iPhone 12 Pro camera not focusing properly

You put a finger on lidar, then on 2.5x cam. - and..... mirackle doesnt happen :( , nothing happens. When covering 2.5cam, -the same view, only digitaly zoomed from x1 cam. Same 13-14cm minimal focusing distance. What for then x2.5? Looks like lies...

apple, i want my money back! Very very dissapointed! Total downgrade! I even would be happy to change my max to 11 max. But i cant, as phone , and sim

are activated. No any word in presentation from apple about this “ new f@ lenses upgrade”. No sorries, no worries..

I wish I had noticed this when I got my iPhone 12 Pro Max. I take pictures for eBay items and this is a complete hinderance. Now I’m stuck with a phone that despite having a “better” camera, has severe limitations that many people are in need of. This is extremely frustrating and should have been something that was addressed when the phone was released. I hadn’t even read any reviews about this when I decided to purchase my phone. At this point, I just wish I had my 11 Pro Max back.

Agree that the the 12 pro max doesn’t “cut it” at the standard of the vast majority of modern phones.

The attached photo does not really seem to be a ultra close-up macro shot of the nature we have been discussing in this forum thread. The spider is actually the size of something we need to be really sharp and detailed. But the spider appears all blurry in the photo...

I might be having a similar issue after updating to the latest ios14.3 release. Which just canme out a day or 2 ago. I will have to take more pictures to see if this is indeed the case. Up until the latest release the focus was great. I was taking pics of my christmas tree and video. The video look a little burry. I would appreciate is someone can verify if you are seeing burry pics at normal distances, not closeups.

As I said I will have to do more testing. I was just searching to see if anyone else had similar issues after updating to the latest release.

thank you

John

Oh, I take it back. The Photos after reviewing them Look ok. I will repost if I see any issues.

Regarding closeup focus. Mine focuses fine but if I move the iPhone to close to the image will be burry untill I move back a little bit. Maybe you are hasving a different issue.

Also have the same issue on my 12 pro max. When I chatted apple CS they said that it is because of the new larger sensor of pro max. They advice to used 2.5x instead if u want to take a closer shot. I came from xs max and i dont have any problem with it except ofcourse no night mode and ultrawide but still the camera is good no complaints. But 12 pro max is disappointed.

Same issue on 12 Pro Max as others are reporting. I have defaulted to using the 2.5x, however this makes applications that use the standard camera by default to scan things almost completely unusable. This needs to be corrected, either by having those apps be able to choose a different camera or fixing the issue altogether.

I have shot macro with iPhones for years with stunning results--especially close-up food and flower photography, which tend to be my main subjects. My 12 Pro Max is a total FAIL as a camera for macro work and a huge disappointment. Its heavily promoted upgraded camera was my sole reason for trading in my 11 Pro Max and now I have to borrow my wife's iPhone 11 when I want to shoot. LiDar, bigger sensor, sensor shift stabilization, blah, blah, blah... how about making sure that macro focusing works? Shooting macro with telephoto is the very compromised workaround that is the only thing available for close up shots. Meanwhile, crickets from Apple, or the nonsense that the lack of macro focusing ability is due to all those great new components.

Exactly this, @charlesrn. I would have never upgraded my phone and traded in my 11 had this been advertised rather than the “amazing new camera”. Even from reviewers and bloggers, it seems to have been completely overlooked. It’s such a disappointment, especially since Apple has yet to address the issue, as you mentioned. At the point, I’m just hoping the year goes by quickly and that the next phone actually has a better camera, because at this point, a camera like the 11 Pro Max’s would be an upgrade to me.

I called Apple today, they know and are working on it but have no clue what the problem is even after all the diagnostics

they also admit even if their advanced team figures it out they are not likely to even tell them.

so yes iPhone 12 Pro and 12 pro Max won’t focus when zoomed in. My iPad and iPhone X have no problem but the 12 pro is absolutely infuriating!

why can’t Apple ever get it right???

I have iPhone 12 Pro Max, the same problem. I was happy with my iPhone 6x - it does better closeups than this one. Frustrating and disappointed. After reading all the complaints, I think apple should give us all a good solution.

I spoke to Apple, they are aware but don’t seem to care, they know they have a problem, the launch and get your money, and don’t fix it, don’t tell me anything, and don’t call back.

YUP TYPICAL APPLE

battery gate now camera gate.

wish I never gave back my XS to upgrade.

Iphone 12 pro Max is a DOWNGRADE!!!

You speak about the problem quite definitively, but have you found a source to confirm what you're saying--that there was an actual change in the spec for minimum focusing distance on the 12PM as a result of larger sensor and sensor shift stabilization? While I think it's more likely than not that this is exactly the situation, I haven't been able to find a single word about this online. Lots of complaints from 12 PM owners, to be sure, in threads about this on various sites, but nothing on the major Apple news sites, nothing from pro photographers who often review iPhone cameras and... as usual... crickets from Apple.

Testing the actual devices myself, in a mount/stand. Discussions with Apple (off record).

This guy also had discussions:

https://youtu.be/itGfzzF3i4M

I don’t know if Apple has gone officially on the record yet. I think more likely they will bury it and may have already instructed support teams to avoid discussing the topic.

You could continue to test the most current display models at the Apple store to see if a silent hardware change gets made, but this action is very rare.

So I jumped through the hoops of sending in pictures to explain the issues, multiple phone calls, requesting to speak to someone higher up when talking with people who refused to acknowledge a problem, and finally came to a result that’s better than just leaving it be. I told them about moment lenses and how they have a macro lens for 10x zoom. It’s not a perfect solution, as you have to basically touch the object to focus on it, but it does work when that’s the desired type of shot. They wound up comping us $120 per 12 pro max in order to purchase the lens + case from moment. I purchased one set for my mom, as her phone was a gift and she’d get more use out of the lens, and wound up pocketing the other $120. While it’s not a fix and isn’t that much of a refund, at least there’s something other than denial and passing the buck, so to speak. Try to push for that if you’re interested in a 3rd party solution, or just ask for a partial refund due to the inability to use the phone as you would their previous phones. Certain CSR’s you speak with have the authority to issue money back. Hopefully you guys find some help (and hopefully next years’ phone is fixed with regards to this issue).