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Allen_Wentz

macrumors 68040
Dec 3, 2016
3,322
3,758
USA
If you are interested in budget photography, then i own sony nex 7 + sel 50 1.8 lens. Together they can be had from ebay for $400-$500. Shoots still better than any iphone while being from 2011 with the original sony battery in it.
Your old body choice was a fair value, but in real world operation there are a lot important captures that can be done with the iPhone Pro's multiple lenses and 45 MP that a simple prime mild telephoto (75mm at 35mm equivalence) lens simply cannot capture (e.g.macro, normal, any wide angle, real telephoto). And in real world operation the ability to aggressively crop 45MP of image data is very useful for many tasks.
 
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Dsmith7

macrumors regular
Oct 20, 2021
125
168
"Overprocessing" usually presents when the photog forces the camera into a capture that is technically poorly done (poor lighting, excessive camera movement, excessive subject movement, etc.; usually multiple flaws). With good technique one sees little of such overprocessing.
The old you're just holding it wrong. Let me guess i need to download halide and lightroom to make sure my pictures are pristine? $1,100 for a phone and i need add ons lol
 

Allen_Wentz

macrumors 68040
Dec 3, 2016
3,322
3,758
USA
The old you're just holding it wrong. Let me guess i need to download halide and lightroom to make sure my pictures are pristine? $1,100 for a phone and i need add ons lol
No you do not need add-ons, just basic photog skills.

Read what I said:
"Overprocessing" usually presents when the photog forces the camera into a capture that is technically poorly done (poor lighting, excessive camera movement, excessive subject movement, etc.; usually multiple flaws). With good technique one sees little of such overprocessing.

Note that few of us are born with good photog technique. It takes applied learning, and practice.
 
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juanmaasecas

macrumors regular
Oct 26, 2014
104
67
No you do not need add-ons, just basic photog skills.

Read what I said:
"Overprocessing" usually presents when the photog forces the camera into a capture that is technically poorly done (poor lighting, excessive camera movement, excessive subject movement, etc.; usually multiple flaws). With good technique one sees little of such overprocessing.

Note that few of us are born with good photog technique. It takes applied learning, and practice.
It also happens because the camera tries to make HDR in every scenario. Maybe you just want to keep the face darker in a backlit situation, or even just to have a silhouette as your artistic approach, and even if you manually lower the exposure, the camera will brighten up the face/body artificially with horrible look and Colors. This is so annoying.
We should be able to stop all this.
And even in proraw, the noise reduction and extreme sharpness with high radius is baked in and can’t be disabled (and the weird hdr curve)
 

louis^

macrumors member
Sep 7, 2016
51
131
No you do not need add-ons, just basic photog skills.

Read what I said:
"Overprocessing" usually presents when the photog forces the camera into a capture that is technically poorly done (poor lighting, excessive camera movement, excessive subject movement, etc.; usually multiple flaws). With good technique one sees little of such overprocessing.

Note that few of us are born with good photog technique. It takes applied learning, and practice.
Oh that's right, why didn't I think of that myself. Then tell me your trick how pictures don't look overprocessed? Maybe with the good old bumper from the iPhone 4?
The surprising thing is that all pictures since the iPhone 13 and the missing function to disable Smart HDR look catastrophic and aggressively processed. It would be a mystery to me if my photog skills were very good until the iPhone 12 and went bad overnight when the iPhone 13 came out. Keep coming back with your tips, Tim.
 

ctjack

macrumors 68000
Mar 8, 2020
1,546
1,565
Your old body choice was a fair value, but in real world operation there are a lot important captures that can be done with the iPhone Pro's multiple lenses and 45 MP that a simple prime mild telephoto (75mm at 35mm equivalence) lens simply cannot capture (e.g.macro, normal, any wide angle, real telephoto). And in real world operation the ability to aggressively crop 45MP of image data is very useful for many tasks.
In my experience it is vice versa: 24 MP shots from old body can be cropped 2x more than 48MP from an iphone - just regular physics of module size and lens size and their resolution ability.
Though i do agree that this old body is not for fast action - it is more for thoughtful pic taking.
 

Allen_Wentz

macrumors 68040
Dec 3, 2016
3,322
3,758
USA
No you do not need add-ons, just basic photog skills.
In my experience it is vice versa: 24 MP shots from old body can be cropped 2x more than 48MP from an iphone - just regular physics of module size and lens size and their resolution ability.
Though i do agree that this old body is not for fast action - it is more for thoughtful pic taking.
Sorry, I did not intend to diss 24 MP, which is fine (although I love the crop flexibility 45 MP brings). It is 75mm mild telephoto (equivalent) that I find to be very limiting. I recommend that folks learn on a fast normal lens, and it is great for individual artistry. But I find having a wide range of focal lengths essential for day-to-day work.
 
