iPhone 12 Pro camera not focusing properly

Well, I had a nice visit at the Apple Genius Bar today. My iPhone 12 Pro Max’s camera could not focus on fine print at close range - like it had no macro field of focus at all. My Apple Genius ran a diagnostic on my iPhone & that came back with a recommendation to do a FORCE RESTART of the iPhone:

Press & release the volume up button, then press & release the volume down button, then press & hold the power button until the apple logo appears.

Like magic, my iPhone now focuses in closeup macro mode perfectly.

Guys. Basically. Using 2.5x optical zoom (Not digital), is the way to get good close up shots on newer iPhones (12, Pro & Max). You don't need the phone really close at 1x like before.

Taken on a iPhone 12 Pro Max.

Left: 1X zoom.

Right: 2.5x zoom.

No surprise that a coffee cup would be fine. The issues crop up when you try to close focus on a watch face, a coin, the interior of a flower or similar smaller subjects that require more macro focusing capability. Previous gen iPhones had no problem, but the 12 Pro Max cannot focus as closely. The workarounds are to focus from further away and then enlarge the photo to get the close-up you need (not ideal) or to shoot with the 2.5 lens which is a slower lens and more subject to less-than-tack-sharp-focus due to camera shake. You may not see the slight blur on your phone's screen, but try blowing up the shot to 13 x 19, which I routinely did with flower macros taken with my iPhone 11 Pro Max.

I have posted about this previously here, but the uninformed rage posts continue, so I'll try again:

The change in minimum focusing distance isn't a bug, a production problem or an oversight. It isn't going to be fixed. It is the result of the 12 Pro Max getting a faster lens and bigger sensor. It is how the laws of optics work. This isn't an Apple issue. When Samsung made similar improvements to their top-of-the-line phone camera, guess what happened? Same thing. So you are not going to be able to make this "a big issue" unless you can change the laws of optics. Good luck with that.

Lvl415, your observation that you have to be about an inch further from the subject to be in focus compared to previous iPhones is about right. I'd say it's more in the 1 to 2 inches further range. (Would be nice if Apple gave us that spec, but no.) To those who don't do close-up photography, this may sound like much about nothing, but having to backup by 1 to 2 inches when you're in that close makes a huge difference in how frame-filling your subject is. Yes, you can enlarge or edit the photograph, to achieve something close to the same result, but both options are loss-of-quality compromises, as is using the telephoto lens to do close-up work.

There are numerous posts about "magic fixes" that involve restarts, phone replacement, manual focus control on certain apps, blah, blah, blah. None of them work because you cannot fix or replace the laws of optics. The minimum focusing distance on the 12 Pro Max is what it is.

Lots of rage posts about "so called great camera." I understand the anger from people who do a lot of close-up photography and expected the 12 Pro Max to be at least as good, if not better, than all previous iPhones for that purpose. What they got is a camera that's actually not as good FOR THAT PURPOSE, and no warning from Apple about that. But overall, it's a far superior camera system, especially for lower light photography. The combination of faster wide lens (the "normal" lens on an iPhone), much bigger sensor and sensor-shift stabilization are all big leaps forward.

My advice: if you hate the 12 Pro Max camera, then avoid the 13 Pro Max since it appears the minimum close focus distance may get bumped a bit further out again. If the rumors are true, the camera system will get a faster lens and bigger sensor compared to the 12 Pro Max. We shall see.

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).

If your 12 Pro (not the Max) is still having close focus issues, and you've updated to the latest version of iOS, you should take it in for repair. The 12 pro issue was solvable in software, and feedback from 12 Pro owners seems to confirm that the fix worked. So if it didn't work for you, then you may have an issue specific to your phone.

The speculation about the 12 Pro Max issue is that it's a hardware issue and not necessarily a "defect" per se. It may simply be the laws of optics at work, that with the new lens and the larger sensor, the minimum focusing distance for the camera is no longer the same, and that was a tradeoff Apple felt was worth the improvements. Which I would be okay with... IF they had informed prospective buyers of the 12 Pro Max of this change, which they did not. I would have definitely opted for the 12 Pro had I known this. Instead, I'm now stuck with a phone that I chose specifically for its improved camera that literally isn't capable of the kind of close-up photography that I've done for years with iPhones.

