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atari4

macrumors member
Sep 22, 2019
85
177
Upgraded to 13 Pro recently from a 12P, thinking it would be the smart move before doing some traveling, and boy was I wrong. Incredibly disappointing and aggressive HDR effect has ruined a bunch of my photos. The Live version of them shows the difference. Really hope Apple fixes this, this is unacceptable to not have the option to turn it off. Never had these issues prior to 13. It creates a literal outline around the legs, like it's a cel shaded cartoon. Awful.

Kind reminder
 

mpavilion

macrumors 65816
Aug 4, 2014
1,461
1,072
SFV, CA, USA
Well that just depends on what type of photographer you want to be and how you want the photos to look. I use the default camera all the time, however I use ProRAW exclusively so I don’t have any issues with my photos or the camera. To get great shots, you have to go beyond the jpeg! Apparently you folks are going to continue to complain and blame Apple for everything regarding the camera instead of applying yourselves to do better at photography. This thread is a big waste of my time and probably others as well… Take your mediocrity and run with it lol…
You sound somewhat rude and condescending. Just letting you know! :)
 

George Dawes

Suspended
Jul 17, 2014
2,980
4,332
=VH=
I’ve tried really hard but I just can’t take a ‘bad’ photo with the phone , not my incredible talent 😂 just the remarkable capabilities of the iPhone 13 pro max , the battery life’s not too bad either …..
 

Fat_Guy

macrumors 65816
Feb 10, 2021
1,032
1,099
Everybody just calm down.


I think everyone here is in agreement that the “pro” phone should have an “off” button for a user just to get the truly raw image if desired. I don’t know but there could be a proprietory issue here. I own a Pinephone and even if this is a hacker/privacy phone with completely “open” coding, the modem coding was still proprietary. It eventually got hacked and avilable in FOSS Linux (I believe) but the takeaway is that Apple does not make the sensors - as far as I know, and who knows what proprietary software went with that. I think they are Sony but not 100%. So who knows, to get a complete raw image one may have to crack some proprietary coding from the sensor, even so Apple could not legally sell it that way just as Pine64 can’t - for legal reasons. With the Pinephone you have to apply the hacked software after purchase - by yourself.



I suggest you buy a Somy pro phone camera that gives you all the options because they apparently own it all and give it to you. I always wondered what was so hard for Apple to just give you that switch - the fact they legally can’t would be one explanation - but all we can do is speculate.
 

cateye

macrumors 6502a
Oct 18, 2011
745
3,019
You sound somewhat rude and condescending. Just letting you know! :)
How is it rude and condescending? It's entirely correct. That doesn't mean people should feel compelled to follow that advice—they can do whatever they like, including downgrading to a different model iPhone that gives them the specific end result they're looking for. Act in your best interests and be confident. But being "wrong" has no virtue.

Apple's built-in camera app makes certain, non-user-modifiable decisions on how to process photos. Those decisions, like so many things in the Apple universe, are a black box (hello, iCloud Drive syncing?) and will always be a black box. That's how Apple works. Apple tweaks the results over time in directions they chose, not you.

Filling 50+ pages with bleating is counterproductive. Either live with it, change your shooting style, change your app, or change your phone. There is literally no other choice. None.
 

Pandyone

macrumors regular
Sep 30, 2021
242
322
Filling 50+ pages with bleating is counterproductive. Either live with it, change your shooting style, change your app, or change your phone. There is literally no other choice. None.

Currently there is no option, but I think it’s important to discuss this since photos sometimes comes out bad with the AI/processing Apple has put in to the stock camera and Photos apps.
Hopefully, a little attention to the issues can help improve the software.
 

cateye

macrumors 6502a
Oct 18, 2011
745
3,019
Currently there is no option, but I think it’s important to discuss this since photos sometimes comes out bad with the AI/processing Apple has put in to the stock camera and Photos apps.
Hopefully, a little attention to the issues can help improve the software.
Nothing wrong with discussing, and I didn't mean to suggest otherwise so I appreciate you saying this. I realize my post may come across as a bit absolutist, although I do feel pretty strongly about this.

