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The gap in photo between Pro and Pro Max make the Pro model is a no man's land since for +$100 you get way better camera system.

Do you have any comparison/review to prove your claim?
Will the Pro Max be better? Probably!
But probably not by such a margin you think.
 
It is a little sketchy. I’d hope the people that really care know enough to look into it. For most of us, I’d imagine we hear, “the camera is better and here are all these nonsense specs to back that up.” Were blissfully ignorant.
And those buyers will. Most users/buyers/people don't care. I have no doubts even those who regularly post to social networks ask, "what kind of optical and digital zoom does the iPhone have?" They see three rear cameras and maybe the mentions of wide, ultra-wide, and telephoto and megapixels rating then think "awesome!" Those (photographers) who care about zoom, aperture size, stabilization, etc will understand Apple's spec sheets.
3) My opinion - I do feel its a bit sneaky how they're suddenly marketing optical range as opposed to optical zoom. Again, not inaccurate, but they're clearly trying to make it look better than what it was.
I agree that Apple should have done this zoom range emphasis (beginning) with the iPhone 11 Pro -- unless they did and I didn't notice.
 
Do you have any comparison/review to prove your claim?
Will the Pro Max be better? Probably!
But probably not by such a margin you think.
Yep just from Apple.com regarding Pro Max vs Pro "a 47% larger sensor and larger pixels dramatically increase the amount of light gathered on the Wide camera. A new OIS stabilizes the sensor instead of the lens so your shots are steady — even when you’re not. And the new 65 mm Telephoto camera lets you zoom in tighter on portraits. "
and " 87% better low‑light photos"
47% and 87% are huge numbers. We are not talking about 10/20% increase. Of course let's see what the real world test will show but on paper, this is a huge deal for anyone at least semi-"pro" on photo/video.
 
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I think that Apple's multiple lens situation where you can zoom from .5 to 2.5 or .5 to 2.0, sets a range. Certainly it's not contiguous, it's in steps. Just because other phone manufacturers don't advertise range as an attribute, doesn't mean that it doesn't exist or shouldn't be used. Maybe Apple is more clever at marketing than Samsung.

I figure OP heard someone's complaint and since they are a recent switcher, they are justifying their decision to switch by hitting on Apple, in a troll post. For them it's, "I made a good decision." The fact they are doubling down shows that they are batting for the other team, in this situation.

For me the decision to get the 12 Pro over the 12 Max, is definitely size. I want the zoom bits, but I want the smaller size. This is where the two meet. Am I sad that the 12 Pro/Max are not the same camera this year? Sure... But it's not worth complaining about it. I will decide what I want, each year, and base it on the camera, or the size.. The difference to me was not compelling enough to go with 12 Pro -> Max, but was from 12 -> Pro.
 
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Yea no. It isn't sneaky at all. It is pretty clearly spelled out on the device page. The fact that the YouTube doofus doesn't understand that tells us all we need to know about him, and you quite frankly.
 
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So going through this thread has confused me. Is this correct?

Wide lens (was the basic lens which we will call 0 zoom for arguments sake)
Telephoto lens (either 2x or 2.5x zoom fixed)
Ultra wide lens (-2.5x zoom fixed)

So taking a photo on ultra wide and then one on telephoto you are zooming in 5x (the range)

As for the term optical they can call it that due to the lenses being set at a “zoom” level rather than it being digitally zoomed. This is better than digital zoom as you don’t loose detail from cropping/pixel merging however not as good as true “optical zoom” where the lens actually moves because it uses 3 different sensors which will be different levels of quality opposed to one sensor and a adjustable lens as found on a dslr.

Yeah I guess it could be slight marketing ploy but also seems more accurate including the word “range” due to it being 3 different sensor and lens setups.

feel free to correct me if I’ve got that wrong
 
So going through this thread has confused me. Is this correct?

Wide lens (was the basic lens which we will call 0 zoom for arguments sake)
Telephoto lens (either 2x or 2.5x zoom fixed)
Ultra wide lens (-2.5x zoom fixed)

So taking a photo on ultra wide and then one on telephoto you are zooming in 5x (the range)

As for the term optical they can call it that due to the lenses being set at a “zoom” level rather than it being digitally zoomed. This is better than digital zoom as you don’t loose detail from cropping/pixel merging however not as good as true “optical zoom” where the lens actually moves because it uses 3 different sensors which will be different levels of quality opposed to one sensor and a adjustable lens as found on a dslr.