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Allen_Wentz

macrumors 68040
Dec 3, 2016
3,322
3,758
USA
Oh that's right, why didn't I think of that myself. Then tell me your trick how pictures don't look overprocessed? Maybe with the good old bumper from the iPhone 4?
The surprising thing is that all pictures since the iPhone 13 and the missing function to disable Smart HDR look catastrophic and aggressively processed. It would be a mystery to me if my photog skills were very good until the iPhone 12 and went bad overnight when the iPhone 13 came out. Keep coming back with your tips, Tim.
Sorry but I do not have any instant tips for you to improve your image captures, and my name is not Tim, and I have literally thousands of iPhone 14 Pro pix taken for work purposes that definitely are not "...all pictures since the iPhone 13 and the missing function to disable Smart HDR look catastrophic and aggressively processed."

YMMV. Like I said, just basic photog skills.
 

ToddH

macrumors 68030
Jul 5, 2010
2,893
5,853
Central Tx
The old you're just holding it wrong. Let me guess i need to download halide and lightroom to make sure my pictures are pristine? $1,100 for a phone and i need add ons lol
The camera is a tool. You have to control it to produce the image that you visualize before taking the shot. It’s all in the technique, evaluating the scene to get an idea how to adjust your camera to give you great results. A $5000 Sony or Nikon camera does not take better photos than a $1500 camera in the hands of an amateur. It’s the photographer that controls it. If Apple, Nikon , or Sony made cameras that did everything for you, you’ll never learn anything about photography or light. Add ons as you mentioned (Halide, Moment, ProCamera) take the iPhone camera beyond its basic capabilities. They give you more features to better control the camera. Features like manual focus, proper exposure control, and hard selecting one of the cameras, etc…. Especially when external lenses are applied to the iPhone like a telephoto, or anamorphic lens, etc, then you’ll need a third party app to use those. Or you can put the phone camera in “automatic mode” and hope for the best. Sure you'll get some shots that look great, but most of the time, they will disappoint you due to the lack of camera control and experience. I’m a photographer, I always get great results from my cameras because of my training. Put me in a mechanic garage and hand me a few wrenches and tell me to fix a vehicle, my results aren’t going to be very good. What? They don’t make one wrench that fixes everything, I have to use add-on’s?
 
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LevorgPenmancho

macrumors member
Nov 8, 2022
53
100
I’m sure the 15 pro will be declared a “revolutionary” camera. My fear is that this intelligent over processing in the software is the direction Apple is choosing to take. And unfortunately for me I had no way of finding that out until I already bought it and got it into real world situations and discovered it was utterly useless for what I wanted to do. Pro should mean pro, or why bother. For me pro means the option of manually bypassing all the Instagram/HDR bs we’re getting force fed. This is the first time I’ve felt buyers remorse from any major apple product since 2005 and I’ve had plenty…
Pro max ultra über plus are all just words to get people to move up the pricing structure. The “iPhone 14 Pro Max” is the iPhone 14. The “iPhone 14 Pro”, “14 Plus”, and “iPhone 14” are an iPhone 14 with features removed to create an economic ladder. They want to have the maximum possible percentage of iPhone sales be of this max price model, so it needs to be made for the general consumer. The names are just to make you think you get extra features. Pro isn’t for Pros. Ultra isn’t for Ultra’s
 

msackey

macrumors 68030
Oct 8, 2020
2,863
3,297
I think the OP is overreacting here. Sure, you may not like the processing of some of the images but it's far from being the "worst" camera. Lol 😆
For sure it was hyperbole! They should go look at the original iPhone camera and compare. 🙄🤪😆
 
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msackey

macrumors 68030
Oct 8, 2020
2,863
3,297
I have a 12 Pro and can sympathise with your experiences. Technically it’s a very decent camera, but the processing is so inconsistent that I can no longer rely on it to take natural-looking photographs.

[…]

Something else I realised was that it’s stupid of me to be paying so much more for the ‘pro’ phone just to get the telephoto lens when, in truth, I don’t even like the resulting images.

If the photos were that important, no phone cameras should be relied on, no? But setting that aside, there are camera apps out there that could provide better results of you need more ability to control pre- and post-processing.

