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iPhone 13 Pro Really bad photos with iPhone 13 Pro (+Max) Merged

I think a lot of people here would be much happier if Apple left the SmartHDR toggle in the settings and not baked it into the ISP. FWIW, if the over arching advice here is to shoot RAW and do the post processing yourself on every picture, thats basically admitting that Apple’s SmartHDR post processing is not doing it’s job very well.

Other than the odd snap here and there, I use my GR to take the photos that I would otherwise take with an iPhone. Why go through the process of shooting RAW and then post-process on inferior hardware when I can do it on a more capable device (given the same workflow)?
 
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Anyone debating 13 Pro Max -> 14 Pro Max due to 48 MP + 57% larger sensor vs just buying a point and shoot like the RX100? I'm on the fence based on convenience. Would be a bummer if Apple ends up binning all photos to 12 MP, even in bright light situations. Per the current leaks the 14 PM will likely not have a significant upgrade to the Telephoto lens either and I'm not happy with the severe processing/oil painting look with higher zooms.
 
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SumYoungGai said:
Anyone debating 13 Pro Max -> 14 Pro Max due to 48 MP + 57% larger sensor vs just buying a point and shoot like the RX100? I'm on the fence based on convenience. Would be a bummer if Apple ends up binning all photos to 12 MP, even in bright light situations. Per the current leaks the 14 PM will likely not have a significant upgrade to the Telephoto lens either and I'm not happy with the severe processing/oil painting look with higher zooms.
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I'm thinking about it, but I'll have to see some sample photos first.
 
SumYoungGai said:
Anyone debating 13 Pro Max -> 14 Pro Max due to 48 MP + 57% larger sensor vs just buying a point and shoot like the RX100? I'm on the fence based on convenience. Would be a bummer if Apple ends up binning all photos to 12 MP, even in bright light situations. Per the current leaks the 14 PM will likely not have a significant upgrade to the Telephoto lens either and I'm not happy with the severe processing/oil painting look with higher zooms.
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They most definitely will be utilizing pixel binning to pull off the post-processing they so desire. You’ll probably have access to the full sensor using third-party apps i bet.
 
arkitect said:
And at the end I think they were not telling any lies. I think (subjectively) that the camera is the best in an iPhone ever… it is the Apple imposed post-processing that is the problem.
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Yes, I don't get what's so hard for people to comprehend about this 64 pages later. It's great the camera is improved - too bad they trash the photos with this over editing. The idea that only professional photographers are allowed to be bothered by subpar photos - that would not be subpar if not for horrible editing that you cannot opt out of, other than to use a third party app - is just laughable... If we enjoy complaining some people enjoy missing the point of what we are saying :rolleyes:
 
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Used my son's 13Pro last week, check out his leg.... He probably moved, but....???
1661463747923.jpeg
 
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tedley said:
You should send this to Apple. The more they see some of the garbage that their crappy, Poorly-tested AI produces, the more likely they MAY be inclined to admit there’s a problem. MAYBE!!!!
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Apple don’t care

they are getting ready for the 14 pro camera upgrades
 
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Brault said:
Used my son's 13Pro last week, check out his leg.... He probably moved, but....???View attachment 2047235
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I think I've seen similar photos like this before, but now I can't find them when I want to. (Not exactly an easy thing to search for.)

It appears it could be an issue with the computational photography that we don't have much control over. Doesn't the iPhone take multiple pictures and then use AI (neural engine) to pick out the best parts in each one? In this photo, one of the legs is on the wrong side of the body, and the other leg lines up with the tree in the background. Probably a lucky shot where things happened to line up with other objects and fooled the neural engine.
 
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iStorm said:
I think I've seen similar photos like this before, but now I can't find them when I want to. (Not exactly an easy thing to search for.)

It appears it could be an issue with the computational photography that we don't have much control over. Doesn't the iPhone take multiple pictures and then use AI (neural engine) to pick out the best parts in each one? In this photo, one of the legs is on the wrong side of the body, and the other leg lines up with the tree in the background. Probably a lucky shot where things happened to line up with other objects and fooled the neural engine.
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Here’s another example.
 
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MacLappy said:
I beg to differ, the iPhone 13 Pro Max is a huge improvement for me, coming from the iPhone 12, and I almost never edit my photos or shoot in ProRaw.

Biggest noticeable upgrade in camera quality in a single generation yet!

Love the versatility of the camera array, so many choices and ways to capture the moment.

Favourite upgrade for me is the bigger sensor and brighter lens for the main wide camera. Love that natural shallow depth of field, absolutely amazing considering this is a phone camera.
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I’d have to agree on the quality of photos of 11pro vs the 13mini, but I’ve seen some horrendous photos of the 13pro series. I certainly wouldn’t tout the success of the camera if 1%-5% of the time it makes people look awful and over processed.

I need to be able to trust that the picture I take doesn’t make people look like aliens.
 
RobertoDLV said:
For unknown reasons, it seems really hard to understand that the issue isn't that much the camera quality than the awful AI post process.
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They’re tied together. You can’t just flip off the post processing of the camera app on iPhone.

Hence, they are connected: the camera quality is bad.
 
ToddH said:
My off topic advice is supposed to introduce new info and ideas, if you don’t follow or pursue the info provided then you aren’t willing to try and that’s on you. That’s how I feel about it. Why not try new apps and focus on getting better photos? What’s wrong with that? I definitely don’t like remaining stagnant and settling for only one camera format / option or for just raising the camera and just pressing the button… Do you know how many people I talk to about the iPhone camera that have no idea how to properly use it? More than I can count.