Yeah I guess it could be slight marketing ploy but also seems more accurate including the word “range” due to it being 3 different sensor and lens setups.

feel free to correct me if I’ve got that wrong

No not really correct
- If you call the “wide” lens the basic lens then that is 1X (not 0)
- The Ultra Wide lens is 0.5X relative to the Wide lens (or as Apple say “2x optical zoom out”)
- The Telephoto lens is 2.5X relative to the Wide lens, or 5X relative to the Ultra Wide lens (hence the 5X claim, apple say “2.5X optical zoom in / 5x zoom range”)

But... none of the lenses on the iPhone are optical zoom lenses, as someone above said they are all “prime” lenses i.e. fixed at different “zoom levels” i.e. focal lengths (0.5x, 1x, 2.5x zoom levels above). The iPhone computers do the “zooming” in between based on manipulating data from the three fixed lenses., so try and pretend you are using a traditional zoom lens through the whole range. So yes you do lose detail at various points in the range due to digital cropping as you move through the “zoom range” unless you happen to be at 0.5x 1x or 2.5x exactly etc.

The pictures attached show the difference from my iPhone 11 Pro just now, the same fragment of picture taken from the Ultrawide lens (zoom level at 0.9x, unclear) and then the Wide lens (zoom level 1.0x, clear). Why so different? Apart from other sensor/lens differences, at 0.9x the Ultrawide lens has had to digitally zoom in/crop...
6a060a927448d6d234dc8fad9da4da02.jpg

9e258c8a90489884e197086851208658.jpg
 
No not really correct
- If you call the “wide” lens the basic lens then that is 1X (not 0)
- The Ultra Wide lens is 0.5X relative to the Wide lens (or as Apple say “2x optical zoom out”)
- The Telephoto lens is 2.5X relative to the Wide lens, or 5X relative to the Ultra Wide lens (hence the 5X claim, apple say “2.5X optical zoom in / 5x zoom range”)

But... none of the lenses on the iPhone are optical zoom lenses, as someone above said they are all “prime” lenses i.e. fixed at different “zoom levels” i.e. focal lengths (0.5x, 1x, 2.5x zoom levels above). The iPhone computers do the “zooming” in between based on manipulating data from the three fixed lenses., so try and pretend you are using a traditional zoom lens through the whole range. So yes you do lose detail at various points in the range due to digital cropping as you move through the “zoom range” unless you happen to be at 0.5x 1x or 2.5x exactly etc.

The pictures attached show the difference from my iPhone 11 Pro just now, the same fragment of picture taken from the Ultrawide lens (zoom level at 0.9x, unclear) and then the Wide lens (zoom level 1.0x, clear). Why so different? Apart from other sensor/lens differences, at 0.9x the Ultrawide lens has had to digitally zoom in/crop...
6a060a927448d6d234dc8fad9da4da02.jpg

9e258c8a90489884e197086851208658.jpg
Thank you for helping clear up the confusion
 
but also because the 5X optical zoom they advertise is not actually "5X optical zoom" but 5X "zoom range." In other words, what everyone thinks Apple has is 5X zoom, but its actually 2.5X zoom because they're counting from the ultra-wide, not from the main sensor like Samsung or other companies that advertise 5X optical zoom.


😂😂😂😂😂😂

Apple got the description right. It’s not marketing trickery, deception, etc.

What you’re after (i.e. how far you can zoom in) is just the (equivalent) focal length, which Apple doesn’t really talk about because it would confuse people like Brian Tong even more.


Look, Brian is clearly not familiar with photography, or has never owned a camera with zoom, a DSLR, etc. Can’t blame him for not knowing, but calling this “trickery” is 😂. This is why Apple just names its lenses ultrawide, wide, and tele.
 
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Will have to wait and see what Huawei's new Mate 40Pro comes with then compare. Their zoom capabilities are beyond amazing.Even my P30 Pro has amazing zoom capabilities. One day Apple will catch up. Maybe next year or the year after.
 
This wonderful thread deserves an update :p

In PCMag's review of the iPhone 12 Pro:
"In marketing materials this year, Apple has decided to use words the way nobody else in the phone industry does, but we're going to push back. The company is counting its "zoom" from the 0.5x of its wide-angle camera, claiming the Pro is capable of "4x zoom." That's not the way most people understand zoom. The wide-angle camera is not the default, and in the camera app, the three Photo settings are still displayed as 0.5x, 1x, and 2x."
 
Apple is counting the zoom range as every lens manufacturer in the indusrty does. Or every compact zoom camera manufacturer does. From the widest to the longest. It's the standard in camera industry.

So you should blame the other smartphone manufacturers, that they are making false claims that are uncommon in the camery industry.
 
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