iPhone 15 Pro Max Noise when taking photos and videos using 5x lens of 15 Pro Max

[hajime]

Hello, I just used the 5x lens to take videos of far objects. Although compared with the 15 Pro I could see more things further away, the video images were not clear during playback. It is like there are some kind of noise on top of the video images. Similarly, when I put the phone very close (about 5cm) to an object on my desk with a light on top and chose the 5x lens, I also saw those noise on the screen. Information showed Ultra Wide Camera -13mm f2.2, 12MP 3024x4032 even I took the photo at 5x. It is like the x5 lens feature is half baked and rushed to be part of a product. Is this normal on the 15 Pro Max? If I recall correctly, I did not see such noise when using the 15 Pro last week. Is it also there but less noticable?

 

[Ean Holdings]

Hello, I just used the 5x lens to take videos of far objects. Although compared with the 15 Pro I could see more things further away, the video images were not clear during playback. It is like there are some kind of noise on top of the video images. Similarly, when I put the phone very close (about 5cm) to an object on my desk with a light on top and chose the 5x lens, I also saw those noise on the screen. Information showed Ultra Wide Camera -13mm f2.2, 12MP 3024x4032 even I took the photo at 5x. It is like the x5 lens feature is half baked and rushed to be part of a product. Is this normal on the 15 Pro Max? If I recall correctly, I did not see such noise when using the 15 Pro last week. Is it also there but less noticable?

It will only use the 5x when there is enough light. Otherwise it will use the faster lens of the wide angle because it captures more light.

 

[winxmac]

The main camera is used whenever there is not enough light and this has been the case since iPhone 7 Plus...

You need to be outdoors at daylight/plenty of sunlight if you want to use 5x, otherwise the iPhone will use the main camera and perform a digital crop...

 

[hajime]

Thanks. Not using the 5x lens even the user chose to is a problem. How is the iPhone 15 Pro's 3x? I tried it for a few days. It did not seem to have this problem or at least less noticeable during especially such short term test. I am trying to decide whether to get the 15 Pro or just the 15/15+ and upgrade in September or next year. Need to get a new phone to replace my 6S+ urgently. Any suggestion? Not sure if the 16 series will have noticeable camera improvements. Does Apple usually make only small incremental improvements on the low night and photo/video zooming performance year by year?

One strange thing I noticed when I took photos using the 15+ and 15 Pro side by side is that I heard two shutter sounds when the 15 Plus was taking a photo. It looked like it was "thinking" and took two shots while the 15 Pro just finished the photo taking task instantly with one shot and shutter-sound. What happened there?

Also, in a completely dark room with the flash on, the 15 Pro seems to take better photos (more details shown) than the 15+ although both looked similar if I did not zoom in to see the details.

 

[Ean Holdings]

Thanks. Not using the 5x lens even the user chose to is a problem. How is the iPhone 15 Pro's 3x? I tried it for a few days. It did not seem to have this problem or at least less noticeable during especially such short term test. I am trying to decide whether to get the 15 Pro or just the 15/15+ and upgrade in September or next year. Need to get a new phone to replace my 6S+ urgently. Any suggestion? Not sure if the 16 series will have noticeable camera improvements. Does Apple usually make only small incremental improvements on the low night and photo/video zooming performance year by year?

One strange thing I noticed when I took photos using the 15+ and 15 Pro side by side is that I heard two shutter sounds when the 15 Plus was taking a photo. It looked like it was "thinking" and took two shots while the 15 Pro just finished the photo taking task instantly with one shot and shutter-sound. What happened there?

Also, in a completely dark room with the flash on, the 15 Pro seems to take better photos (more details shown) than the 15+ although both looked similar if I did not zoom in to see the details.

Any of the 15 series will be far better than your current phone. The reason the 3x may not look as bad as the 5x on the max in low light is because 3x digital crop is naturally better quality than 5x digital zoom. Put them both in adequate lighting and the 5x on the pro max will look better than the 5x on the pro.

 

[hajime]

Do you know why it took the 15 Plus two steps to complete taking a photo in low-light condition? I had both phone next to each other taking the same photo. The 15 Pro finished instantly while the 15+ seems to take 2-3 times longer.

Why the 15+ could not take close-up macro photos? With the 15 Pro, I just chose 3x and I was able to take sharp, detailed texture of an object. However, for the 15+, I need to move away from the object to keep focus, then manually zoom in the photo using my fingers. It seems that the details are still not as sharp as the one taken by 15 Pro.

 

[Ean Holdings]

Do you know why it took the 15 Plus two steps to complete taking a photo in low-light condition? I had both phone next to each other taking the same photo. The 15 Pro finished instantly while the 15+ seems to take 2-3 times longer.

Why the 15+ could not take close-up macro photos? With the 15 Pro, I just chose 3x and I was able to take sharp, detailed texture of an object. However, for the 15+, I need to move away from the object to keep focus, then manually zoom in the photo using my fingers. It seems that the details are still not as sharp as the one taken by 15 Pro.

The two step process you’re hearing is night mode. The phone is taking a longer exposure shot with a bunch of processing going on.

The non-pro phones don’t offer macro photography.

 

[hajime]

Is more advanced processor the reason the 15 Pro doing it faster? I only heard the shutter sound once.

I considered to add a macro lens to the 15 Plus but I will end up paying similar or more than the 15 Pro.

 

[MacCheetah3]

Similarly, when I put the phone very close (about 5cm) to an object on my desk with a light on top and chose the 5x lens, I also saw those noise on the screen. Information showed Ultra Wide Camera -13mm f2.2, 12MP 3024x4032 even I took the photo at 5x.

Take macro photos and videos with your iPhone camera

Learn how to take macro photos and videos with the iPhone camera.

support.apple.com

On supported models, Camera

uses the Ultra Wide camera to capture macro photography—stunning close-ups in sharp focus. You can take macro photos and Live Photos, and shoot macro slow-motion and time-lapse videos.

When you get within macro distance of your subject,

appears on the screen.

Do you know why it took the 15 Plus two steps to complete taking a photo in low-light condition? I had both phone next to each other taking the same photo. The 15 Pro finished instantly while the 15+ seems to take 2-3 times longer.

The two step process you’re hearing is night mode. The phone is taking a longer exposure shot with a bunch of processing going on.

Take Night mode photos with your iPhone camera

Learn how to use Night mode on your iPhone camera to brighten shots in low-light situations.

support.apple.com

 

[Deifie]

You also need to consider the minmal focus distance of the different cameras, the 5x cam can´t focus on anything closer than 1350 mm. For the main cam it´s 200 mm.

 

[James6s]

I have a 15 Pro and find the 3x telephoto more useful and gives good detail. Apple could enable macro on the regular iPhones but I guess they’re keeping more camera features for the Pro line up.

I have also used a 15 Plus which has great cameras and on par with the 15 Pro using the main lens on both. The 15 Plus has a closer minimal focus distance using the full 48mp which is an advantage over the Pro imo.

 

[Deifie]

AFAIK the non pro iPhone don´t have autofocus on the ultrawide lens, therefore macro is not possible...