Apple has replaced the telephoto lens with an advanced 120 mm lens especially for the iPhone 15 Pro Max. This makes it possible to at least five optically zoom in times without loss of quality.
This is a sensor with a 12-megapixel resolution, f/2.8 aperture, sensor-shift stabilization and 5x optical zoom. The normal iPhone 15 Pro will retain the telephoto lens with 3x zoom for the time being. The advantage of a 120mm telephoto camera is that it has a compact design and there is little to no lens distortion.
Tetraprism 120mm telephoto lens
With the tetraprism, Apple has designed a completely new, complex glass structure that reflects light in quadruple. This way, the light travels longer in the same space, resulting in a new focal length that will take you much further.
To support the tetraprism design, Apple has developed a sensor-shift optical 3D image stabilization that moves in three directions. This is our most advanced stabilization system ever and performs twice as many microcorrections (Up to 10,000 microcorrections per second) as before.
Thanks to the tetraprism design with a combined optical image stabilization and autofocus 3D sensor shift module, you can five zoom in optically. For comparison: the iPhone 14 Pro (Max) allows you to zoom in three times.
Use a tetraprism telephoto lens
If you have an iPhone 15 Pro Max, you can use the tetraprism telephoto lens. To do this, follow the steps below.
- Open the Camera app
- Tap the 5x button above or next to the camera button
- It automatically zooms in five times
- Take a photo by tapping the camera button
Thanks to the Tetraprisma telephoto lens, you can also digitally zoom up to 25X, so you can get 25 times closer to the object to take a photo. This is at the expense of quality. Digital zooming is possible by pressing and holding the 5 x button and then ‘turning’ it to the left or right.
Adjust wide-angle camera
The standard wide-angle camera has a 48 megapixel lens, the telephoto lens has 12 megapixels. By using a 48 MP lens, Apple can make different focal lengths available.
This is how you can choose which main camera lens you work with by default – 24mm, 28mm or 35mm. Tap the 1x button to change the focal length. If you always like to take photos with 28 mm or a different distance, you can also set the default via Settings ▸ Camera.