iPhone 16 Pro Max Issues with ProRAW 48 and stock camera app

[nunolikeapple]

Its a software issue, or i have 2 defect units, plus the one that i returned.

Also i tested mine vs some other 17Pm at store and they are literally identical.

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

Its a software issue, or i have 2 defect units, plus the one that i returned.

Also i tested mine vs some other 17Pm at store and they are literally identical.

Yeah but in MY case , as you can see , it happens in 90% for my iPhone , and only in 10% for the one in store

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

Its a software issue, or i have 2 defect units, plus the one that i returned.

Also i tested mine vs some other 17Pm at store and they are literally identical.

Im not sure I remember correctly, do you have an issue with proRAW only , or is it in heic as well?

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

FYI I’ve been getting reasonably consistent good results in 48MP ProRaw on the 4x Telephoto, even in low light, since I started manually focussing (rather than auto or tap focus) and keeping the shutter and ISO as low as realistic.

This was staring right down the barrel of a sunset and was already in full shadow. Check the detail in the crop of the transmission lines on the hill. The full scene was shot on the 4x Telephoto, would upload the original image but the forum doesn’t support uploads that large.


View attachment 2562617

View attachment 2562618

how do you do manual focus instead of tap focus ? I thought tap focus would provide manual focus

 

[BlackrazorNZ]

Yeah but in MY case , as you can see , it happens in 90% for my iPhone , and only in 10% for the one in store

On quite a lot of the photos you posted, it doesn't appear to be blurry/fuzzy edges, but rather a lack of precise focus / auto-focus drift. I wonder what you'd experience if you used an app that supports manually focussing.

If it was genuinely hardware, it should show up 100% of the time.

Maybe also test a couple using a tripod if you have one?

 

[BlackrazorNZ]

how do you do manual focus instead of tap focus ? I thought tap focus would provide manual focus

No, tap focus just gives the auto focus a suggestion

By manual focus, I mean using an app (like ProCamera or Halide etc) that shows focus peaking and allows you to manually focus using a slide control so you can ensure the exact object you want to photo is 100% in focus.

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

No, tap focus just gives the auto focus a suggestion

By manual focus, I mean using an app (like ProCamera or Halide etc) that shows focus peaking and allows you to manually focus using a slide control so you can ensure the exact object you want to photo is 100% in focus.

seems like no fusion has that feature ! ill have a look

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

On quite a lot of the photos you posted, it doesn't appear to be blurry/fuzzy edges, but rather a lack of precise focus / auto-focus drift. I wonder what you'd experience if you used an app that supports manually focussing.

If it was genuinely hardware, it should show up 100% of the time.

Maybe also test a couple using a tripod if you have one?

just to be sure, you understood that every first picture is my unit, and every 2nd is store's, right ?

I should have tried when i was there to have a better point of comparison....

indeed, it would show up 100% of the time, but how do you explain the fact that it happens in 90% of the cases on my phone, and only 10% on the store's phone? i can't wrap up my brain about it (I mean out of all of these, I would say 80/90% are blurry on mine, against only 10-15% on the other)

i dont have a tripod sadly

 

[SumYoungGai]

I tested my 15 Pro Max (iOS 26.0) versus my 17 Pro Max (26.0.1) on HEIC 24 MP and 48 MP. There is no appreciable difference in sharpness or focus that I can see, and this is after me pixel peeping every part of both images. Just a data point.

I had this similar issue with several 16 Pro Max units - part of the image was noticeably blurry (like the entire right half of the image) when zooming in and I am inclined to believe this is a hardware issue with some camera units.

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

I tested my 15 Pro Max (iOS 26.0) versus my 17 Pro Max (26.0.1) on HEIC 24 MP and 48 MP. There is no appreciable difference in sharpness or focus that I can see, and this is after me pixel peeping every part of both images. Just a data point.

I had this similar issue with several 16 Pro Max units - part of the image was noticeably blurry (like the entire right half of the image) when zooming in and I am inclined to believe this is a hardware issue with some camera units.