If you don’t like the performance of the iPhone 13 pro camera, then why not move on to another model or manufacturer? Blaming Apple isn’t going to help or make things better. You are in control of your iPhone camera, so control it and make it work better for you! If you are one that just takes a few photos here and there, then the jpeg quality definitely should not bother you. You’ve seen my photos and how great they look, quality like that will not come from a jpeg. You can get really close to raw quality from a jpeg only if the camera is set properly before the shot. Settings that include ISO, exposure, focus, etc.

Question: did you buy the iPhone 13 pro model specifically for the camera only to get dissatisfied by its performance because you’re a professional or seasoned photographer and felt it was subpar? If you aren’t a seasoned or pro photographer then why do you care what the iPhone camera quality is like, especially if you don’t edit and push it to its limits? You probably should just be thinking… well it’s a phone camera, not a DSLR and not be concerned about the quality of jpeg it puts out. Y’all are acting like professional photographers and getting disappointed over image quality when most of you probably aren’t pros. Because if you were, then you would not be shooting jpeg unless the shot is random and unworthy of an edit or you have mastered the Jpeg format. “I want perfection from my iPhone camera with no extra effort on my end!” That’s what comes to mind when I read a lot of these posts. Don’t say that I am rude as recompense for your imagined slights! (Thor quote). That’s all I have to say… learning more about photography and the iPhone camera will boost your confidence and your photography will greatly improve and hopefully bring more joy to you as you plan your shots…or just continue to blame Apple and complain, but hopefully you won’t.
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If one pays over a $1000 for a device where the camera quality is touted as the best out there, one should expect it to produce images that are the the very least ACCEPTABLE all the time.

Historically, iphone images have been acceptable/average all the time: they may be blown out, or a bit too dark, or low detail, or misfocused, etc. and they were all acceptable.

But they were NEVER post processed to a completely unacceptable level. Which, is worthy of complaining since it was the top selling point of a >$1000 device.

The advice to those who are extremely unhappy about Apple’s sub-par processing to just try shooting raw or spending more time to be a pro photographer is misplaced and not helpful. The crux of the issue is that Apple is selling a sub-par picture taker and calling it “the best”. And we’re bothered by Apple’s crappy software 😄

But more response to your post: have you found a way to remove Apple’s post-processing turning people’s faces into dolls, aliens, leaves, bubbles masses of goop,etc? Or losing details that should have never been water colored away?
 
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Mine keeps doing this. Did similar when trying to take pics outside of airplane windows.
 

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JM said:
If one pays over a $1000 for a device where the camera quality is touted as the best out there, one should expect it to produce images that are the the very least ACCEPTABLE all the time.

Historically, iphone images have been acceptable/average all the time: they may be blown out, or a bit too dark, or low detail, or misfocused, etc. and they were all acceptable.

But they were NEVER post processed to a completely unacceptable level. Which, is worthy of complaining since it was the top selling point of a >$1000 device.

The advice to those who are extremely unhappy about Apple’s sub-par processing to just try shooting raw or spending more time to be a pro photographer is misplaced and not helpful. The crux of the issue is that Apple is selling a sub-par picture taker and calling it “the best”. And we’re bothered by Apple’s crappy software 😄

But more response to your post: have you found a way to remove Apple’s post-processing turning people’s faces into dolls, aliens, leaves, bubbles masses of goop,etc? Or losing details that should have never been water colored away?
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No I have not found a way to turn any of that HDR stuff off, I just shoot Raw to be in full control of my photos. I wish there was a way to turn it off because the 12 pro max iPhone allowed you to do so. I always turned it off when I took pictures of the night sky because I didn’t want an HDR image of the stars, I wanted it to look normal. Nor have I seen any of the artifacts, missing areas, leaves for faces, etc with my iPhone 13 Pro max and I have two of them that I shoot with daily. One on launch day, the other is now 3 months old because I switched colors. I saw the leaf example, could that leaf been falling and captured right at the persons face? The iPhone does take 9 photos, four of which are taken and stored just before you press the button and the last five shots after the button is pressed. Any one of those shots could blend an object in the shot. I just don’t know how fast they are captured during the deep fusion process. I’ve been a photographer for a long time, I started with film, most people these days, depending on age, have no idea what film is or how to use it. With that said, it is very likely that I know what I’m doing with my camera vs a non photographer trying to capture a photo who has little to no training. Sorry that my off topic advice hasn’t helped any of you, I’m not even sure if any of you have tried. I’ve probably wasted my time.

Apple made the jpeg portion of the iPhone camera easy for non photographers because most users just raise the iPhone up and take a shot without making composition adjustments, focus adjustments, exposure adjustments, etc. because they usually had no idea how. That’s why the new photographic styles was introduced because most users don’t edit their photos they just point and shoot. So ways to add warmth and vibrancy to the photo was created. I get the frustration… if you aren’t a photographer or have any photographic skills, you then rely on the iPhone to do all of that for you. Which is ok, but it just turns the iPhone into a point and shoot camera. Point and shoot compact cameras used to be very popular until the smart phone cameras took over. Point and shoot cameras were called PHD cameras by many photographers back in the day which stood for “Push Here Dummy” regarding the shutter button because they didn’t control any part of the picture taking process. You have to have some knowledge of photography to succeed with a camera. Hopefully the iPhone 14 pro / max with a 48mp sensor and smaller pixels will create what your looking for…. Good luck.
 
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Limeybasturd said:
Mine keeps doing this. Did similar when trying to take pics outside of airplane windows.
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The iPhone is focusing on the water droplets on the window as it’s closest to the camera. You’ll have to “touch to focus” where you want the camera to focus precisely, if you haven’t already during this set. Or move the camera closer to the window to where the camera ignores the water droplets. Just raising the camera and taking the photo, the iPhone will always focus on the closest objects to the camera first unless you force it to focus elsewhere.
 
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