iPhone 15 pro telephoto lens doesn’t get used

Hi,

I noticed the same thing playing around at my desk... covering the left lens didn't block the image for the 5x zoom. I went outside, though, and focused on objects further away, and that changed. I think (similar to the auto macro feature) if the subject is too close to the camera for the telephoto to focus on it, it automatically switches to the main camera.

At about 3-4 feet distance, the telephoto lense is definitely active, and covering the left lens blocked the image in 5x.

It should work even if the lighting is not adequate cuz thats why we bought the 15 to get better quality in low light not to be forced to have good lighting anyways🙄 sometimes u just can’t have good lighting

That was an absurdly unhelpful answer. Better not to reply at all, at least you won't give apple customers the feeling they're being taken for fools...

Yeah, same problem here.

I too discovered it, by alternately covering the 24mm (1x) and the 77mm (3x) lenses. The latter one just never gets used in the default iOS camera app for capturing photos.

Photos taken with the 3x zoom activated look very blurry, since it’s no real zoom, just a cropped image from the main lens.

Very weird behavior, might return it.

The iPhone 15 tries to help you when using the telephoto lens in low light or without sufficient distance to focus to lens by silently switching to the main camera and using digital zoom. Try taking a picture in better light and/or at a greater distance using the telephoto setting. Then use the circled i info screen when viewing the photo to see what lens setting was used to capture the picture.

seroeone,

Be sure to try utilizing the telephoto lens when the lighting of the area is adequate, as well as a good focal point for the shot.

This can help to ensure the device utilizes the telephoto lens as opposed to digitally zooming.

Cheers.

Hi. The lens does work. You can test by standing in front of a mirror (make sure there is enough space between you and the mirror), take an ear swab and cover the lens with it. But there must be enough light, otherewise it won't work.

try using it for shooting things away then 10 feet.

Hey there seroeone,

Thanks for reaching out to Apple Support Communities. We'll be happy to help with your iPhone camera. If you're running into this with an app, follow these steps to troubleshoot the app: If an app on your iPhone or iPad stops responding, closes unexpectedly, or won’t open - Apple Support

If the issue appears with all apps and seems related to the camera, follow these steps: If the camera or flash on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch isn't working - Apple Support Make sure to remove your case and screen protector before troubleshooting.

Take care.

Hi. I really need this message to reach the developers. We all paid money, to have the option for the telephoto lens. I use it with the blackmagic app for video, and if you know what you’re doing, you can get the settings right for it to look good in low light. Because otherwise, cropping in on the 24m does not look good in low light. I have yet to find a good third-party photo app that can take decent raw photos outside of the default camera app. But in low light when you want to zoom in, it’s unusable for a quality photo. I almost feel like zooming in on my old 12 Pro Max looks better. Fix this and give us the option that we paid for. It’s called the pro because pros wanted to utilize it.