Could the reason be related to me using 12mp? I use 12mp because it's the best resolution for proRAW

 

[SumYoungGai]

Could the reason be related to me using 12mp? I use 12mp because it's the best resolution for proRAW

I just tried ProRAW 12 MP on both phones and the pictures look exactly the same to me.

 

[nunolikeapple]

I tested my 15 Pro Max (iOS 26.0) versus my 17 Pro Max (26.0.1) on HEIC 24 MP and 48 MP. There is no appreciable difference in sharpness or focus that I can see, and this is after me pixel peeping every part of both images. Just a data point.

I had this similar issue with several 16 Pro Max units - part of the image was noticeably blurry (like the entire right half of the image) when zooming in and I am inclined to believe this is a hardware issue with some camera units.

I have to try the HEIC format.

JPEG Max and ProRaw still very unpolished and very different from my 16PM.

Saw this video of this notable youtuber (minute 8:26)

Showing the new “profile” of the lack of clarity or “reduced sharpness”…

 

[nunolikeapple]

I tested my 15 Pro Max (iOS 26.0) versus my 17 Pro Max (26.0.1) on HEIC 24 MP and 48 MP. There is no appreciable difference in sharpness or focus that I can see, and this is after me pixel peeping every part of both images. Just a data point.

I had this similar issue with several 16 Pro Max units - part of the image was noticeably blurry (like the entire right half of the image) when zooming in and I am inclined to believe this is a hardware issue with some camera units.

I still have my 15PM that produces very good results at ProRaw48 with ProCam.

But my 16PM is even better at maximizing zoom (photo).

However i miss my 14PM. Superb and unparalleled image quality.

 

[SumYoungGai]

I still have my 15PM that produces very good results at ProRaw48 with ProCam.

But my 16PM is even better at maximizing zoom (photo).

However i miss my 14PM. Superb and unparalleled image quality.

I wonder if part of this has to do with whether Apple has turned down the sharpening on this generation of iPhone. The 14 PM was the first 48 MP Main shooter and I also remember that the photos were good, perhaps they intentionally oversharpened photos to make things appear to have a better resolution.

 

[nunolikeapple]

Yes, i agree.
14PM series was excellent, but liked to oversharpened a little bit.

 

[BlackrazorNZ]

The other thing that leads me to strongly suspect a software issue rather than hardware, is that hardware quality loss should be entirely independent of the format. But it's not - HEIC photos at 48MP remain reasonably clear in almost all circumstances, whereas ProRAW in 48MP can be sharp, can be slushy, it's a gamble.

But if it was hardware, it would affect all formats equally. A dodgy lens or sensor wouldn't be sharp on some formats and dodgy on others, and HEIC can't invent details that the sensor didn't capture in the first place.

So it just makes logical sense to me that the issue remains a dodgy ProRAW pipeline.

For just another example - here's two identical 1:1 pixel crops from 48MP 4x Telephoto shots taken moments apart with exactly the same lighting conditions. Literally the only change is switching from HEIC to ProRAW. Yes, HEIC is oversharpened and too punchy - but 'oversharpened' isn't the same as 'magically able to conjure up detail that the sensor never captured' - stuff like the branches you can see on the pine trees on the island.

HEIC

ProRAW

 

[turbineseaplane]

The other thing that leads me to strongly suspect a software issue rather than hardware, is that hardware quality loss should be entirely independent of the format. But it's not - HEIC photos at 48MP remain reasonably clear in almost all circumstances, whereas ProRAW in 48MP can be sharp, can be slushy, it's a gamble.

But if it was hardware, it would affect all formats equally. A dodgy lens or sensor wouldn't be sharp on some formats and dodgy on others, and HEIC can't invent details that the sensor didn't capture in the first place.

So it just makes logical sense to me that the issue remains a dodgy ProRAW pipeline.

