The Magic of iPhone 15’s Zoom

For most of my photographic work, I primarily use two focal lengths—50mm and 90mm. As a result, I am comfortable seeing the world with a mid-telephoto lens. However, since I received an iPhone 15 ProMax loaner from Apple, I have been utterly captivated by the new telephoto lens. It is equivalent to a full-frame 120mm focal length. The new zoom lens features a tetra prism design, and when combined with optical image stabilization and autofocus 3D sensor-shift module, it is capable of producing stunning images. I had the opportunity to witness the results firsthand during a drive back from Jackson Hole.

Previously, I shared photos from a magical morning that I captured using an f/4 90mm Elmar lens and the Leica M11 camera. During the same drive, I also took some photos with the iPhone 15 ProMax’s new 120mm equivalent lens. The quality of the 48-megapixel RAW files surpasses that of any other zoom lens in previous iPhones, with reduced noise and more pleasing colors.

As I was preparing to share some of these photos, I received an email from Rebecca Lily, my creative partner who helped me create my custom photo editing presets. She informed me about the release of her latest “preset collection.” I am particularly fond of Rebecca’s presets because they offer subtle enhancements using colors and luminosity to evoke a specific mood in an image. The new Pro Set VII is no exception in its ability to achieve this. Inspired by her presets, I decided to lightly color-tone the images I captured with the iPhone 15 ProMax. I hope you enjoy the final results as much as I did.

October 13, 2023. San Francisco

On Photography
6 comments

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Om Malik is a San Francisco based writer, photographer and investor. Read More

6 thoughts on this post

  1. Fantastic photos Om. Other than the b/w ones that are obviously edited, what was done to some of the other photos here? Particularly photos 5 & 6 (counting the featured image at the top No. 1).

    1. Thanks Dwight. I mostly used the color toning to either enhance or desaturate some colors.For instance, reduced the blues in the mountains, and turned yellow into golden yellow. Most of the editing is luminosity management using classic dodging and burning. And slight temperature management. From what was captured to what you see is about 10=15 percent editing

  3. The photos make me want to run out and swap my “ancient” Pixel 6 for the iPhone Pro 15 (and perhaps the ProMax). So tempted to return to the Apple ecosystem.

    The detail in the foreground of the first picture is remarkable and the photo is so atmospheric–superb!

    1. I am sure the iPhone won’t disappoint you, though I think if you are used to Pixel and Android, the annoyances of iOS are going to be many.

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