to a gym and beef up those biceps and wrist muscles! /s

(A preemptive response to those who make such shopworn sophomoric cracks when people say they prefer lighter-weight devices!)

EugW said:
I'm in.
Click to expand...

Even if costs $1,600?!​

TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️ said:
Apple should consider calling this Super Telephoto Camera Ultra.
Click to expand...

😁

How about:

The Super-Duper Telephoto Camera Ultra Pro Maximo?! 🙈​

And, it will be powered by the:

Camera Imaging Magnification Apple™️ system.​
​
Otherwise, known as the

CAMI​

Code name at Cupertino:

Can’t Innovate, My A%%!​
 
  • Haha
Reactions: 5105973 and DocMultimedia
Saturn007 said:
Even if costs $1,600?!​
Click to expand...
It definitely won't cost $1600, unless you get a ton of storage. Considering the 14 Pro Max starts at $1099, I don't see the 16 Pro Max starting for more than US$1199. However, I wouldn't be at all surprised if it's still $1099.

I personally always get the smallest amount of storage. Since I use iCloud, I don't need that much on my iPhone. Currently I have about 40 GB free on my 128 GB iPhone 12 Pro Max, despite the fact I take a lot of pictures with it. It would be nice if they bumped the 16 Pro Max up to 256 GB though, for those who need it.
 
Saturn007 said:
What's the problem with that? Simply get yourself to a gym and beef up those biceps and wrist muscles! /s

(A preemptive response to those who make such shopworn sophomoric cracks when people say they prefer lighter-weight devices!)



Even if costs $1,600?!​



😁

How about:

The Super-Duper Telephoto Camera Ultra Pro Maximo?! 🙈​

And, it will be powered by the:

Camera Imaging Magnification Apple™️ system.​
​
Otherwise, known as the

CAMI​

Code name at Cupertino:

Can’t Innovate, My A%%!​
Click to expand...
How about:
Camera Augmented Magnification to Enhance RAW Artistry. C.A.M.E.R.A. ;)
 
  • Like
Reactions: 5105973
wigby said:
And it might as well be 3D to support Apple Vision so users aren't required to wear headsets in order to capture content.
Click to expand...
Now there's an idea. Instead of 3D though, it should combine the front and rear images for 360° content. The front facing camera would have to be matched to the rear, so there's that hurdle that would have to be solved. If VR ever takes off, I think apple would eventually bring this to the iphone. It's only a matter of when, not if.
 
TVreporter said:
It would be fun to see what they would come up with but the market is already flooded and dominated by Nikon and Canon.
Click to expand...
I've always wondered what would be possible if you could combine a full frame (or even APS-C) sensor, high quality interchangeable lenses, and Apple or Google's computational photography. The smartphone form factor will obviously never touch the physical advantages of a good mirrorless or DSLR, but companies like Nikon and Canon are so far behind Apple and Google in the computational aspect. More and more I find myself reaching for my phone over the DSLR for certain types of shots where the physical differences aren't a significant factor. What could be done if you had the best of both worlds?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 5105973, Allen_Wentz and TVreporter
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back