Binoculars How to save a zoomed-in photo on iPhone at full resolution
Tap the big white shutter button to save what you see to Photos, or Share to send it. On the free plan the image shrinks to 1600 pixels on the long side (a 4032 × 3024 photo becomes 1600 × 1200); with Pro it saves and shares untouched.
Which picture gets saved?
Frozen view: the shutter saves that frozen photo. Live view: the app takes a fresh capture at the current zoom and saves that instead. Share follows the same rule and opens the iPhone's share sheet, so the picture can go to a message, an email, whatever app you use.
The pinch you use to study a frozen photo only changes how you're viewing it on screen — the saved file is always the whole captured photo, not the cropped-in part you were squinting at. It is easy to assume otherwise, expecting a tight zoomed-in save and getting the full frame instead.
How to save a zoomed photo, step by step
- Zoom in on your subject and tap it to focus.
- Tap Freeze to hold the picture and check it is sharp. If not, tap Resume and try again.
- Tap the white shutter button. The first time, allow the app to add photos to your library.
- Wait for Saved to Photos. If you see Couldn't save — check Photos permission, allow Photos access for the app in the iPhone's settings.
- To send it instead, tap Share and pick where it goes.
Why is my saved photo smaller than on screen?
Scaled. On the free plan, saved and shared photos get resized so the long side is 1600 pixels; anything already smaller is left alone. Pro skips this step entirely and keeps the full capture.
| Captured | Saved on free plan | Share of the pixels kept |
|---|---|---|
| 4032 × 3024 (12.19 MP) | 1600 × 1200 (1.92 MP) | 15.7% |
| 3024 × 4032 (portrait) | 1200 × 1600 | 15.7% |
| 4000 × 3000 (12.0 MP) | 1600 × 1200 | 16.0% |
| 1920 × 1080 | 1600 × 900 | 69.4% |
| 1200 × 900 | 1200 × 900 (unchanged) | all of them |
1600 pixels is plenty for a phone screen or a message. If you want to crop further later, print, or keep the finest detail of a distant subject, the full capture matters.
What full resolution means with Pro
With Pro, the shutter and Share keep the photo exactly as captured. The app picks the largest photo size your camera supports, up to a budget of about 12.5 megapixels (4032 × 3024 on most iPhones) — a higher-resolution sensor doesn't automatically mean a bigger saved file. Pro also removes the full-screen ad free users may see after saving.
Tips
- Save the frozen photo, not the live view, when the subject is hard to hold steady: you already know the frozen one is sharp.
- The app only adds to your library. It can't read or change photos already there.
- Nothing is kept inside the app. If you don't save or share a frozen photo, it is gone when you leave.
Questions and answers
Does the saved photo include what I pinched on the frozen image?
Is Share lower quality than Save?
Can I record a video of the zoom?
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