I believe OMAAT readers are quite knowledgeable, so I’m hoping someone might have a solution for my issue…
My main frustration with the iPhone camera
I review airlines and hotels in detail, using a simple method that has worked for me for years. I’ve consistently relied on my iPhone for taking blog photos, and it generally works well.
As someone who isn’t a professional photographer, I find that the iPhone provides a good mix of portability, simplicity, and picture quality. However, when I board a flight, I often have mere seconds to snap photos, and my aim is to remain discreet and avoid drawing attention from airline staff.
The iPhone camera has significantly improved in recent years, but there’s one particular aspect that seems to have worsened. When attempting to photograph text (like a business class or hotel restaurant menu), the text often turns out blurry. This issue arises, I think, because the high resolution makes it difficult for the camera to determine where to focus, especially on text.
I currently use an iPhone 17 Pro Max, and even my previous iPhone 16 Pro Max exhibited the same problem, indicating it’s not unique to one device. Below is an example of an Etihad wine list that turned out blurrier than expected.
It’s amusing that taking menu photos frustrates me the most, as capturing a piece of paper seems simple, yet I often take numerous shots, only to find one decent image. As someone who does this for a living, I feel I should not be posting blurry text.
Is there an obvious solution I’m overlooking?
I’ve searched online for this issue, but there seems to be limited discussion, which is perplexing as I can’t believe I’m the only person capturing text with an iPhone camera. Is there something I’m missing? I’ve been told to take pictures from a bit farther away to avoid focus issues, which I’ve tried, but the quality remains poor. Is there a setting I need to adjust? Should I consider carrying a different camera or an older iPhone just for taking pictures of menus?
I appreciate that more airlines and hotels are making their menus available online, making it easier. In those cases, I simply screenshot the menus and skip the picture issue entirely.
Bottom line
While my iPhone generally performs well for travel photos, it consistently struggles with capturing text, particularly menus. I apologize for this seemingly naive question, but I feel there has to be an easier way to improve this. Any insights into my iPhone camera dilemma would be greatly appreciated!