That being said, it's important to note Apple has no official feedback loop for customer input into software systems like this and, to my knowledge, Apple does not monitor Mac Rumors or places like it to gather feedback. There are well-known internal mechanisms and focus groups Apple uses to judge public reaction to certain features and changes, but those are strictly controlled and little is known about their structure since it's all hush hush.
 

Fat_Guy

macrumors 65816
Feb 10, 2021
1,032
1,099
Nothing wrong with discussing, and I didn't mean to suggest otherwise so I appreciate you saying this. I realize my post may come across as a bit absolutist, although I do feel pretty strongly about this.

That being said, it's important to note Apple has no official feedback loop for customer input into software systems like this and, to my knowledge, Apple does not monitor Mac Rumors or places like it to gather feedback. There are well-known internal mechanisms and focus groups Apple uses to judge public reaction to certain features and changes, but those are strictly controlled and little is known about their structure since it's all hush hush.
I’m pretty sure Apple knows what is going on in social media as I am almost certain they have people on those platforms pitching for the company. They do use influencers for example. But what do I know?
 

Fat_Guy

macrumors 65816
Feb 10, 2021
1,032
1,099
I’ll also say that since Apple uses sensors from other manufacturers it can never be bleeding edge in design and tech because they only get the finished product from other competing companies. Sony makes most of the sensors and they do the research and design and they also sell their own phones. Samsung and others make the displays and many sell phones competing against Apple. So Apple in many ways can’t be a leader but only a follower in this business model using other companies hardware. Programming for the hardware is a different animal and Apple does that. But the sensor is still a Sony and Apple gets what they sell along with licenses and restrictions on use. Do it all in-house and you lower the profit margins because of all the R&D that has to be paid for.


Apple rakes in billions a year from Google as default search engine on iPhones. Apple has no great search engine for themselves otherwise they would have used that for information gathering. It’s your choice to use Google even though 99% don’t know or care, but Apple plays that as them upholding privacy. However if they had their own succesful search engine, privacy would probably not be high on the list. See how that works.


I’m not down on Apple as I own an iPhone. However there are limitations on using other people’s hardware and this can have an impact on performance. My guess is that if Apple made their own sensors the photography would be better and with more options - but that’s just me. Video is less sensor and more processing and guess what - Apple scores there. The iPhone 14 should finally be an interesting one this year though.
 

ToddH

macrumors 68030
Jul 5, 2010
2,889
5,843
Central Tx
A few from today showing that the camera on the iPhone 13 Pro max works just fine… I love the details I get from this camera, these were taken with the 1x using the moment app, ProRAW, manual focus with focus peeking, edited in Lightroom mobile. The Milky Way was a 30” exposure using night mode in ProRAW, Lightroom mobile edit as well.

EBFF14D4-B4CA-41EC-96DB-AF599B88624D.jpeg


EE0EF0DD-ACBB-4985-B84F-59AA23A1A037.jpeg


8FCE6E4C-7BAB-4266-8E59-F4E537727243.jpeg


68B5E342-BFAC-40C8-A203-CEFFB4B25761.jpeg
 

atari4

macrumors member
Sep 22, 2019
85
177
A few from today showing that the camera on the iPhone 13 Pro max works just fine… I love the details I get from this camera, these were taken with the 1x using the moment app, ProRAW, manual focus with focus peeking, edited in Lightroom mobile. The Milky Way was a 30” exposure using night mode in ProRAW, Lightroom mobile edit as well.

Bravo, but at this topic we discuss about awful AI at jpegs.
 