For just another example - here's two identical 1:1 pixel crops from 48MP 4x Telephoto shots taken moments apart with exactly the same lighting conditions. Literally the only change is switching from HEIC to ProRAW. Yes, HEIC is oversharpened and too punchy - but 'oversharpened' isn't the same as 'magically able to conjure up detail that the sensor never captured' - stuff like the branches you can see on the pine trees on the island.

HEIC
View attachment 2562877

ProRAW
View attachment 2562878

ProRaw or "ProBlur"?

Bleh 🤮

 

[SumYoungGai]

The other thing that leads me to strongly suspect a software issue rather than hardware, is that hardware quality loss should be entirely independent of the format. But it's not - HEIC photos at 48MP remain reasonably clear in almost all circumstances, whereas ProRAW in 48MP can be sharp, can be slushy, it's a gamble.

But if it was hardware, it would affect all formats equally. A dodgy lens or sensor wouldn't be sharp on some formats and dodgy on others, and HEIC can't invent details that the sensor didn't capture in the first place.

So it just makes logical sense to me that the issue remains a dodgy ProRAW pipeline.

For just another example - here's two identical 1:1 pixel crops from 48MP 4x Telephoto shots taken moments apart with exactly the same lighting conditions. Literally the only change is switching from HEIC to ProRAW. Yes, HEIC is oversharpened and too punchy - but 'oversharpened' isn't the same as 'magically able to conjure up detail that the sensor never captured' - stuff like the branches you can see on the pine trees on the island.

HEIC
View attachment 2562877

ProRAW
View attachment 2562878

I 100% agree that there is likely a ProRAW processing pipeline issue that was introduced in iOS 26.0 that is 1:1 for the issue that was introduced in 18.0 and later fixed in 18.3. At the same time, it can also be true that some cameras can have a hardware fault. I saw this firsthand on some 16 Pro Max units I tested after 18.3 was released, half the image was blurry and it seemed like the focus was off.

The ProRAW vs HEIC comparison you posted is about the same as what I see on my 17 PM, but in the pictures posted by the other person in this thread, the loss of detail/sharpness goes well beyond the difference seen here in these pictures. I imagine it would be to a point that you wouldn't be able to clearly make out the sides of the houses when zooming in.

 

[miemo]

The other thing that leads me to strongly suspect a software issue rather than hardware, is that hardware quality loss should be entirely independent of the format. But it's not - HEIC photos at 48MP remain reasonably clear in almost all circumstances, whereas ProRAW in 48MP can be sharp, can be slushy, it's a gamble.

Also in my tests, the “pure” RAW photos taken with Halide have shown good detail, when ProRAW taken just some seconds apart has been a total mess. Granted, it’s a 12MP vs 48MP, so not a 1:1 comparison but the issues on the ProRAW were so evident that if it was hardware based, some indications should’ve been visible already at 12MP RAW.

 

[jajo.j]

I am super happy with my 17 Pro Max that shows a lot better detail in ProRAW than my 16 Pro Max. Here are some 100% crops.

17 Pro Max to the left, 16 Pro Max to the right.



48MP ProRAW 1x, only opened in Lightroom and saved as JPG. No editing.



Same as previous image, a lot more detail in 17PM image.



12MP/48MP ProRAW 5x/4x. No editing.

 

[nunolikeapple]

Yes i have much better details on my iphone 17PM with telephoto camera in ProRaw.

The main camera still delivering inferior results in ProRaw. (Same results in my both 17PM’s).

 

[jajo.j]

Yes i have much better details on my iphone 17PM with telephoto camera in ProRaw.

The main camera still delivering inferior results in ProRaw. (Same results in my both 17PM’s).

Odd that we have different results. I guess you are on 26.0.1?

 

[nunolikeapple]

Yes.

I added a 17 pro unit from a family member to my tests, and they are showing virtually identical results.

Much better definition on my 16PM.
I dont like the softness that im seeing when zooming to the max.

 

[nunolikeapple]

I will try the HEIC format.

 

[cocky jeremy]

I shoot ProRAW and in the stock camera app, it's out of focus. Using third party, it's sharp as expected. Hm. I wonder why Apple still hasn't fixed this?