iPhone 13 Pro Max camera issues

I’ve had this phone for a little over a year now. It has some quirks, but for the most part, it’s been a solid phone. However I have continued to have issues with the camera the entire time. Even through various updates, I still experience issues with the camera.

These issues aren’t new, I’ve seen and heard of so many others who’ve had the same problems. And I’ve given the benefit of the doubt to everyone saying it was fine, but it’s not.

The camera randomly decides it’s not going to focus on anything. It’s very disappointing and embarrassing to take group photos with friends and I have to mess with the camera to try and get it to focus on the group. This happens in lowlight and with lots of light. I was just looking at apartments, and I wanted to take photos of one unit, and even with the lights on, the camera couldn’t decide if it was going to turn on exposure mode or macro mode, and it wouldn’t focus on a living room. However, when I use ProCam, I never have any problems. So I know the cameras themselves are great, but Apple’s software handling the settings is terrible.

This is more than “have you tried restarting your phone?” or “turn on/off lens correction”. Unless I’m missing some crucial setting (over the last year I’ve tried them all), this is a terrible software bug. It’s one thing if this was an expensive DSLR, and you have to manually adjust the settings, like a professional. But this is a camera phone. For one, I shouldn’t have to use a third party app to use a basic (and highly advertised) function of the phone. I should be able to open the app and take a photo.

Sorry, this is the end of my rant. Does anyone care to share their particular camera settings?