The iPhone 15 gets a periscope lens, what can you actually do with that?

The iPhone will receive a periscope lens in 2023, according to several sources. The term sounds cool, but what is a periscope lens and what can you do with it?

Zoom, zoom and zoom more

A periscope lens is a zoom on steroids. The iPhone 13 Pro Max already has a 3x zoom lens, which allows you to take beautiful portrait photos with little lens distortion. The lens is also very suitable for photos of architecture. However, do you want to be able to capture a detail from 100 meters away? That is impossible. Thanks to an ingenious design, a periscope lens can zoom in many times further than a regular smartphone zoom lens. We will explain how that works and what you can do with it.

This is how a periscope lens works in a smartphone

Smartphones are generally no thicker than about 8 to 9 millimeters. However, lenses must be a certain size and depth to provide long focal lengths and wide apertures. These are necessary to be able to zoom far, but smartphones are simply too thin and too small for this. For example, that’s why an iPhone camera can’t capture a natural depth of field like a DSLR camera can.

Fortunately, there is a solution for the zoom limitation: a periscope lens. In the image below you can see what it roughly looks like. But why does it fit in a smartphone? The secret is in the use of a mirror.

Have you ever seen a submarine periscope? Periscope lenses are based on that. Light enters the lens and is reflected by the mirror at a 90 degree angle. Finally it reaches the camera sensor and voilà, you have a photo. Because the system is horizontal in the smartphone, there is suddenly much more space to work with. The depth of the device is no longer a limitation. This makes it possible to build in larger zoom lenses.

Also read: ‘iPhone 15 Pro gets camera with 10x optical zoom’

But why?

Many people joke about periscope lenses in smartphones. They would be real ‘creep’ cameras; perfect for peeking into your mean neighbor’s house. However, zooming can come in handy in all sorts of situations. Do you ever stand at the station and can’t read the signs because you are too far away? With a periscope lens you can stand still and still read the text.

Also, the perspective of an image changes the further you zoom in. Everything seems to be closer together and proportions are changing. There is little to no lens distortion, as a result of which the ‘convex’ effect that regular smartphone lenses are known for, disappears. Periscope lenses are therefore very suitable for taking photos of buildings, streets or works of art.

Want to learn more about iPhone photography?

A well-known saying: “The best camera you have is the camera in your pocket”. iPhoned likes to pay attention to iPhone photography. For example, do you want to learn more about portrait mode, or are you very curious about the macro mode of the iPhone 13? Our website is full of useful tips and tricks!

Also read: Useful tricks that will take your iPhone photography to the next level