iPhone 15 Pro Max Camera Blurry and Out of Focus

I am getting great results when it hits the focus.

People don't seem to understand that they will get poorer results if they are using anything other than optical zoom. That said, there definitely seems to be a focus issue with the main camera. It improved with 17.1.1 I hope they fix it with 17.2

There isn't a focus issue with the main camera per se, you just need to be conscientious about it as all auto focus systems can focus on the wrong object or get focus wrong.

A $5000 mirrorless pro camera will get it wrong, too.

As the camera systems get more sophisticated on the iPhone, more standard photographic techniques become important.

It would be nice if you could just point and shoot and have it focus in the right place, but that's a dream, not reality unless your camera system has such a small aperture that the entire field of view is within the depth of field of focus on any given point - which often was true for older phone cameras.

Just compare the iphone 13 pro of even 14 pro to the newest model.

If you have the same issues on your 5000$ mirrorless camera - perhaps you should consider giving it back for repair.

The issue with autofocus is there and it's pretty obvious to be honest. Just take some time and test it well and you don't have to be a pro to spot the issue right away.

[Edited by Moderator] 

In your logic every obvious malfunction of the 15pro is justified, because it's a different sensor. Well the sensor is different, but the issues are serious and are not "normal" by any means nor could be justified by 48 mp. I know how full frame cameras with large sensors are behaving (cause I work with them on daily basis) so I have a good comparison.

Autofocus and general sharpness across the frame of iPhone 15 pro aren't normal or expected, period. If you have other opion - fine, I just dont' want to waste more time discussing it.

And for the record: using Sony's mirrorless system I never had any serious issues with autofocus. Of course sometimes it doesn't hit the target but these are rare situations. On iPhone 15 pro its sometimes 50/50 wether you nail the focus or not...

Dogcow-Moof wrote:

The iPhone 13 has a radically• different camera system with different lenses and a much smaller sensor:

iPhone 13 Pro: 12 MP sensor, normal lens f/1.5 with 1/1.9" sensor size with 1.9µm pixels, minimum focus distance approximately 4"

•

iPhone 15 Pro: 48 MP sensor, normal lens f/1.78, 1/1.28" sensor size with 1.22µm pixels, minimum focus distance 7.7"

Yep, optics dictates that a larger sensor means a larger minimum focus distance.

Again, you have to work to get a $5000 mirrorless to focus where you want - it often gets it right, but it often gets it wrong, too.

Fstoppers: 4 Reasons Why the Autofocus of Your Camera Is Failing

I always learn a lot from you, D-M!

For our iPhones, it's mainly computing power. Just look at the Pixel 8 Pro and its capabilities. Apple could solve these issues with coding as they did on their older iPhones.

We are paying way more than what Apple is delivering now. Back then I hardly needed to tap to focus, my 13 PM was able to detect the object thanks to LiDAR, 99% of the time.

Now, I consistently have to tap the object to focus, yet sometimes it cannot focus or detect the subject completely.

[Edited by Moderator]

There's a difference between computing and optics.

Honestly I don't know what the Pixel 8 can do, since it's not available yet, and it's not an iPhone.

Howevet the iPhone 15 Pro Max grows ever closer to replacing my pro camera for most shots and is the best phone camera I've ever used.

Can your camera change the focus point after taking the photo like in portrait mode?

There is a difference between a professional camera and a smartphone camera. Stop comparing. 

The pixel was launched on October 12, 2023. Do check what a smartphone is capable of.

Unfortunately these are already my settings and I am still having an issue. My 12 pro took great pictures for my website and even if I needed to zoom in and crop them, they still looked great. I am having issue recreating the same level of clarity when I zoom in on the 15 Pro Max pics, predominantly in the background which is white.

Rocket_starPT wrote:

The pixel was launched on October 12, 2023. Do check what a smartphone is capable of.

Perhaps when it comes to features; independent review site DXOMARK rates the iPhone 15 Pro/Pro Max's camera system higher than the Pixel 8 Pro's.

Furthermore, we are here to discuss a common issue we discovered on the latest model. All of us here have older iPhones to compare with. All of us here are knowledgable on how to use our camera.

If you think it's perfect, and did not face any issues, please kindly visit the correct forum to share your thoughts and photos.

it’s plain and simple: all 15 models have issues with blurry, water paint images. With all lenses, in all circumstances. Any body can see this clearly. Even without comparing to older models. My wife saw it with the first pic she took. I saw it comparing 8 different 15s in stores against 12/13/14/SE.

So we don’t care much about reviews or scores. Even after replacement it’s still there. With latest software still there.

So, we are now waiting and praying for a fix that might never come.

[Edited by Moderator]

You say you don't care about reviews or scores, but those reviews are showing the cameras to be the incredible devices they are. You may perhaps not be a fan of the computational photography approach taken in modern smartphones, but Android phones are even worse in that respect.

You may want to try shooting in RAW mode with an app like Halide and applying minimal processing to see if that produces an image more suitable for you.

Also, never, ever shoot at anything but an optical zoom level.

Thats why I asked for the photo details, it shows those settings.

We should not have to use any tricks or alternative apps to get decent photos. I don’t trust reviews because of the simple fact that I have not seen any 15 model working correctly. I tried some of people I know, same issues. I show them against my SE and they are shocked. It better freezes motion, has more detail. The 15 makes out of focus blurry edge face stuff with sometimes aggressive noise reduction making faces look like plastic aquarel paintings. Until I have a correctly working 15 in my hand I don’t believe any review or comment stating otherwise. I think i tested around 15 phones, base/pro/max. Always main camera at normal distance. Same result every time.

I know you mean well, but it sounds like a “you’re holding it wrong” explanation (for those who remember). There is no amount of words that will take away our frustration or make us accept the fact that against almost all older models, going back to even the 7, the results are garbage. If my 7 or SE can freeze the image better and have more detail then something is very wrong in either hardware, software or both. So far, nothing has proven me otherwise. New phone or software, nothing seem to have helped. I have scared away many people from buying any 15 model by just showing them the photo from any 15 vs my 12 or SE. They walked away surprised. You don’t need to be a photographer or knowledgable about photography. That’s not what we as iPhone users cares about. We expect an upgrade vs our 5yr old model. With just one quick shot, even my blind hamster can see it.