How to Fix iPhone 16 Pro Max Camera Focus Issue

There are 5 pages of posts in this thread. Look at the images provided and then post some of your own showing the issue. Also include complete information, lens used, f/number, shutter speed, ISO, are you using fusion camera, format shot in etc.

just as a reference, I shot this last night in macro.

No I don’t have ProRaw, as all my photos sizes are between 5-6MBs, instead of 25MB.

yeah I’m just going to wait till I can install IOS 18.2 and see if that fixes anything before I investigate further, but definitely the 24mm is the issue here at this point in time!

Yes, we are all waiting for 18.2 hopefully it will fix the problem. I just came off from online Apple support chat - they asked me to send them so many photos (front camera/back camera/video etc); no matter what setting you choose it is still blurry - I shared with them a photo I took with iPhone 12 mini; the sharpness is unbelievably different from 16 pro max. now they set up an appointment for a technician to see my phone this week. Let’s see what happens.

Just for context also, I have had every version of iPhone since the iPhone 3G except the 15, and sometimes had multiple versions like the 12 pro max and the 12 mini, so it can’t be that all of the sudden, we all lost our touch, all at the same time with the iPhone 16. There is a fault 💯.

I’ve been taking the same close up photos of the same exact serial number sheets for at least 6-7 years, so there no possibility that all of the sudden now I can’t take clear and crisp photos with the iPhone 16 pro max, but I have no issues “STILL” taking it with any my other five iPhones (which I still have all of them).

So ultimately I hope were now on the same page because were going around in circles, there is now enough examples and evidence on this forum from myself, so if you can replicate this Jeff, to see if you are having the same issue that would be great. A news paper is not too good for this comparison, you need to get something that more consistent, like I said A4, preferably black text on white paper, razor sharp text, where its easy to see where and how the smudge / blurriness begins and where the text stays sharp.

I also now think there might be an issue with iPhone 16 picking up creases, bumps and folds in the A4 sheet / pamphlet / menu, maybe that's why it taking sharp photo of certain texts but not all texts. So maybe it is doing something with the Depth of field? I'm not sure but anyways like i said this is not just a "one off" instance, this is now consistent where the iPhone 16s take smudgy and blurry photos. and when you zoom in, it looks a lot worse.

They also don’t know they just keep trying like we do; they may have some knowledge but they are definitely not qualified technicians to know the problem; even when we tried the iPhone X which takes a more clear photo that the IP 16 pro max, they still try to persuade you it is normal. So I guess we just have to keep trying until the result is satisfactory - I will share two photos side buy side - the best image comes out with the 13mm ultra wide camera as you can see. The images a bit darker as I just screenshot them from my phone so you have to zoom in to see.

Yeah so this is what I’m saying you’re having the same issue as us then, maybe not as bad as some of my examples, if I compare your 12MP on with the exact photo of the 24MP one the 12MP is as it should be way sharper, no issues compared to then the 24MP photo you have provided.

So you have the exact same issue as all of us but it doesn’t look as bad, but I can definitely see some blurry text. Did you take these with a tripod? Just trying to figure out why your 24MP looks better than my 24MP photos!

I totally agree with you bud, i wouldn’t say this issue is fixed, i would just say use the 2x zoom for now to take close up photos which aren’t blurry, hopefully they fix this with further updates so we can go back to the same way of taking close up photos like we have always been doing on the 1x zoom. Until then I might start doing the same, buy the new iPhone and try it straight away and see if it has the same issue first, if it isn’t fixed just return it and go with a Samsung galaxy instead, might be the year to switch, anyways all phones have plateaued they can all do everything nowadays anyways, especially if the cameras are better and can take a simple shot without being blurry. I already advised a mate not to buy the iPhone 16, he asked me if they were any good he is still on iPhone 13 Pro Max, I said don’t bother and I explained what’s going on and he was like “yeah, no chance not paying all this money for blurry photos” so yeah💁🏻

I would be interested in that fix for the focus issue

in researching my wide open aperture issue I came across this iPhone 16 Pro Max camera review

by TONY & CHELSEA NORTHRUP (1.6 million subscribers)

utube: iPhone 16 Pro camera: DISAPPOINTING & MISLEADING

he covers the subject at hand (focus issues)

worth a read, by a professional photographer and factual influencer style

Jeff Donald

>>Apple iPhone cameras always shoot wide open because they do not have an aperture.

thanks, that was news to me (I will add it to my search, it will make it easy to confirm and update my previous link)

Jeff Donald

>>Looking at images at 100% (1:1) is pointless unless printing very large

now that's a comment I would recommend someone does their own research about before baking that into their basic understanding of digital image production

my spin:

if you want to see what your lens is doing (without all the automatic ((over)) processing) shoot RAW or LOG -- open your RAW images in Photoshop or Lightroom (with color management on) and check it out on a hardware-profiled monitor at 100 percent Actual Pixels -- import your LOG clips into Final Cut or an app like DaVinci and view at full resolution with highest quality preview setting...

