How to Fix iPhone 16 Pro Max Camera Focus Issue

AND NOW!!!

Here is the same shot taken with my iPhone 13 Pro, i have also circle /markup / draw in red where i think there is smudgy / blurry text on the same A4 Pamphlet shot at 1x zoom 12MP obviously not 24MP because its an iPhone 13 PRO. NOT macro, NOT 0.5x zoom, NOT 2x zoom, NOT 5x zoom, NOT 1.3x, NOT 1.5x, Just the plain old simple 1x zoom.

Oh wait, I didn't need to circle /markup / draw anything on it because the text is sharp all around :), but here is the same pamphlet anyways from the iPhone 13 PRO below:

One more comparison of the above shots that i have posted earlier , the one on the left is the iPhone 13 PRO with clear texts and the one on the right is the iPhone 16 Pro Max with the blurry / smudgy texts:

I’m really disappointed too after I took a photo, even in the max 48 MP, and zoomed it to find that it’s very low quality. To think that iphone 16 pro max was heavily advertised to have the best camera and hence the best photo taken. It’s also blurry when zoomed. Twas manufactured last Oct 2024 and first used on Dec 11, 2024.😭😭😭

I’ve owned iPhone 6, 6S, 7, X, XS, 11Pro, 12 PM, 13PM, 14PM, 15PM and 16 PM. For general photography, I’d rank the 16 Pro’s the best camera.

If you’re having quality issues, create your own thread. This thread is mostly about close up photography and not general scenics.

Definitely there is a problem with the IP 16 camera no matter how they try to play it down - now, whether they will be able to fix the issue with software updates or not that is another matter. But one thing is certain next time you buy an iPhone have to test everything. We never think about the camera when we buy a phone but rather look at the other functions. Definitely disappointing from Apple this time. Over 90% of iPhone users just want to open the camera and take a photo or video expecting the camera it will adjust itself they don’t want to go and open to try different settings. But it is what it is for now.

Worthless review. It was a comparison of iPhone 16 Pro vs. Sony $5,000+ USD camera. His review was of Apple’s marketing more than the quality of images.

His point about the digital zoom losing quality is accurate, don’t zoom, unless you absolutely have to. But the majority of his testing is flawed. A waste of my 15 minutes, but confirms my opinion of Tony Northrop.

No, my experience will speak for itself. His review was worthless in troubleshooting a focus issue. How many 16X20 images do have hanging on your walls of resolution test charts? I have none. Pixel Peepers and gear heads are concerned with test charts and 1:1 images.

Joe McNally has a great saying,

“Novices and beginners worry about the equipment, hobbyists and advanced users worry about composition, pro’s worry about the money, and the true masters and artists worry about the light.”

Jeff Donald wrote:

"No, my experience will speak for itself. His review was worthless in troubleshooting a focus issue. How many 16X20 images do have hanging on your walls of resolution test charts? I have none. Pixel Peepers and gear heads are concerned with test charts and 1:1 images."

I think Mr. Jeff was referencing my earlier referenced Tony Northrop video about the 16 Pro Max camera review on utube

FOCUS LENS TEST CHARTS

since Mr Jeff brings up professional lens test charts -- charts are a useful tool to have available -- I personally would not be so quick to deem them them worthless in troubleshooting lens issues

getting your subject in proper focus is goal number one -- and knowing how to run a quick test to troubleshoot a focus defect (or lens personality) is invaluable -- regardless of the approach

each lens will have its own personality -- what counts is the look you get out of it -- much like the sound a musician gets out of their instrument

I doubt if every musician has or needs a metronome or tonometer, but if someone is having issues maintaining time or tone they may be helpful if they don't have the experience or natural instincts to produce the sound they are after... or adjusting them in the software

>>getting your subject in proper focus is goal number one -- and knowing how to run a quick test to troubleshoot a focus defect (or lens personality) is invaluable -- regardless of the approach<<

For one, a lens test only shows a limited set of information. Your assumption that proper focus is goal number one is just not correct.