DanRO

macrumors regular
Feb 9, 2021
145
75
Overall feel for me is that the 12pm was more stabile over a lot of scenarios.
Quite a few times the photos seem overprocessed for no aparent reason.
Just did a comparison between an 8 plus and 13pm in ideal light (in a mall), main camera zoomed all the way in. The darker/yellower one is 13pm
 

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ToddH

macrumors 68030
Jul 5, 2010
2,889
5,843
Central Tx
These are all untouched HEIC shots at the Petro truckstop where I am doing some maintenance on today. 1x camera. No edits, looks good. And a couple of more photos. Only one with the basket was adjusted for exposure so my highlights won’t be blown out. Remember when these photos are uploaded to the forum, they are approximately 3 megapixels in size which reduces the quality quite a bit



B1B22E9C-171F-4894-99FD-7731318046D2.jpeg


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4DBD3919-49BC-4407-BA6F-D34F8AB80483.jpeg


As you can see I don’t have any weird issues with the smart HDR in these high contrast images from shadow to bright

Todd
 
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golfnut1982

macrumors 6502a
Oct 12, 2014
543
1,383
Chicago, IL
These are all untouched jpeg shots at the Petro truckstop where I am doing some maintenance on today. 1x camera. No edits, looks good. And a couple of more photos. Only one with the basket was adjusted for exposure so my highlights won’t be blown out. Remember when these photos are uploaded to the forum, they are approximately 3 megapixels in size which reduces the quality quite a bit



View attachment 2011706

View attachment 2011708

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As you can see I don’t have any weird issues with the smart HDR in these high contrast images from shadow to bright

Todd
Todd, why Jpeg? HEIC is supposed to have more detail. https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/file-types/image/comparison/heic-vs-jpeg.html
 

DanRO

macrumors regular
Feb 9, 2021
145
75
They’ll bring back the option to toggle on or off on the 14. Boom, new feature
 

crshbndct

macrumors newbie
Nov 9, 2021
10
23
A few from today showing that the camera on the iPhone 13 Pro max works just fine… I love the details I get from this camera, these were taken with the 1x using the moment app, ProRAW, manual focus with focus peeking, edited in Lightroom mobile. The Milky Way was a 30” exposure using night mode in ProRAW, Lightroom mobile edit as well.

View attachment 2010674

View attachment 2010675

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You aren't listening to what anyone is saying. Yes the camera is fine when you take time to compose a shot, take it in RAW and then edit afterwards.

The issue that people are complaining about is not that the camera is not capable of taking great photos. It absolutely is capable of taking great photos. All of your photos of inanimate objects in this thread are proof of that.

It is that for everyday shots, like pets, children, random idiots doing something in public, the camera is worse than just about every model from the 6S until now, and most Android flagships from that time too. None of your arguments hold any water, when every model prior to this was capable of doing things that the 13Pro is not able to do. For the vast majority of users, any older phone is better then this one, camera-wise.

The argument is that older phones are better. You are countering that argument by saying that if you edit the RAW files, the images look good. No-one is denying that edited images look good, but that also applies to older phones. This new camera system takes worse images in almost every way than the last one. Editing can improve any image, even bad ones, the issue is that the images are bad. The phone doesn't have a functional zoom lens, unless you have an arclight pointed directly at the light sensor, and even then it still tries to crop the wide sensor.

I am going to be feeding this phone into a wood chipper in about a month's time. Not even joking.
 

DanRO

macrumors regular
Feb 9, 2021
145
75
You aren't listening to what anyone is saying. Yes the camera is fine when you take time to compose a shot, take it in RAW and then edit afterwards.

The issue that people are complaining about is not that the camera is not capable of taking great photos. It absolutely is capable of taking great photos. All of your photos of inanimate objects in this thread are proof of that.

It is that for everyday shots, like pets, children, random idiots doing something in public, the camera is worse than just about every model from the 6S until now, and most Android flagships from that time too. None of your arguments hold any water, when every model prior to this was capable of doing things that the 13Pro is not able to do. For the vast majority of users, any older phone is better then this one, camera-wise.

