Your iPhone may have even more lenses than you realise! Image: Amy Davies
If you like taking pictures with your iPhone then it’s always fun to finding new tricks to try with the native camera app.
One of my favourite things to use is a little bit hidden away, so if you don’t know it’s there you might never have used it.
The 1x lens of all the recent iPhone Pro models offers a 24mm equivalent view. It’s great for landscapes and, well lots of things really. But have you ever felt like you want to get just a little bit closer, but nowhere near as much as using the 4x zoom lens?
Well, if you tap the 1x lens icon in the camera app, you might be shocked to discover there are actually a couple more ‘lenses’ hidden away in there, namely a 1.2x (28mm) and a 1.5x (35mm) option that give great results too. There’s also a 2x (48mm) lens which I use frequently – albeit that one is actually displayed right there on the screen for you to see.
Whether you’re shooting at 1x, 1.2x, 1.5x or 2x, you’re still in fact using the 1x lens – which is the best performer on all iPhones – but the phone is just cropping a little into the central portion of the sensor to give that little bit of extra reach. Having a high-resolution sensor, such as found on the 48MP Fusion camera of most of the recent iPhones gives plenty of scope to do that without a drop in image quality.
This isn’t just something you’ll find on the newest iPhone 18 Pro / Max either. It’ll work with any of the iPhones which have a 48MP main sensor and a 24mm equivalent main lens. So that includes the iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro (and all the Max variants). Unfortunately it’s not available on the cheaper models, such as the iPhone 17 or iPhone 17e – though both of these do still have the 2x/48mm option to use so some of this advice still applies to you!
If you try this and find that this doesn’t work for you, it might need to be switched on the settings. Don’t worry, it’s easy enough to do – just go to Settings > Camera > Fusion Camera and ensure the tabs are moved across for the additional lenses.
On top of that, perhaps you find that you enjoy using the 1.5x lens a lot – you can set any one of the three options to be the ‘default’, making it the one that will start up when you open the app.
Alternatively, maybe you absolutely love 1.5x, but don’t really care for the 1.2x option – or vice versa. Well good news, you can even switch just one of them off and keep the other. Switch both off if you really don’t want to use either of them.
To see the difference it makes, take a look at these images below. The first at 1x (24mm), the second at 1.2x (28mm) and the third at 1.5x (35mm). The difference isn’t huge but it’s just about enough to make a real impact on your shots.
I often find it’s a good way to pick out certain details in a scene too, and it can also help to straighten out verticals in some circumstances, too.
35mm and 50mm are classic focal lengths for street photography, so try popping it on 1.5x or 2x next time you fancy giving that a go. You may find that you have a more ‘natural’ point of view and your photos take on a more ‘street’ type of vibe than you’re used to.
Portraits is another great one to try it with. 24mm can be a bit on the wide side for a typical portrait, but tap to 35mm and you’ve got a nice length which flatters your subject while still containing a decent amount of background for context too.
It’s true that it’s a bit of a marketing gimmick to suggest that the iPhone has all these extra lenses, they’re obviously not actually there. But, it’s a great way to get a bit more out of your iPhone camera and it’s something I find I use all the time. It’s worth experimenting with and seeing what takes your eye – give it a try next time you snap a picture!
- The hidden iPhone camera setting I use every single day is a total game changer
- iPhone photography tips and tricks for better pictures (get the most from your iPhone)
- I review iPhones for a living – these are the best iPhones for photography
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About
Amy is a seasoned photography and <a href="https://cinemamix360.com/2026/10/23/naza-when-technology-makes-killing-a-calculation/” title=”NAZA: When technology makes killing a calculation”>technology journalist who has been working on AP since 2018, having been in the publishing industry since 2009. She is a graduate of the magazine journalism course at Cardiff University and has written for a wide range of publications and websites. As Features Editor, she is responsible for commissioning an eclectic mix of features connected to general photography, along with interviews. She is also a very experienced reviewer of cameras and associated technology, with her reviews featured on multiple sites including TechRadar, Digital Camera World, Trusted Reviews, ePhotozine, Stuff, Expert Reviews, T3, Photography Blog and more. She is also an expert on smartphone photography and smartphones generally.