Let’s look at several rodeo photos from the Madison Square Garden Rodeo.

Ernst Haas (March 2, 1921 – September 12, 1986) was an Austrian-American photojournalist and color photographer. During his 40-year career Haas trod the line between photojournalism and art photography. In addition to his coverage of events around the globe after World War IIHaas was an early innovator in color photography. His images were carried by magazines like Life and Vogue and, in 1962, were the subject of the first single-artist exhibition of color photography at New York's Museum of Modern Art. He served as president of the cooperative Magnum Photos. His book of volcanophotographs, The Creation(1971), remains one of the most successful photography books ever published, selling more than 350,000 copies.[1]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_Haas

Of course there’s always Ansel Adams and here’s what he had to say.

“There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept.”

Henri Cartier-Bresson, considered by many to ge the greatest photographer of the 20th century, had this to say,

“Sharpness is a bourgeois concept”

Sharpness isn’t everything. But I agree it’s a fact that there are occasions when tack sharp photos are not only desirable, but are mandatory.

Just saying your photos aren’t sharp means nothing. If you want to talk sharpness, we need to establish standards as far as the image to shoot, lens to test, distance to subject, lighting levels etc.

Seems like a lot of work and I agree. But the one universal is comparing a $200 (at most) to a $2000 Sony lens is an effort in futility.

Mr Jeff

>>For one, a lens test only shows a limited set of information.

yea if it focuses proper

>>Your assumption that proper focus is goal number one is just not correct.

presumption is a better word (just sayin)

your rodeo examples -- slow shutter speed, motion blurs -- support my comment

you might notice most of them are IN FOCUS and most of them have a SHARP area

I don't think iPhones would be a good choice for that particular type of photography so I am not exactly sure your point

iPhones are a great device to blur motion. Here’s an example with iPhone 15 Pro Max in Yosemite National Park in October 2023.

I’ll save you a bunch of time. Review the rankings of this website.

https://www.dxomark.com/smartphones/#sort-camera/device-Apple%20iPhone%2016%20Pro%20Max

nice example -- I'm curious your settings info -- I would think you need a ND Neutral Density filter (rigged) and a tripod to pull that off on an iPhone -- not the handheld panning with fast moving subjects like the rodeo examples you posted earlier

Such an annoying issue. Pretty much all of my pictures over Christmas of family are half blurred. I have pictures of me holding my daughter, I’m in focus and she is blurred.

its crazy. Using the regular camera all with iOS 18.2 and an iPhone 16 pro max.

Alos, I do watch photography and it’s impossible to get the lens to focus. Tried everything - turning on or off marco.

I was really looking forward to getting the 16 pro Max as I do a lot of photography for my Watch business. The camera is absolutely useless. Whatever I try the subject or at least part of it is out of focus. It doesn’t matter if it’s close-up photography or just taking pictures of people.

Over Christmas, I took pictures of family members and on every photo somebody’s face will be in focus and another persons will be blurred.

Apple need to acknowledge and fix this problem ASAP. Let’s face it the iPhone has really plateaued over the last few years. All they wanna talk about is how the camera is twice as good as the previous generation. So if that’s the big sell for buying the top of the line iPhone 16 then Apple needs to step up and fix this now.

Most are handheld and daylight shots. The Water shot and night sky were done on a tripod. The other shots are all around 1/1500 to 1/3000, ISO 100, f/1.8, f/1.78, or f/2.8 depending on lens.

The night sky was just night mode (30 seconds) on a tripod. The water was an app called ReeHeld. Now that I think about it, it was handheld. The app does the blur.

My point being with the rodeo shots by Ernst Hass, was the notion of sharpness is required and can produce technically proper images, sharp, in focus and properly exposed. But, like Adams said, boring. Absolute sharpness is not necessary in most cases. But when it is required, know your equipment so you can make it happen.