Obviously, since a Force Restart fixed the focus problem on my iPhone, it had to have been a software problem rather than a hardware issue. My genius told me that they've had a number of customers come in with the same problem. Although I do a simple restart of my iPhone every week or so, the genius advice was to do the force restart instead to really purge stubborn glitches.

This topic orig started with a focus / software issue in ios 14.1 causing macro problems on iPhone 12 pro. I don’t think Max was even released at the time. It was largely addressed in 14.2.

The best thread on these two issues is a combined thread over at MacRumors.

I suppose it’s possible there are different camera suppliers on the iPhone 12 Pro and some cannot focus from 3 inches. It seems unlikely, and nobody outside of this thread is claiming this. Are you saying that your iphone 12 pro cannot focus on a subject 3 inches away, ever? Are you on 14.2 / 14.2.1? If so then you should exchange your phone because everyone who has tested the focal lengths reported similar numbers. My own tests were 2 ⅞” min focal distance for iPhone 12 Pro, and 4 5/8” for the Max.

If there are issues for non-Max, they are different than the Max “issue” which is specific to its unique lens. There is a Swedish wristwatch guy on youtube who made a video about this - he got official info from Apple. Suggest watching that if you still don’t accept all of this.

It’s definitely not user error, it’s a new way for the iPhone 12 to macro focus. There are 2 ways to prove this. First is easiest. Put your finger over the lidar sensor and then try to macro focus with the x2 lens (I can get as close as 4” doing this).

Or, when you’re having trouble with the phone hunting for focus with the x2, place your subject on a background at the same focal distance, and you should be able to focus.

Both methods are indicative of the iPhone 12 pro using lidar to assist macro focus, and the lidar seems to have a minimum focal distance.

Thanks - makes sense.

Keep in mind that despite tapping the “2X” lens button, you are not in fact using the 2X physical lens at that short a distance, as it can not focus closer than about 8” and 11” for the pro and proMax respective.

Instead, you are experiencing typical Apple camera software shenanigans, whereby it is still using the normal 1X lens and cropping (aka digital zoom-ing) the frame to *simulate* the 2x lens, without actually using the 2x lens (because it can’t from 4”). You can verify this by covering the 2x lens with your finger tip (i believe it’s the top lens). This behavior is not new; it has worked this way since iPhone 7+ introduced the two camera system with secondary zoom lens module.

Actually, the 12 Pro focus issues were software related and addressed in an iOS update. (It also has a completely different camera system from the Pro Max, which explains why cause of the issue was different.) If you're running the latest iOS and your 12 Pro still doesn't close focus, you should take your phone in for repair

This is not a bug. There will be no fix or recall. Larger sensors mean shallower depth of field at a given aperture. Same issue when top-of-the-line Samsung went to a larger sensor. Apple's blame here was in not disclosing this important change in spec--which it still hasn't disclosed!--from all previous iPhone cameras, including the 12s, except for the 12PM. Of course, Apple NEVER quoted a minimum focusing distance spec for any iPhone. This disclosure didn't have to be a negative--the 12PM has a number of great hardware upgrades and performance improvements over other models--but it would have given people the choice of accepting the compromise in focusing distance or buying a different model 12.

Nope, talked to Apple Monday and I was told this is normal. You can manually zoom in on something close up but this makes for a shaky shot.

If you focus on an item on a table, i.e. without a distant background, then you should be able to focus at 3”.

The issue you describe is a focus methodology issue. But it can be worked around by using a third party camera app to manually set the camera focus., or by avoiding the distant background scenario you describe. Previous iphones behave the same way in my experience, with the phone getting confused with what it should be focusing on.

The pro max issue on the other hand is a physical limitation - the workarounds have no effect and it will never achieve focus at shorter than about 4 ⅝” unfortunately..

I can back you up. I have a 12 Pro, not Max, and this problem persists for me. If there is a background at a different focus distance than the subject, macro focus lock is impossible. An example - focusing on my hand with the floor or wall behind. Focus will flick between my hand and the background, then rest on the background. Anywhere under 12” this will occur, with either the normal or macro lens. 14.2.1 made no difference for me.