iPhone 12 Pro Max minimum focus distance is very long

I've noticed this too, very disappointing, not mentioned in any reviews or write up's.

It can be slightly overcome by using the camera's 2,5x telephoto lens it but would be much better if the f1.6 lens could be used.

Hopefully Apple will address the problem before too long, but as SergioRZ points out in his posting they may be constrained by the optics and larger sensor.

That this issue exists isn't in question, and it would be very helpful if Apple would let 12 Pro Max owners know whether this close focus limitation can be addressed or not. If the new camera hardware is the cause, and it simply is what it is--not as a defect, but as the new spec for min focusing distance on the Pro Max model--I'd at least like to know that. Conversely, if it's something that can be addressed in an iOS update at some future TBD date, it would be helpful to know that, too. For anyone who uses their iPhone camera for close-up photography--food and flowers are generally my subjects--the significantly greater distance now needed to focus with the 12 Pro Max makes the camera system near useless for that kind of shooting. What's ironic is how excited I was for the new camera hardware, imagining that the combination of LiDar, larger sensor, faster lens and sensor shift stabilization would give me the best lower light, close-up images ever... only to find that they're no longer possible at all, except for compromised workarounds like shooting with the telephoto lens. Please Apple, let the photographer's who invested in the 12 Pro Max specifically for the new camera hardware know what's going on.

I have the same issue with the iPhone 12 Pro Max and found out recently trying to take a photo to sell a record player stylus on eBay. I spent hours of time trying everything I could to get the shot in Focus. I regularly use the Phone to do macro photo's. I traded in my iPhone 6S for the iPhone 12 Pro Max and it was capable of a better macro photo than the new Pro max's.

I only hope that Apple can address the issue and let us know the outcome soon.

I found out that „Macro as in 11 pro“ works!

Well - I would call it “Makro - like”

The iPhone 12 Pro Max uses the main wide angle lens for it. You can check that while covering the lens with your finger tip.

Therefore it is digital Zoom x2,5 at 8cm Focus distance

Essential is to go on x2,5 Magnification first and then approach to 8 cm of your object.

Image quality is good- blur only of the background

I don’t know why this Information isn’t easier accessible here. I found out by myself.

Happy to share.

Yes, very disappointed to discover this limitation in a very expensive phone. Transparency from Apple is something we should expect...not have to beg for. Though clearly it is possible to get a close-up that, on the phone screen at least, is about 1:1.2 macro, I am purchasing a third-party macro lens to resolve this issue, but I should not have to when previous iPhones could get in much closer.

Sure, but with a macro lens you’ll get a macro shot which will be much closer than shots taken with earlier closer focusing iPhones. For just close up’s as opposed to macro shots it’s probably better to use the native 2.5x iPhone lens.

I don’t know if you’ve used a macro lens on your iPhone before, apologies if you have, if not, a macro lens can be fiddly to use, hand held focusing can be difficult and with the lens so close to the subject the field of view is very small. Unless the subject is almost flat, for example a watch face, the depth of field will be very shallow.

When using the macro lens over the 2.5x telephoto lens you will need a 3rd party app to switch lenses, as the native Apple app does not support true lens switching. When fitted over the 2.5x lens the macro lens blocks light to the main 1x camera lens, this activates night mode which in turn deactivates the 2.5x lens, the 3rd party app overrides this.

Don’t get me wrong I really love my macro lens, using it is my favourite aspect of photography, I hope you will be happy with yours.

Just out of interest I find I get much better images using my macro lens over the main 1x camera lens and zooming in if required by using the digital zoom wheel (up to 2.4x zoom before lens tries to switch to the 2.5x tele lens) than using the lens over the 2.5x telephoto lens in conjunction with a 3rd party app. Even when using the digital zoom the images are far clearer, brighter and sharper using the native Apple processing and stabilisation programs than those obtained using the macro lens over the 2.5x lens with a 3rd party app and no digital zooming.

Hopefully Apple will resolve the close up focusing issues and maybe even introduce a dedicated lens switching upgrade before too long.

Purchased the iPhone 12 Pro Max to replace my "bendgate" model 6S pro mainly for the camera so I could take good macro shots I had hoped. After a couple of weeks of trying to take in-focus macro photos I stumbled upon these posts and realize I have bought a dud again. Choices: return my 12 Pro Max and get a 12 Pro instead, find a macro lens add-on for the 12 Pro Max? Did you find a good third-party macro lens or does the IR rangefinder mess things up re focus?

Sorry, excuse my ignorance, but I'm not sure what you mean by "does the IR rangefinder mess things up re focus"

Regarding my lens, macro photography and vintage watches are my interests and I combine the two using a Loupe System 6x loupe. This is a fantastic loupe designed primarily for inspecting watches that can also be used as a macro lens.

