iPhone 12 Pro Max The 0.5x lens (ultra wide) on the iPhone 12 Pro Max is very disappointing to me

[HailAlistair]

Coming from an iPhone XS Max, that I often use with the Moment superfish (also called fisheye) and wide lenses, the ultra-wide on the iPhone 12 Pro max is super disappointing.
It just can’t deal with low-light.
I was hoping that I could stop using external lenses when I upgraded to the 12 Max. Alas, this is just not possible. (Moment lenses are cool but you do have to remember to have them, clean them, mount them, switch them, put away in their case, they are bulky, you have to use the Moment case to mount them, etc. It’s a lot of complexity.)

It’s just so grainy and it lacks details when I take shots in interiors or low-light situations. Videos in interiors and low-light are even worse than photos, they remind me of the quality of videos taken with smartphones of more than 10 years ago, maybe even worse, since I’ve recently used an iPhone 5 to take videos, and the quality still holds up quite well.

Are you disappointed as well? Or maybe I got a defective unit. (seems unlikely to me.)

I can share this shots taken in an interior with all 3 cameras one after the other. (Note that I’ve set the lights to 100% for this shot, so it’s not a dim room at all.)
As you can see the 2.5x and 1x lens do a very good job, a noticeable improvement from the iPhone XS Max.
The 0.5x lens is just bad.

 

[Cayden]

I definitely get the same results on my 12 Pro Max. In my opinion, it isn’t that the ultra-wide camera is terrible, but that the new wide camera is just so much better than previous iPhones (especially in low light) that the other lenses look terrible in comparison in bad lighting. When comparing with the 11 Pro Max, the ultra-wide camera is actually better on the 12 Pro Max, but compared to the wide camera of the 12 Pro Max it’s not great. I also feel like it’s hard to compare the cameras because they will inherently be able to focus better on objects at different distances because of their zoom differences. In your photos, if you look at something closer to the camera in the ultra-wide photo, it isn’t blurry, whereas the background definitely is. It’s really about what situations each camera should be used, as they all have their own strengths and weaknesses

 

[caelius]

The UW lens has a 2.4 aperture which per se is bad in low light conditions; paired with the lack of autofocus and OIS you’re in for some crappy results if the circumstances are less than ideal. That being said it at least supports night mode now which makes a hell of a difference...

 

[SHirsch999]

Can someone explain to me why the picture on the right is so “bad”? I have to admit I know nothing of the details about advanced photography discussed so commonly on these threads. To me, that picture doesn’t look as good because the subject (the cat) looks farther away. I guess I just automatically assume some detail will be lost.

 

[lordhamster]

The UW lens has a 2.4 aperture which per se is bad in low light conditions; paired with the lack of autofocus and OIS you’re in for some crappy results if the circumstances are less than ideal. That being said it at least supports night mode now which makes a hell of a difference...

I thought the ultra wide did have OIS and autofocus. I must have really missed the memo on that one.

 

[HailAlistair]

I am quite surprised that the ultra wide lens is so bad in non-super well lit environment, and all the reviews I've read or watched don't even mention it.

 

[1096bimu]

Coming from an iPhone XS Max, that I often use with the Moment superfish (also called fisheye) and wide lenses, the ultra-wide on the iPhone 12 Pro max is super disappointing.
It just can’t deal with low-light.
I was hoping that I could stop using external lenses when I upgraded to the 12 Max. Alas, this is just not possible. (Moment lenses are cool but you do have to remember to have them, clean them, mount them, switch them, put away in their case, they are bulky, you have to use the Moment case to mount them, etc. It’s a lot of complexity.)

It’s just so grainy and it lacks details when I take shots in interiors or low-light situations. Videos in interiors and low-light are even worse than photos, they remind me of the quality of videos taken with smartphones of more than 10 years ago, maybe even worse, since I’ve recently used an iPhone 5 to take videos, and the quality still holds up quite well.

Are you disappointed as well? Or maybe I got a defective unit. (seems unlikely to me.)

I can share this shots taken in an interior with all 3 cameras one after the other. (Note that I’ve set the lights to 100% for this shot, so it’s not a dim room at all.)
As you can see the 2.5x and 1x lens do a very good job, a noticeable improvement from the iPhone XS Max.
The 0.5x lens is just bad.

the ultra wide on the pro max is the same as many other iPhones.

If you want pixel level detail zoomed in, get a real camera.

No I'm not disappointed, I'm actually impressed they could fit such a stupidly wide lens in there.

 

[Madtiger27]

All UW lenses in all phones suck donkey balls. But yes, 12 PM ultra wide has slow aperture, no OIS, AND a small / tiny sensor.