Halide Mark II comes to mind. See: https://petapixel.com/best-iphone-camera-apps/
 

msackey

macrumors 68030
Oct 8, 2020
2,863
3,297
It does look better. But if they remove it after all the processing apple does, is it Post-Post-Processing?
Nah. It’s still post-processing. If someone hands you a photo file that they did some processing in and asked you to finish up, you’re still part of the post-processing portion. ;-).

Lol
 

anthony13

macrumors 65816
Jul 1, 2012
1,053
1,199
Just going to say it. For more reasons than I can even be bothered listing here, the iPhone 14 pro max camera is the worst phone camera I’ve ever had. I only bought this phone for the 48mp Raw capability - and yea in theory having that is great. But, little did I know all the “smart” processing and lens switching etc. this phone does would make it basically useless. Especially for interior shots in commercial spaces/lighting. The image you see when you click the shutter is nothing like what the final image becomes. It is so over processed and totally far from being even close to accurate contrast/colour/ability to handle LED lights etc. it’s basically unusable. Upgraded from an iPhone X, before that a 6, 4s, 3Gs. Deeply regret it and should’ve stuck with the X.
Apple has me with its ecosystem, but how the hell is this camera possibly considered “pro” when you can override all of the BS the software does to every photo?
Also, no other apps I’ve tried including Halide do anything to stop this happening…
Rant over?
Completely agree. I don’t get it either. The processing it does ruins the photos. I don’t want my photos artificially brightened. I don’t want them sharpened. It’s such an obvious problem but I always assume I’m in the minority because it doesn’t show up as an issue very often for most.
 

AstroRexaur

macrumors regular
Mar 15, 2021
176
237
Some days ago I was looking some old Disney Park pictures and I was impressed how great and, in some extent, better pictures my iPhone XS Max took! Less processing and real colors and shadows (compared with my actual iPhone 14 Pro Max)
 

Nothappywith14pm

macrumors newbie
Sep 9, 2023
1
0
Just going to say it. For more reasons than I can even be bothered listing here, the iPhone 14 pro max camera is the worst phone camera I’ve ever had. I only bought this phone for the 48mp Raw capability - and yea in theory having that is great. But, little did I know all the “smart” processing and lens switching etc. this phone does would make it basically useless. Especially for interior shots in commercial spaces/lighting. The image you see when you click the shutter is nothing like what the final image becomes. It is so over processed and totally far from being even close to accurate contrast/colour/ability to handle LED lights etc. it’s basically unusable. Upgraded from an iPhone X, before that a 6, 4s, 3Gs. Deeply regret it and should’ve stuck with the X.
Apple has me with its ecosystem, but how the hell is this camera possibly considered “pro” when you can override all of the BS the software does to every photo?
Also, no other apps I’ve tried including Halide do anything to stop this happening…
Rant over?
I’m probably going Samsung , going back to a cheaper phone next time, unhappy with the camera, unhappy I spent so much on an iPad Pro to have a worthless device for so many things, also my iPhone 14 promax has abysmal data reception compared to my 11
 

winxmac

macrumors 68000
Sep 1, 2021
1,556
1,816
iPhone XS - Smart HDR
iPhone 11 Pro - Smart HDR 2
iPhone 12 Pro - Smart HDR 3
iPhone 13 Pro - Smart HDR 4
iPhone 14 Pro - Smart HDR 4

I have not read all replies here but it seems to me that most users here who prefer non-Apple camera app do not like one or all: Smart HDR, A12 Bionic and newer, hardware and software improvements by Apple from 2018 onwards, Apple's hardware (sensor) choices, software/processing...

I have mostly taken pictures using a Nikon D5500 DSLR camera but have lately started using the iPhone as my primary camera... Photos from an iPhone 7 Plus are way worse and have more digital noise versus from an iPhone 14 Pro Max in my opinion... Live photo, still photo, or RAW...

I am happy with the convenience of a triple camera device although I still would like to be offered higher zoom option and finer/tighter manual controls/dial/refinements...

For unexpected/unplanned shots, an iPhone camera is a great tool... For instances that you have plenty of time, like landscape photography, wedding/pre-wedding photos, and other similar instances, I would go with a manual control camera... Switch lenses, adjust exposure, aperture, zoom, shutter speed, ISO, etc.

In the end, we all have our own way/preference when it comes to taking photos and videos... If you think others will benefit from what you know and have experienced, then go ahead and share it...
 

