Level 1

39 points

iPhone 13 Pro camera not focusing on subject but on background

I’m noticing that when I touch the screen to get it to focus on a certain point it will adjust focus and I can see it get that point in focus, but then it will settle in/lock onto a different spot in the frame - meaning the point I touched is blurry… I can fill +75% of the screen with the subject or the depth/distance I want in focus, and it will still settle to focus on a small section away from the center of the screen… Distance from subject, .5/1/3 lens, hand held, setting the camera down/tripod, and nothing effects where it ends up focusing…

Someone mentioned turning off the lens correction but I haven’t seen a difference after doing that… No screen protector, Apple case, no magnets, updated and battery fully charged… I’m comparing photos of the same plant, taken in the same location, various lighting conditions (pot lights, halogen, incandescent, a mix), and nothing seems to effect the focusing…

Comparing the iPhone 13 Pro photos to my iPhone 8 and while the iPhone 8 doesn’t produce as crisp an image (comparing in focus to in focus), it focused on what I wanted it to and did so quickly… The length of time it takes the 13 Pro to focus is long enough that it’s noticeable and effects me being able to take pictures as I go about my day… I can’t just point, touch focus, and click… I need to stop, try and get it to focus, and find a way to keep the camera still - handholding it just adds more time to how long it takes to focus…

I can’t believe it’s this bad and I am sure I’m doing something wrong or missing a trick… It’s been a week and I didn’t expect this much of a learning curve… I’m not excited about the learning curve I’m going to go through when I start playing with Portrait, Cinema, video, etc LOL I’ve watched a bunch of videos and don’t see others having this same issue… Is anyone else experiencing this, or does anyone have an idea about what might be causing the problem? Fingers crossed it’s just user error…

Posted on Oct 4, 2021 11:48 AM

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95 replies

Mar 24, 2022 6:33 PM in response to daisy_emm

Ditto everyone. The camera is struggling on a daily basis to take basic photos in everyday situations.

As someone who just upgraded from an iphone 8 to the nicest (and most expensive) iphone I've ever owned, and as a professional photographer, I was excited to finally have some really great camera options on my phone.

Extremely disappointed with how frequently this has ruined photos for me including moments like blowing out birthday candles and everyday moments with the kiddos. And there's no way to over ride it, make adjustments, or do anything other than tap at my phone until the moment is over and then just give up on whatever that particular scene is.

Would love to just disable the macro mode, or portrait mode, or whatever it is that's causing it to totally freak out on the focusing.

sshine2

Level 1

23 points

Oct 8, 2021 4:48 PM in response to daisy_emm

Yeah I’m absolutely infuriated. The inability to not turn off HDR causing my photos to look like dog crap is super fun too.

Nov 17, 2021 12:42 PM in response to solei256

If it helps ANYONE, if your case has a magnet, especially near the phone lens, it could lead to a focusing issue. Hope this helps ❤️

Oct 15, 2021 10:52 AM in response to daisy_emm

I have been having the same problem also. What bugs me the most is when I’m taking pictures of a kid every time the kid moves it refocuses but then is blurry and I can’t get a good pic. They need to fix this, I’m missing my iPhone 11 camera.

daisy_emm Author

Level 1

39 points

Oct 17, 2021 1:43 AM in response to mikrae275

Same - the photos on my iPhone 8 weren’t as sharp but they weren’t out of focus blurry. The video focus tracking thing is cool, but I take way more photos than video and not being able to get a passably in focus snapshot of our dogs without making them sit/stay is ridiculous.

daisy_emm Author

Level 1

39 points

Oct 17, 2021 1:49 AM in response to Twistid

That’s what I get too. I can tap on the screen but it won’t focus, so I’ll move in/out slightly but then it switches lenses and I have to reframe and try and get it to focus. It’s annoying and a waste of time when the subject is stationary - but it eliminates almost any chance I have of getting a decent image if the subject and setting isn’t static.

daisy_emm Author

Level 1

39 points

Oct 17, 2021 1:54 AM in response to SeattleUser0

Exactly! It’s not like it just switches lenses and then you can carry on - it goes back and forth, reframes the whole thing, checks out a bunch of different things to focus on, resists AF lock or drops out and goes to focus on something else. Feel like telling it to ‘just stop - pick a lens and stick with it and I’ll work around it’.

vyrox24

Level 1

8 points

Oct 31, 2021 1:22 AM in response to daisy_emm

Omg same, I was just taking my succulent to post on instagram and the macro mode kept reverting. The most annoying thing was when i couldnt focus on the flower even when i tap the screen and pause to see if it would focus. I took like 30mins to take a good picture - which ive tried the angles, distancing and even lightening. I even cranked my neck in process, i was sweating buckets too. Hoping i dun make a mistake switching to iphone 13 promax, sigh. I hope apple fix this issue asap.

