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macher

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Oct 13, 2012
3,341
1,728
I have an iPhone SE 2020. Yea I know the 12 Pro has a telephoto lens and the 12 doesn’t.

I’m not a an avid photographer just an average Joe who does take lots of pictures that wants an iPhone that I can whip out of my pocket and take a pic or a video without much changing settings etc

With that being said as an average Joe photo / video taker why and when would I want to use the telephoto lens? Not concerned about spending the extra for the Pro but if I’m not going to use it much then it won’t be cost effective.

Thanks!
 

bobmans

macrumors 6502a
Feb 7, 2020
598
1,751
You'll probably rarely use it.
Telephoto camera doesn't even always get used when going 2x zoom (it kicks in only in good lightning conditions and when the subject isn't too close for example). Imo, you won't miss it at all if you're going for the non-pro models.
 

Traverse

macrumors 604
Mar 11, 2013
7,710
4,489
Here
While I use it, I’m trying to stop. The quality different between the wide angle lens and the telephoto is apparent in most situations. You’re better off using the wide angle and cropping.
 
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mailman199

macrumors 6502
Nov 4, 2008
301
234
New York
Agreed with these comments. The wide sensor and lens are far superior. You are almost always better off cropping from the wide. The one caveat is don't fill the wide frame with peoples faces (crop it); get distance between you and your human subject to avoid perspective distortion.
 
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Lwii2boo

macrumors 6502
May 12, 2020
464
919
Paris, France
Then just get the regular 12 you will save some bucks and gain a lighter phone. iPhone 12 is definitely the iPhone for most people IMO.
 

achappy

macrumors 6502
Oct 26, 2017
268
312
I have to disagree with above. I use my telephoto quite a bit on my X (and I know it's being used because I have a Smart Album that filters on that lens). I use it quite a bit at my son's baseball games (video and photo) and I've compared a few photos to my son's XR with a photo cropped and I thought the telephot was better.

Over the years I've taken some really good photos with the telephoto lens, but you do have to realize that lighting has to be good.
 

jagolden

macrumors 68000
Feb 11, 2002
1,584
1,494
On my 11 Pro Max I usually skip the built-in 2x lens in favor of using a Sandmarc 2x lens in conjunction with the built-in 1x.
The reason being on the 11 Pros the 1x has the better sensor. But the Sandmarc 2x combined with the built in 2x does give a pretty darn good 4x photo.

‘I understand Apple’s increased the sensors on the iPhone 12’s, but can’t really compare them yet.
 

BrettDS

macrumors 65816
Nov 14, 2012
1,489
634
Orlando
With that being said as an average Joe photo / video taker why and when would I want to use the telephoto lens? Not concerned about spending the extra for the Pro but if I’m not going to use it much then it won’t be cost effective.

I mean I think this is a question you can answer pretty quickly and easily yourself. When you take pictures with your phone do you ever zoom in or do you just whip out the phone and take a picture? The telephoto lens will only be used when you zoom in, so if you never or rarely do that then you will never or rarely use the telephoto lens. If you frequently find yourself zooming in when you take pictures then the telephoto lens will probably be beneficial to you.
 
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