I linked to an article above, from Apple, that explains the changes in the macro lens and how to take macro photos. Did you read the article and understand the changes and apply them to your photography? Just a simple yes or no question.

Take macro photos and videos with your iPhone camera - Apple Support

Cameras that don’t have interchangeable lens are at a disadvantage. iPhone photographers (and all other smartphone photographers) will have to learn to adapt in changes in the hardware and software every year.

If you’re an old dog (just an expression 😀😀) then don’t learn new tricks. But if you’re willing to learn and adapt to changes, you’ll be very satisfied with the results.

If it’s all about megapixels, here I am shooting a 4x5 film camera with about 800 megapixels.

Promotional picture shot on iPhone XS in 2019 for one of many workshops I taught on 4X5 (large format) photography.

A relatively obscure American photographer of the western United States once said,

“The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it!”

Ansel Adams

I have taken many shots these days, many comparison tests. The only solution, if you want to photograph an A4 sheet, you can't do it with an iPhone 16 Pro, you have to use a "normal" iPhone 16 or iPhone 15. Many people here will tell you that you are taking the photo wrong, but none of these people are able to upload a comparison test that can deny this fact: if you want to shoot an A4 sheet you can't do it with the "Pro". If they prove otherwise I will be very happy because they will have to replace my brand new iPhone 16 Pro, under warranty, I also have AppleCare +. However, unfortunately these are the normal optical performance of the main camera of the iPhone 16 Pro, since I tested various models in different stores, even in the Apple store, they say that everything is ok.

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This is really frustrating for me too.

So basically we need Apple to add the 4th lens to the iPhones from the iPhone 13 Pro to take proper sharp photos of menus / pamphlets / brochures at 1x zoom! Otherwise we are stuck at taking the photo with the 2x zoom (at 12MP) for perfectly sharp photos, but you will have to be standing up to take the photo of a menu on the table instead of sitting down 😅😅😅 “looks weirds though 😒”

I put some time in this test comparing my iPhone 16 pro max capture to my Nikon D810 through a Nikkor Micro 2.8 lens -- the Nikon was locked down on a heavy professional bogen tripod and I was using a wireless remote shutter release.

the iPhone was hand held, I am quite practiced hand holding shutter releases, but that handholding the iPhone is a flaw to my results -- I do believe I got the leaf surface in focus -- if I used the iPhone processing it looks much sharper (but way over sharpened for my taste)

the iPhone was shot yesterday, I went back same time this morning with the Nikon

here is the iPhone full frame:

I shot Apple RAW format

Opened in Photoshop in ProPhotoRGB in 16-bit

I did minimum selective color (it could use some more minus yellow saturation)

did a little unsharp mask (sharpening)

converted to sRGB

Down scaled to 2000 pixels tall (hoping it fits forum size)

below is the Nikon version -- I shot the Nikon loose (4912x7360 pixel dimensions) and cropped in

I shot in RAW .nef

opened in Photoshop ProPhotoRGB 16-bit

I did minimum selective color

Slight Curve adjustment

and a little unsharp mask (sharpening)

converted to sRGB

Down scaled to 2000 pixels tall

you may notice the Nikon example below goes slightly soft at the bottom -- this does not ruin the image for me as the shot is in the fat part of the leaf (I shot this at f/8, I probably would have tried f/11, but the light didn't last long)

CONCLUSION:

these results are pretty much what I expected -- the Nikon has Nikkor glass and the ability to stop down, I am not sure if this Nikkor is a so-called Flat Field focus lens

here is the original scene -- you may be able to see what I saw when the sun backlight hits the leaf -- the magic happens...

if you want to bring these images into Photoshop -- sRGB would be the correct profile to Assign...

Nice work mate, I also posted heaps of examples early on in this thread between iPhone 11 Pro Max, 13 pro, 14pro max and 16 pro max.

It’s obvious there is a problem, and I don’t care that some people in here are defending the lens and how it works because of the curvature of the lens, etc. No matter what, it’s unacceptable that in this day-in-age an iPhone 16 Pro/MAX can’t take a photo of a basic menu at 1x zoom without it being blurry and smudgy out to the edges(from a normal/reasonable distance) when clearly we haven’t had this issue before with previous iPhones!

My issue is that, most people who buy the iPhone 16 Pro/MAX, 90% of its use is in fact just random photos of info sheets, product numbers, menus, scanning a document, etc. (easy stuff) and maybe the 10% of the time it is used as a “pro photo shooting” feature, so Apple should have known better, really! Just add the extra “flat lens” and have 4 lenses on the back 🤣🤣 it’s a shame, I have to now use the 2x zoom to get sharp texts on an A4 on a desk but I have to be nearly standing up to take it, and even then it uses the 12MP lens not the 24MP