The argument is that older phones are better. You are countering that argument by saying that if you edit the RAW files, the images look good. No-one is denying that edited images look good, but that also applies to older phones. This new camera system takes worse images in almost every way than the last one. Editing can improve any image, even bad ones, the issue is that the images are bad. The phone doesn't have a functional zoom lens, unless you have an arclight pointed directly at the light sensor, and even then it still tries to crop the wide sensor.

I am going to be feeding this phone into a wood chipper in about a month's time. Not even joking.
I guess you are being to harsh amd frustrated, just like myself, comming from a 12PM that took great photos, I expected even better photos. The 13pm camera’s great in ideal conditions, but as soon as you get to a tricky situation it fails.

My conspiracy theory is that they purposefully made the camera worse on the 13 series so that the 14 would look amazing, also to distract from the fact that they will still not add the persicope zoom, just more pixels.

What do you guys think?
 

ToddH

macrumors 68030
Jul 5, 2010
2,889
5,843
Central Tx
You aren't listening to what anyone is saying. Yes the camera is fine when you take time to compose a shot, take it in RAW and then edit afterwards.

The issue that people are complaining about is not that the camera is not capable of taking great photos. It absolutely is capable of taking great photos. All of your photos of inanimate objects in this thread are proof of that.

It is that for everyday shots, like pets, children, random idiots doing something in public, the camera is worse than just about every model from the 6S until now, and most Android flagships from that time too. None of your arguments hold any water, when every model prior to this was capable of doing things that the 13Pro is not able to do. For the vast majority of users, any older phone is better then this one, camera-wise.

The argument is that older phones are better. You are countering that argument by saying that if you edit the RAW files, the images look good. No-one is denying that edited images look good, but that also applies to older phones. This new camera system takes worse images in almost every way than the last one. Editing can improve any image, even bad ones, the issue is that the images are bad. The phone doesn't have a functional zoom lens, unless you have an arclight pointed directly at the light sensor, and even then it still tries to crop the wide sensor.

I am going to be feeding this phone into a wood chipper in about a month's time. Not even joking.
I just posted HEIF photos, not ProRAW this time, not edited. They are below this post of mine. Straight out of the camera. They don’t look bad at all, not like you guys are talking about. I guess the only thing that I did notice was it’s easy to blow the highlights if you’re not careful especially in the clouds. So take a look!!
 

juanmaasecas

macrumors regular
Oct 26, 2014
101
66
I just posted HEIF photos, not ProRAW this time, not edited. They are below this post of mine. Straight out of the camera. They don’t look bad at all, not like you guys are talking about. I guess the only thing that I did notice was it’s easy to blow the highlights if you’re not careful especially in the clouds. So take a look!!
The problem is mainly skin tones unnaturally brighten up when in shade etc. the abuse of hdr in landscape is ok, but when there are people in the frame, sometimes it looks horrendous. Same for noise reduction and over sharpening, for landscape is fine, the problems are with people…
 

ToddH

macrumors 68030
Jul 5, 2010
2,889
5,843
Central Tx
The problem is mainly skin tones unnaturally brighten up when in shade etc. the abuse of hdr in landscape is ok, but when there are people in the frame, sometimes it looks horrendous. Same for noise reduction and over sharpening, for landscape is fine, the problems are with people…
Ok…. I’ll take some random shots of people over the next day or two and post my results. Then we will find out if the issue is the camera / software or user error.
 
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Pandyone

macrumors regular
Sep 30, 2021
242
322
Ok…. I’ll take some random shots of people over the next day or two and post my results. Then we will find out if the issue is the camera / software or user error.

You are already so sure that it can be nothing but user errors that you refuse to accept any other information.
It's already posted examples in this thread, and you still need to argue against them as user errors?
You may be very lucky not to experience the issues with your device as often or not at all, which is great for you.

For me, the issues are not as often with "oil painting"-effect, but now it is the HDR effect I sometimes gets in photos that can be annoying.
 
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