UW lens is mainly for landscape...and that mainly applies to situations with good lighting. Night mode on UW is useless IMHO. The addition of Deep Fusion made things better during daytime and medium lighting, as compared to 11 Pro. But you cannot escape physics of a tiny sensor.

 

[Madtiger27]

I thought the ultra wide did have OIS and autofocus. I must have really missed the memo on that one.

No OIS. Only wide and telephoto are stabilized. And for most part, ultra wide lenses seldomly needs stabilization. Even pro camera lenses that are that wide don’t have stabilization.

 

[Restlesslegs]

Actually f2.4 for a super wide angle is not too bad (in 35mm terms), but the corner quality is really disappointing, lots of smearing going on... I also mentioned that in the 12PM image thread. I admit it might be technically challenging to create a really great SW lens for a smart phone, but then maybe Apple should have gone for 24/50/100mm setup of lenses... The main camera is indeed much better but I'm struggling with Apple's computational photography approach, I find the images oversharpened and often the shadows too bright which creates that artificial looking "smartphone HDR-look"... White balance is also behaving erratically, grey clouds turn out way too blue etc. For a "pro" device I whish Apple would give us much more granular control over these settings...

 

[Madtiger27]

Actually f2.4 for a super wide angle is not too bad (in 35mm terms), but the corner quality is really disappointing, lots of smearing going on... I also mentioned that in the 12PM image thread. I admit it might be technically challenging to create a really great SW lens for a smart phone, but then maybe Apple should have gone for 24/50/100mm setup of lenses... The main camera is indeed much better but I'm struggling with Apple's computational photography approach, I find the images oversharpened and often the shadows too bright which creates that artificial looking "smartphone HDR-look"... White balance is also behaving erratically, grey clouds turn out way too blue etc. For a "pro" device I whish Apple would give us much more granular control over these settings...

You need to shoot ProRAW then If you want granular controls.

I disagree with you on the 24/50/100. That would mean super small sensors on the 50 and 100 due to lenses. Not worth it. Telephoto, as is, is not that good in low light, even with deep fusion.

The current setup is good for all types of photography, except when you need super zoom. Ultra wide is great for landscape and capturing the beauty of a mountain side for example. I actually use UW more than telephoto on vacation.

 

[Allyance]

I think we expect an awful lot of the camera/lenses in iPhones. I think they do a good job considering their size. The best super wide angle lens/camera I ever had was a Hasselblad Super Wide C. Incredible lens. I once took a picture of an RIT graduation inside the Rochester War Memorial, I was up high shooting the entire ceremony. When I printed the shot, I could see every rivet in the support beams from over my head down to the stage! Sharp as a tack.

 

[now i see it]

There's so much extreme in camera processing of de-warping of curved lines to get a rectilinear image that's it's amazing it works at all. The ultra wide lens is 20% lens and 80% distortion alleviation.
Think of it as one of those hokey filters that are applied in post For snapshot use only.

 

[The Game 161]

the ultra wide is the weaker of the iPhone cameras and likely why we will see big improvements with the 13 pro max as the ultra wide is getting a big update

I would say use your pro raw for your ultra wide and get the right picture with the right sharpness. proraw is awesome and I would suggest using that

 

[C. Robert]

Did we expect the .5 to be 500?

 

[Shanghaichica]

So for those who upgraded from the 11 pro max is there a lot of difference between the camera on the 12 pro max and the 11 pro max? Including all lenses.

 

[Madtiger27]

So for those who upgraded from the 11 pro max is there a lot of difference between the camera on the 12 pro max and the 11 pro max? Including all lenses.

UW lens is better only because of Deep Fusion. Night mode is OK but fairly useless given lack of details with this mode. As noted above, i only use UW in daytime...and Deep Fusion does help with pics being slightly more details when you blow it up on a computer screen.

Main lens is better in terms of colors and exposure...BUT in terms of details when pixel peep, about same...sometimes 11 PM has slightly better details but then you have tons of noise...12 PM has better balance ?

Telephoto on 12 PM is better. I use this mainly for portraits and it is significantly better than 11 PM.

Above is only about stills. Video is better on 12 PM.

 

[EPOS]

To truly see the difference with the new wide lens, pictures need to be taken in raw. The detail and noise is superior to the 12 pro and 11PM.

 

[The Game 161]

So for those who upgraded from the 11 pro max is there a lot of difference between the camera on the 12 pro max and the 11 pro max? Including all lenses.

I would a decent amount of difference plus with proraw this is a game changer to me

 

[Ketsjap]

I don't really get why the UW would be so bad. This picture I took with a regular iPhone 12, UW with night mode.

I'd say it's a great shot. But I'm no photographer..