The great advantage for me is that the field of view is around 40mm dia compared to 20-25mm dia for most other 3rd party lenses/loupes. The downside is that they are expensive and quite large compared to most 3rd party macro lenses.

Having not used any other lenses I don't know how the quality compares, but I'm more than pleased with mine, the clarity is excellent.

I talked to Apple support (Japan) this morning and they verified that the iPhone 12 Pro Max cannot take macro photos (eg of things like insects or of labels or serial numbers in a confined space such as when you stick your phone behind the TV to take a photo of what cable is going into which hole). It is a hardware issue and Apple designed it like that and do not plan to change it so it won't be "fixed" with upcoming software updates. My choices were to send it back and get an iPhone 12 Pro or to use a third party macro lens. The Apple expert agreed that the autofocus function might not work as intended so the workaround is to leave your finger on the object you want to focus on for a couple of seconds and the camea will go into manual focus mode. I couldn't see that being possible with my phone behind a TV so have opted to return the phone and get a 12 Pro instead. Hope this post helps someone.

Thank you Dhugal for taking the trouble to confirm that...lack of focus at close range in such a situation is certainly a handicap. In favour of the phone camera I find that in fact when you compare the image on the screen with the object being photographed at closest range that permits focus, it is greater than 1:1, so is truly macro and an enlargement of an image of your TV cables should still be sufficiently detailed working at a greater distance with autofocus. For artistic closeups however, a good quality macro lens makes the iPhone 12 Pro Max with all of its image processing enhancements, still very useful and exciting in its results.

I have spoke with Apple support in length about this issue as it is very frustrating fault in my iPhone 12 Pro Max. Support has assured me this is a software issue and not a hardware issue but I don’t know how it could be. They also assure me this has been escalated to the engineering level of Apple and it is currently a known problem. I hope I can believe this. But I believe it is a limitation of the Camera hardware :(

The focus issue is not in any way limited to shooting in confined spaces. The 12 Pro Max will not focus as closely to subjects as all previous iPhones, period. Whether the space is confined or open, or whether light is bright or dim, it doesn't matter. Also: manual focus does nothing to solve the issue. A number of "pro" iPhone camera apps, a couple of which I have, offer user controlled manual focus and this doesn't change a thing: the inability of the camera to focus closely remains the same.

I think we've all had the experience of speaking to an Apple "support" rep who seems to know nothing about Apple products and is simply following some sort of script--that would seem to the case here. The "software issue" theory is easily disproven: If this were a software issue with autofocus, then the camera apps which provide full user control of manual focus would work. They don't. Manual focus has the same close-focus limit as autofocus.

Very helpful. As a stills photographer for 54 years I've become comfortable with the permanent fact that no camera has every feature nailed perfectly, and I'm not aware of it before I buy, it's my fault. "Adapt and survive." My solution to the close-focus issue is to buy ultrasharp lenses and ensure that my camera's sensor has sufficient pixel density to be highly croppable. Thus if I don't currently have a macro lens I'm still assured that I can take photos as close as my lens reasonably allows and then crop like crazy without losing a lot of resolution. An example is a Canon 6D full-frame body with the 135mm F/2 L lens. Those images are deeply croppable, which is very useful especially for photos of moving subjects - dance, etc.

Translated to the iPhone, in particular the 12 Pro Max, I find that the images are surprisingly croppable. Thus, I can take advantage of the many, many things the cameras can do extremely well, and make closeup photos, too. I do this all the time and am extremely pleased that the grain doesn't fall apart too quickly despite the cameras' itty-bitty sensors. Perfect solution? Maybe not, but in the rough-and-tumble world of utility photography you work with what you got. And yes, the 12 Pro Max focuses close enough that extreme crops are rarely needed. Of course, if you're into bugs and watch faces you'll want an add-on macro lens or a "real" camera and macro lens.

The iPhone 12 series is the biggest selling phone that apple have made. Only a small percentage of us have realised this problem. It is people that use the phone to zoom in on record needle styluses to see what condition they are in. It is people that collect bank notes and want to zoom in on the note to read the microscopic writing on the note, etc ,etc. More people will become aware of it over time, and some will just accept it. It really annoys me as I upgraded from my iPhone 6+ which was perfectly good, however had the same problem with the zoom/focus as the 12 Pro Max but was actually better for zooming. My iphone 4 was extremely good with zoom shots and they were in focus. The new Samsung my daughter has does not have the same problem. Lets hope the problem is addressed. After All I have spent $2,000 on this phone upgrade and I did have the expectation that the incredible camera on my iPhone 12 Pro Max was going to be able to do an in focus macro photo shot!