iPhone Air iPhone Air’s makeshift Ultrawide lens

[Gregintosh]

I’ve seen some people point out that the selfie camera on the iPhone Air has a pretty wide angle. So I decided to test it for myself.

It seems the selfie camera can do 20mm focal length, not quite the 11mm ultra wide but it does capture way more than the 26mm main camera.

It’s not perfect and certainly not a full replacement for the ultra wide lens, since it also doesn’t do Macro mode which is one reason many people want one.

But it does help if taking a picture in a small space or if you just want that wider angle to capture a bigger landscape.

And at 18mp, along with the optics/sensor improvements this year, the results aren’t so bad!

To make taking the photos easier you can flip the phone around and use the camera control button to snap the pic.

I am attaching two pictures taken from the same spot so those of you without an Air can see what you’ll have available to you.

Maybe it’ll help someone trying to decide and struggling with the idea of not having ultra wide make a final decision.

One pic is the default 1x main camera and the other is the selfie camera taken with the wider option.

 

[maka344]

Just buy a Pro if this is important to you.

 

[Spinarelo]

The problem with this is that the phone screen is facing away from you. So you cant see the Pic you're taking and you cant frame it right. Lack of ultrawide is what kept me on my 16PM.... I like everything else about the Air and was ready to buy one, until I realized how often I use the ultrawide camera

 

[JPack]

In short, it's not even close to being a substitute.

 

[danpass]

Last ditch maneuver.

That’s why I kept my 16 Pro when I got my Air lol.

-

 

[tomtad]

Simply buy the regular iPhone

It's only 12 grams heavier, it feels great in the hand, and has a dedicated ultra wide camera.

And get this, you get $200 back!

 

[youchew]

Simply buy the regular iPhone

It's only 12 grams heavier, it feels great in the hand, and has a dedicated ultra wide camera.

And get this, you get $200 back!

I mean, there are still trade offs for sure

In hand feel is way different even if the weights are similar, 12gb of ram, A19 Pro, C1X for more efficient cellular service, and faster storage

 

[FeliApple]

I agree: if you need the Ultra Wide so much so as to do this, I’d just buy the regular 17 as the trade-offs wouldn’t be worth it in that case.

 

[4sallypat]

Glad I have the Air and never use any of the camera features.

The hate for Air here is so thick.

 

[jz0309]

I’ve seen some people point out that the selfie camera on the iPhone Air has a pretty wide angle. So I decided to test it for myself.

It seems the selfie camera can do 20mm focal length, not quite the 11mm ultra wide but it does capture way more than the 26mm main camera.

It’s not perfect and certainly not a full replacement for the ultra wide lens, since it also doesn’t do Macro mode which is one reason many people want one.

But it does help if taking a picture in a small space or if you just want that wider angle to capture a bigger landscape.

And at 18mp, along with the optics/sensor improvements this year, the results aren’t so bad!

To make taking the photos easier you can flip the phone around and use the camera control button to snap the pic.

I am attaching two pictures taken from the same spot so those of you without an Air can see what you’ll have available to you.

Maybe it’ll help someone trying to decide and struggling with the idea of not having ultra wide make a final decision.

One pic is the default 1x main camera and the other is the selfie camera taken with the wider option.

or, get the right tool for the job ...

 

[Gregintosh]

Yes, for people who are vloggers or influencers, this won’t work, and they should buy the Pro probably.

But for people who bought the Air, I’d see the compromise the other way. By buying a normal 17 or the Pro I’d be losing the amazing hand feel, the larger (but not too large) screen, the weight, and the durability.

That’s too big of a trade off for me to just gain a measly 0.5 camera I used to use maybe once every two months for a picture or two.

So given that, it’s nice to know that for the very occasional opportunity, there’s an option to take a bit of a wider photo than the back lens allows.

 

[Tripps9000]

What they should have is took the tech used to create the ultra wide feature on the front facing camera and used it on the rear camera of the air at least giving it the ability to capture a wide angle type picture as well 🤨

 

[idmean]

The interior design, though... a scale under the TV? A 20$ IKEA table carrying two HomePods? And the carpet doesn't even fit into the room

 

[JPack]

Yes, for people who are vloggers or influencers, this won’t work, and they should buy the Pro probably.

Normal people take ultrawide photos all the time. You make it sound like 0.5x is some special tool.

Human peripheral vision is close to the field of view of 0.5x. This is why so many people use the UW lens.

If you had a UW lens, we'd be able to see half the room, not just a corner of it.

 

[Ctrlos]

1. We had phones for years without an Ultrawide and did perfectly well.

2. Panorama mode exists.

3. Why did nobody complain they took the 0.5x out of the iPad Pro? I actually use that all the time for recording experiments with multiple apparatus.

 

[ErzWolf]

The scale right on that floor in a living room tells me the Air is just the right iPhone for u.

 

[ErzWolf]

I don't get the point of this anymore. It's obvious the Air is lacking those features. If u need ultrawide and/or voyeur-shoot-quality-telephoto on your PHONE so urgently I recommend getting a Normal/Pro.
Brilliant idea: If u care so much about photography, why don't u get a system camera with several lenses. No need to buy new every year also.

 

[Gregintosh]

I don't get the point of this anymore. It's obvious the Air is lacking those features. If u need ultrawide and/or voyeur-shoot-quality-telephoto on your PHONE so urgently I recommend getting a Normal/Pro.
Brilliant idea: If u care so much about photography, why don't u get a system camera with several lenses. No need to buy new every year also.

I agree. For my proper photography I got a Sony camera and some expensive lenses.

I don’t really care much about photos on the phone, and the main camera is more than enough to capture those small memories when out and about.

It doesn’t mean though it’s not interesting to see all your options and use them if desired.

Not sure why everyone assumes because someone is interested in what the Air can do must mean that those things are a top priority.

If someones microwave lacks a popcorn button but they discover the “reheat leftovers” button does the job, would you guys all flame and attack him and tell him he should buy an industrial popcorn maker?

Just because dude wants to make microwave popcorn once in a while doesn’t mean he needs to invest in professional popcorn making equipment if something he already has can do the job good enough.

 

[JokoWidodo]

for a $1000 device, they should have used the main lens from 17 Pro.. not the base 17..

 

[Moreplease]

for a $1000 device, they should have used the main lens from 17 Pro.. not the base 17..

The problem with that is that the 17 Pro has a terrible minimum focus distance.

Since the Air has no ultrawide to fall back to for macro, as the 17 Pro does, it’s better to have a single camera that focuses a lot closer.

 

[4sallypat]

for a $1000 device, they should have used the main lens from 17 Pro.. not the base 17..

Then again you are assuming Air buyers are photo users.

Most of us are not.

We use the camera feature to capture a moment like a snapshot or instamatic like @Gregintosh stated.

I rarely use the camera on my Air (and previously the 16 pro).

The lens distortion makes it a very simple point and shoot camera.

I much prefer to use my DSLR with prime and pro lenses capturing photo quality images and videos.

 

[Kjabean]

for a $1000 device, they should have used the main lens from 17 Pro.. not the base 17..

The lens is the same, it is the sensor that is different, it is a different size because it needed to be a more “one size fits all” camera then being able to gather more information but not being able to be more versatile. It is not a quality thing. As far as I understand.

And also, I just have to say, it looks so so good with only one camera.. I really miss the days when every phone only had one camera. I have always hated the cyclops look. I hope they will focus their efforts into incorporating the different abilities into one main lens further. I wish they could find a material that could bend and feed to multiple sensors so you only need one lens for everything.