ToddH

macrumors 68030
Jul 5, 2010
2,893
5,853
Central Tx
Some days ago I was looking some old Disney Park pictures and I was impressed how great and, in some extent, better pictures my iPhone XS Max took! Less processing and real colors and shadows (compared with my actual iPhone 14 Pro Max)
I had the Xs max as well. It did fine during the day, but in low light where the iso gets upwards around 800, the photos take on a water color blotchy effect. Even individual blades of grass in the yard were mushy and unresolved. Plus the Xs didn’t shoot raw. My brother had the Xs also, photos of his dog on the floor in a well lit room had the blotchy effect as well. Bad enough to where the pattern on the floor couldn’t be distinguished. I don’t think the Xs was all that great. I suppose to the untrained eye, all photos from the previous iPhone look good.
 
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The Game 161

macrumors Nehalem
Dec 15, 2010
30,974
20,168
UK
iPhone XS - Smart HDR
iPhone 11 Pro - Smart HDR 2
iPhone 12 Pro - Smart HDR 3
iPhone 13 Pro - Smart HDR 4
iPhone 14 Pro - Smart HDR 4

I have not read all replies here but it seems to me that most users here who prefer non-Apple camera app do not like one or all: Smart HDR, A12 Bionic and newer, hardware and software improvements by Apple from 2018 onwards, Apple's hardware (sensor) choices, software/processing...

I have mostly taken pictures using a Nikon D5500 DSLR camera but have lately started using the iPhone as my primary camera... Photos from an iPhone 7 Plus are way worse and have more digital noise versus from an iPhone 14 Pro Max in my opinion... Live photo, still photo, or RAW...

I am happy with the convenience of a triple camera device although I still would like to be offered higher zoom option and finer/tighter manual controls/dial/refinements...

For unexpected/unplanned shots, an iPhone camera is a great tool... For instances that you have plenty of time, like landscape photography, wedding/pre-wedding photos, and other similar instances, I would go with a manual control camera... Switch lenses, adjust exposure, aperture, zoom, shutter speed, ISO, etc.

In the end, we all have our own way/preference when it comes to taking photos and videos... If you think others will benefit from what you know and have experienced, then go ahead and share it...
Yep HDR needs to be fixed this year.
 
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pullman

macrumors 6502a
Feb 11, 2008
768
120
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Thank you. This discussion interests and worries me as I'm on an iphone X and have been thinking of upgrading to the iPhone 15 Pro. I'm a photographer and warning bells are ringing when i read this thread.

I'm have some trouble understanding what "overprocessing" means in practice - could you or someone else show examples perhaps?

Thank you very much
Philip


Just going to say it. For more reasons than I can even be bothered listing here, the iPhone 14 pro max camera is the worst phone camera I’ve ever had. I only bought this phone for the 48mp Raw capability - and yea in theory having that is great. But, little did I know all the “smart” processing and lens switching etc. this phone does would make it basically useless. Especially for interior shots in commercial spaces/lighting. The image you see when you click the shutter is nothing like what the final image becomes. It is so over processed and totally far from being even close to accurate contrast/colour/ability to handle LED lights etc. it’s basically unusable. Upgraded from an iPhone X, before that a 6, 4s, 3Gs. Deeply regret it and should’ve stuck with the X.
Apple has me with its ecosystem, but how the hell is this camera possibly considered “pro” when you can override all of the BS the software does to every photo?
Also, no other apps I’ve tried including Halide do anything to stop this happening…
Rant over?
 

RRC

macrumors 68000
Nov 3, 2020
1,688
2,684
Thank you. This discussion interests and worries me as I'm on an iphone X and have been thinking of upgrading to the iPhone 15 Pro. I'm a photographer and warning bells are ringing when i read this thread.

I'm have some trouble understanding what "overprocessing" means in practice - could you or someone else show examples perhaps?

Thank you very much
Philip

When people say over-processed they usually mean fake looking, too much sharpening, too much noise reduction resulting in a smoothing effect where as people who are into photography actually generally prefer a bit of a grainy photo as long as the image is natural looking.
 
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contacos

macrumors 603
Nov 11, 2020
5,467
20,793
Mexico City living in Berlin
I actually prefer the photos taken on my iPhone 12 Pro Max. Everything on 14 Pro Max looks artificial and not like how it looks in the real world, almost „too perfect“ and not how colors appear in nature. If that makes sense.

Oh by the way, the other day I had to pull out my old iPhone 6 to be able to verify my identity online because the damn camera on my freaking „Pro“ phone literally could not focus to take a photo of my ID. It was too blurry and every verification process failed
 
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