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Why does my husband's iphone 6 take better photos than my 7 Plus??

D

dimatteolisa

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 23, 2016
6
3
My husband's iphone 6 takes brighter, more focused, sharper photos than my 7 plus. We have done side by side tests and his beats mine every time. Unless the lighting is absolutely perfect and the subject completely still, my 7 plus photos tend to have a slightly grainy, almost water colorey quality to them, whereas his photos with 6 are crisp, bright, and sharp. The photo on the left is the 7 plus, right is the 6.
Am I doing something wrong?
 
the picture on the left looks better. Pictures taken using my Nikon D5200 would look more like the left picture. the right picture is bright but less detail.

it is how you perceive it. you are used to pictures taken from iphone 6, and you perceive that is how it should be.
 
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I agree that the skin tone is more flattering, I guess, in the 7 plus photo because she looks less pale, but I'm referring to the tiny details. In the photo on the right, you can see each individual baby hair, but in the one on the left, they're all kind of blurred together. Here's an unedited photo he took yesterday with his 6:
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dimatteolisa said:
I agree that the skin tone is more flattering, I guess, in the 7 plus photo because she looks less pale, but I'm referring to the tiny details. In the photo on the right, you can see each individual baby hair, but in the one on the left, they're all kind of blurred together. Here's an unedited photo he took yesterday with his 6:
Click to expand...
And here's my attempt at a similar shot in the same spot, same time of day, lighting, etc.
 
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dimatteolisa said:
Ok, that seems to be the concensus. I guess it's just me then. Thanks for your help, everyone!
Click to expand...

the 7 plus takes better pics BUT i understand what you mean. i think it goes more in the direction of noise reduction and post processing of the picture which is very strong since iphone 6 or 6s. esp. when taking pics inside the house or under difficult lightning conditions.

iphone 4s/ 5s pictures are more noisey but look more natural and "real". in the end it's personal preference.

what you could do: get an app like ProCamera and shoot and experiment with RAW format instead of jpg. (actually ProCamera has an raw AND jpg setting so you would just be fine with taking both).
 
x34 said:
the 7 plus takes better pics BUT i understand what you mean. i think it goes more in the direction of noise reduction and post processing of the picture which is very strong since iphone 6 or 6s. esp. when taking pics inside the house or under difficult lightning conditions.

iphone 4s/ 5s pictures are more noisey but look more natural and "real". in the end it's personal preference.

what you could do: get an app like ProCamera and shoot and experiment with RAW format instead of jpg. (actually ProCamera has an raw AND jpg setting so you would just be fine with taking both).
Click to expand...
Yes! That's it exactly. I feel like I'm splitting hairs, because obviously they both take great photos, but there just seems to be more minute detail in his 6 photos. I've been reading up on raw format, so I'll def try that app. Thank you for helping me feel less crazy ;)
 
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I'm sort of partial to the iPhone 6 pictures, myself.

I think it would be useful if you labeled each photo with.
  • the phone it was taken with
  • ISO
  • Exposure time
EXIF helps, but maybe you'd rather not publicize your GPS location?
Personally, I'm thinking that one of the phones is using a higher ISO, and then aggressively trying to scrub the grain out, which reduces fine detail.
 
dimatteolisa said:
Yes! That's it exactly. I feel like I'm splitting hairs, because obviously they both take great photos, but there just seems to be more minute detail in his 6 photos. I've been reading up on raw format, so I'll def try that app. Thank you for helping me feel less crazy ;)
Click to expand...

you're welcome!

i feel the same (using iphone 7 plus too) and here are many users (maybe not in this thread...) that do feel the same :)
 
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Slightly OT but i love how you as presumably an america post a picture of your kid online without thinking anything of it while my sister or anyone in my family would pretty much kill me if i was to post a picture of their children online / social media :D
 
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Well if you want a better camera on your phone...android phones have the best cameras now....apple needs to do better .....
 
Let's try this, post up two pictures but don't tell us what it is, until you get a few comments :) then that should remove the whole placebo effect :p
 
The 7 looks better. Though it's difficult for you to judge because of confirmation bias. Give your husband both phones and ask him to take a picture of a static object both indoors and outdoors. Make sure the phones are held by a stabilization device, like a vise. Have him download the photos to the computer and show them to you. Then decide which ones looks better to you. He'll then reveal which is which.

Your daughter is posing differently in each photo and it isn't exact as light distribution would change with each noticeable movement of the head, hands/arms and hair.
 
itsmilo said:
Slightly OT but i love how you as presumably an america post a picture of your kid online without thinking anything of it while my sister or anyone in my family would pretty much kill me if i was to post a picture of their children online / social media :D
Click to expand...

Not sure what being American has to do with anything. Sounds a bit of stereotype. It's a big difference between posting a pic of your own kid vs posting a pic of a kid that is not your own even if they are a relative.
 
Despite that, he's still got a point. I moved to the US decades ago and I still find the custom of posing your own children a bit off. Then again, I also don't understand the point of Instagram or why anyone would use Facebook to connect with their extended family and friends. People in the US are more open about their personal lives than those from other countries, Canada excluded. The first few years here, I was baffled when I had strangers coming up to me and start conversation about what I was looking at, at the store.
 
itsmilo said:
Slightly OT but i love how you as presumably an america post a picture of your kid online without thinking anything of it while my sister or anyone in my family would pretty much kill me if i was to post a picture of their children online / social media :D
Click to expand...
Yea, that occurred to me after I posted, but in this day and age there are already probably thousands of photos of my kids online. It seems to be a losing battle.¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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Zenithal said:
Despite that, he's still got a point. I moved to the US decades ago and I still find the custom of posing your own children a bit off. Then again, I also don't understand the point of Instagram or why anyone would use Facebook to connect with their extended family and friends. People in the US are more open about their personal lives than those from other countries, Canada excluded. The first few years here, I was baffled when I had strangers coming up to me and start conversation about what I was looking at, at the store.
Click to expand...
Oh you're 100% right. I, and pretty much everyone I know, take/post WAY too many photos of my kids. It's crazy and weird. But we do it anyway. In the grand scheme of things that Americans do that are nuts, this one's not so bad.
 
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