iPhone 15, Does it or does it not shoot at 48mp?

With respect to the rear cameras, Apple says that the iPhone 15 has an

Advanced dual-camera system

* 48MP Main: 26 mm, ƒ/1.6 aperture, sensor‑shift optical image stabilization, 100% Focus Pixels, support for super-high-resolution photos (24MP and 48MP)

* 12MP Ultra Wide: 13 mm, ƒ/2.4 aperture and 120° field of view

* 12MP 2x Telephoto (enabled by quad-pixel sensor): 52 mm, ƒ/1.6 aperture, sensor-shift optical image stabilization, 100% Focus Pixels 

* 2x optical zoom in, 2x optical zoom out; 4x optical zoom range

* Digital zoom up to 10x

There are two cameras on the back. each with a prime (non-zoom) lens. As you zoom, the phone will switch between the lenses, and/or apply digital zoom.

There are three optical stops. (Anything else will involve digital zoom.)

• At 0.5x, the phone will use the Ultra-Wide camera, which has a 13mm f/2.4 lens and a 12 megapixel sensor.
• At 1.0x the phone will use the Main camera, which has a 26mm f/2.4 lens and a 48 megapixel sensor.
• At 2.0x the phone will also use the main camera, but you will only get 12 megapixel images. Presumably the phone is cropping off everything but the central 1/4th of the image projected by the lens.

To get 48 MP photos (at 1.0x), follow the directions here:

Change advanced camera settings on iPhone - Apple Support

lobsterghost1 wrote:

And I don't know what you mean, by what could you be doing wrong?

He's probably taken some pictures already, and wondered why they were not 48 megapixel ones.

Apple says that "On iPhone 15 models, the Main camera resolution is set to 24 MP by default." So I'm guessing that if he hasn't changed any defaults, all of the photos he's taken have had 12 or 24 MP resolution (depending upon the zoom setting).

lobsterghost1 wrote:

I'd only shoot at 48MP, if you plan to shoot in Pro Raw and you need the extra data to use software like Adobe Photoshop to process the picture.

If you plan to shoot in ProRAW, you shouldn't be looking at the iPhone 15.

All of the iPhone 15 family models have 48 MP Main cameras, and USB-C ports. But Apple saved ProRAW, and USB 3.* wired transfer speeds, for the 15 Pro and Pro Max models.

Yes, the iPhone 15 has a 48mp camera. If you shoot at that however, you'll chew through memory VERY FAST on your iPhone. And I don't know what you mean, by what could you be doing wrong? People often mistakingly believe higher MP means better pictures. That's just not reality. I'd only shoot at 48MP, if you plan to shoot in Pro Raw and you need the extra data to use software like Adobe Photoshop to process the picture.

Well, since you're responding to me, I don't shoot at 48MP. That's what my Nikon DSLR and thousands of dollars in lenses is for. But if the OP wants to shoot at 48 MP (I don't recommend doing so), it would be best served on iPhone to shoot Raw, then edit them for better results. People are under the false impression that more MP equals better pictures. It's just not that way, unless you plan to blow photos up to billboard size.

lobsterghost1 wrote:

Well, since you're responding to me, I don't shoot at 48MP.

I don't shoot at 48 MP, either. Neither my iPhone, nor any of my real cameras, support it. My Nikon DSLR is an old model with a 10 MP sensor – but with good lenses, in good light, it produces really good pictures. My iPhone has a 12 MP sensor, and I find that low light (and/or inability to hold the phone steady) is normally much more of an issue than the resolution of the photos.

But you said that you would only shoot at 48 MP if you planned to use ProRAW. Since the OP was asking about 48 MP, but apparently does not have a phone that supports ProRAW, I didn't want him going off looking for a ProRAW mode that does not exist on his phone.

People are under the false impression that more MP equals better pictures. It's just not that way, unless you plan to blow photos up to billboard size.

+1. The ability to control lighting, and to handle low-light conditions, is often a much bigger issue.