Why do iPhones take really bad photos of the moon at night?

Don't forget that except with some of the higher level versions of models, zooming is just digital. I think even then the optical zoom is modest. I have 30x zoom on my camera and even then the moon only occupies about a 20th of the viewfinder.

A white blob may mean it is exposing for the entire field of view. I know that with my non-phone camera I need to use spot metering to get it to meter for the actual moon, otherwise I get a white circle.

Blob may mean camera shake. Either that or the focus isn't taking. It should be a depth of field issue since everything is essentially at infinity unless you have something in the foreground.

New iPhones have great cameras but they aren't SLRs.

jackfromestero wrote:

I still like using my 35mm digital SLR for lunar shots.

A 35mm digital SLR has much greater light-gathering capability than any smartphone.

Smartphones have more sophisticated processors and software that let them pull computational photography tricks, and appear to "punch above their weight." But I wouldn't expect this to completely overcome the inherent advantage of a much larger sensor, and a lens with a much larger light-admitting opening.

The quality of the iPhone is not the problem here. The problem is the settings you are using while taking a photo. I have been able to take many great photos of the moon using my iPhone 11 Pro Max (2019) just by zooming in close to 10x, and setting the exposure to the minimum. Also, you will have to play around with the brightness settings until you find one that is good for the time of night you are shooting at. I would attach the photo, but I think I accidentally deleted it lol. Hope this helps!

"Why do iPhones take really bad photos of the moon at night?: [...]I'm open to any suggestions if your are getting James Webb telescope quality photos. I still like using my 35mm digital SLR for lunar shots."

-------

Sufficient Photo of the Moon:

Being so bright, I'm a bit reluctant. But, I've taken plenty of supermoon photos that rise off of the ocean, and they look just fine. Remember: You're not using a camera intended for professional photography --just a smartphone camera.

You are hand holding the SLR for moon shots?