Oct 31, 2021 9:17 AM in response to daisy_emm

I have 13 Pro and it’s so bad it’s unusable. 11 Pro never did this. I’ve updated to 15.1 and turned off the macro switching. It isn’t that. I’m not videoing or photographing super close but close enough that any other iPhone was able to handle. And it will not focus by touching the screen. Only focus’s on the background no matter what you do

SabDit80

Level 1

8 points

Nov 3, 2021 4:47 AM in response to daisy_emm

I agree that the camera is poor. I thought it would give clearer more in focus and crystal clear pictures because of the macro option but it’s complete crap. I feel like I’ve been lied to and wasted my money - I should stuck with the old iPhone 8 Plus which I had before trade in. I can’t see what was worth over $1800 for this phone when my other iPhone worked perfectly fine. I just wanted those better pictures.

Most people buy the new iPhones because of better features, usually because of the camera seeing as our lives are dominated by pictures of everything and social media etc. I thought I’d be able take better pictures of animals with this new phone, but it can not focus well, only when the animal is standing v still. I have fish and they move very quickly. The iPhone 8 Plus took better photos of my fish.

I am beyond disappointed - someone here used the word infuriated and that’s exactly how I feel. I only got the phone yesterday. And I agree with what others are saying. It likes to focus on the background not the subject.

Nov 4, 2021 11:39 AM in response to zimington

I have the 1 pro from my old XS and the camera has real issues staying focused on video as well as the photo portion of the camera is way too complicated.

Especially the low light photo I have to switch to zero seconds from 3 every time I want to take a picture. No way anyone wants to take 3 seconds to take a low light photo with no body moving. That is horrible everyone complains about this feature.

Just make the camera and video better not more complicated. Point and shoot, that is what we want. I wish I had my old XS but it got wet and motherboard was damaged. (apple service replaced battery and it was never waterproof after that) I guess 13 is an unlucky number.

daisy_emm Author

Level 1

39 points

Nov 4, 2021 2:58 PM in response to reed13pro

So I might have a tip for the 3sec to 0sec thing. If you go to Settings > Camera > Preserve Settings then make sure Night Mode is on. When you go back to your camera you’ll have to spin it back to 0sec from the 3sec/Auto, but then on the camera will preserve that 0sec setting and you won’t have to do it every time. You can still access/adjust it the same way if you want a longer exposure, but turning on Preserve Setting for it means that whatever you leave it at will be where it is the next time you open your camera.

daisy_emm Author

Level 1

39 points

Nov 4, 2021 3:21 PM in response to billwdwc

I’ve done that but I’m still having the focusing issue.

Plus, there are times when I’m trying to take a macro shot and turning auto switching off means I can’t. Maybe I’m missing something obvious, but with it off my camera acts as if macro isn’t possible - I cannot get close to the subject and have it in focus.

My camera on a tripod, Auto Switching for the macro lens on, and the macro lens will ‘appear’ - and will toggle itself between macro and the regular lens depending on something (no idea because on a tripod with still life there should be very few factors to trigger that). If I turn Auto Switching off, I lose any ability to take a macro shot and have to back up and take a snapshot or use zoom. I’m not sure what I might be missing or what other setting to play with to have the option of using a macro lens without it switching.

Stopping the regular lens from switching to macro is really good, but I want to use the macro lens without it switching to the regular lens. Have you found a way to do that?

Nov 6, 2021 10:40 PM in response to daisy_emm

The photos I've taken on my iPhone 13 mini are awful- background in sharp focus and subject completely blurry. Turning off lens correction did nothing. I found a thread that advised disabling auto macro, but that isn't an option in my camera settings. This is an enormous problem.

daisy_emm Author

Level 1

39 points

Nov 8, 2021 11:40 AM in response to Emirell

That sucks. Special occasion or event stuff can’t be reshot - and it’s almost worse when the photos are blurry vs forgetting a camera and not having any. Wish I had a suggestion but from how my camera’s been working a concert would have everything that causes it problems - not perfect lighting, movement, and a lot of edges/patterns - lots of things that it could think was the focal point. I’ve stopped taking as many photos as I used to, to the point where I’ve caught myself thinking ‘that would be a cool photo’ when I have my phone in my hand. I dig out my old point and shoot the other day - want to make sure I’ve got batteries and it’s working before the holidays so I have a stress free way to get some good photos. Wish I had a tip or suggestion to pass along - fingers crossed Apple’s able to sort it out and a fix comes out in the next update.

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iPhone 13 Pro camera not focusing on subject but on background