iPhone 15 Pro Max camera unable to focus on the moon.

I have taken many great moon photos with iPhone 14 Pro Max. After upgrading to iPhone 15 Pro Max, I have not been able to take a photo of the moon. The camera app does not properly focus on the moon at all. Has anyone experienced this?

iPhone 15 Pro Max

Posted on Oct 2, 2023 7:44 AM

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Posted on Nov 29, 2023 10:12 PM

Facing the same issue, tried for weeks to change settings and adjust focus but seems like IPhone 15 pro max is failing to focus. Very disappointed.

6 replies

Dec 24, 2023 2:15 PM in response to bilawal81

It might be that the automatic HDR, the Deep Fusion, is causing the blur.

Whenever I try to take a picture of the moon at night, the moon will be blurry, but the stars in the background are sharp dots. So the focus is correct for the distance of the stars, which should do for the moon as well.

Looking at the details of the photo with Metapho, I can see that the iPhone 15 Pro Max has been taking the image as a composite of six images and has fused them to bring out the details. This results in an overall exposure time of 3.2 seconds.

The moon is moving relatively fast among the stars. In two hours it is moving once the distance of its own diameter. If the iPhone is trying to track the stars to compensate for the motion of the stars, the Deep Fusion of the moon may result in motion blur because of its motion relative to the stars.

Next time I'll try to take the photos of the Moon as RAW images to avoid Deep Fusion or Night Mode.

Oct 4, 2023 7:10 AM in response to jchong

Hi jchong,


Thanks for posting in Apple Support Communities.


There are many camera features that can be adjusted to ensure you get the best photos.


Before you take a photo, the camera automatically sets the focus and exposure, and face detection balances the exposure across many faces. You can use Exposure Compensation Control to precisely set and lock the exposure for upcoming shots.
Just tap the arrow , then tap  and adjust your exposure level. The exposure locks until the next time you open the Camera app.
Exposure Compensation Control is available on iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and later with iOS 14 or later.

About the Camera features on your iPhone - Apple Support


Change advanced camera settings on iPhone - Apple Support


Regards.


iPhone 15 Pro Max camera unable to focus on the moon.

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