iPhone 11 Pro iPhone 11 pro camera not that good?

[goodquestionmma]

I’ve had the 11 pro for two months. Had a 6s before. It’s an improvement but the photos just seem really lacklustre compared to the advertisements and hype. Always have a bit of grain even in good lighting inside. Never use digital zoom. What are other people’s views?

 

[mjschabow]

I like the Night Mode, Portrait Mode, Wide Angle and Telephoto lens much better than the 6s has.

 

[pika2000]

Not sure how you look at your photos. I have a 6s, and even my friend’s XR already produces better photos with much better dynamic range than it thanks to smart HDR and better colors. The 11 series are upping the notch with night mode.

 

[ToddH]

That all depends on what type of shooter you are. Are you the type that simply points the camera, shoots, & does not evaluate the scene before shooting and not process the photo after it is taken..... OR, are you the type of shooter / photographer that touches the screen precisely where you want the camera to focus and then adjust the exposure to control highlights and shadows, then process the photo to end up with a great photo? A great photograph really depends on how good of a photographer you are. The camera is just a tool, the photographer uses that tool to create a photograph.

I think the 11 pro / max is a fantastic camera and I’ve gotten many wonderful images from it. As a photographer, Ive taught myself to see how the camera sees and I usually adjust my camera based on the scene I’m about to capture. So to answer your question, yeah the camera is great and the hype is real. All of the photos you see advertised on apple’s website were taken by professionals, not amateurs.

 

[Txguy82]

I’ve had the 11 pro for two months. Had a 6s before. It’s an improvement but the photos just seem really lacklustre compared to the advertisements and hype. Always have a bit of grain even in good lighting inside. Never use digital zoom. What are other people’s views?

It’s a major improvement from the 6s. Not even close

Apple has really stepped it’s game up in the camera dept starting with the XS last year

 

[Arcontia]

Small and handy tip, easy to forget - really wipe the camera lens clean before you shoot for the most optimum results. It’s very easy to get fingerprints and other smudges on the lens.

 

[Txguy82]

Small and handy tip, easy to forget - really wipe the camera lens clean before you shoot for the most optimum results. It’s very easy to get fingerprints and other smudges on the lens.

I don’t u/s how people take and post horrible pictures on FB and Instagram with a dirty camera lens lol

 

[BugeyeSTI]

I’ve had the 11 pro for two months. Had a 6s before. It’s an improvement but the photos just seem really lacklustre compared to the advertisements and hype. Always have a bit of grain even in good lighting inside. Never use digital zoom. What are other peop

I went from a 6S to X and the difference was huge. The 6S doesn't even have optical image stabilization.. The 11 Pro is a big upgrade compared to the X so I'd say I'm surprised with your assessment. The 6S is one of my favorite phones but, it's 4 year old technology.

 

[goodquestionmma]

I went from a 6S to X and the difference was huge. The 6S doesn't even have optical image stabilization.. The 11 Pro is a big upgrade compared to the X so I'd say I'm surprised with your assessment. The 6S is one of my favorite phones but, it's 4 year old technology.

I really wish I hadn't mentioned my 6s now... It is obviously better! What surprises me is just how much noise / grain I get even on indoor well lit photos...

 

[phido]

You might need to exchange it.

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...their-iphone-11-pro-max.2213344/post-28020636

 

[Aydy]

I didn’t see much improvement either, over an Xs max. Likely the photos are improved (11 pro) but to my untrained eye they are much of the same as my max. I guess having a night mode would be a bonus but I barely use the camera as is, and probably never would in the dark. I hate photos, hate anyone asking me to take photos. Memories are overrated ? especially other folks memories. ? I’m secure in my misery btw..

Having said that, My GF loves her 11 pro, not for its camera in particular. She is just loving the iOS experience in general, having been an android user for past 5 years

 

[The Game 161]

I’ve had the 11 pro for two months. Had a 6s before. It’s an improvement but the photos just seem really lacklustre compared to the advertisements and hype. Always have a bit of grain even in good lighting inside. Never use digital zoom. What are other people’s views?

You must have a dud as it’s maybe the best camera on a smartphone

 

[jz0309]

as mentioned above's link, look at that thread.
I have no grain/noise on daylight photos and I think the quality of the camera is phantastic

 

[fred98tj]

You must have a dud as it’s maybe the best camera on a smartphone

“best” in what regards ?

 

[Txguy82]

“best” in what regards ?

It’s very close lol

Colors, HDR, night mode, true genuine image of what you see

 

[The Oak]

You must have a dud as it’s maybe the best camera on a smartphone

“best” in what regards ?

Best is always debatable ... it is up there and should give you minimal disappointments short of a "real" camera with a massive sensor.

Review Example:
https://www.dxomark.com/the-best-smartphone-cameras-of-2019/

 

[Nightrhyme]

I upgraded from 6s to 11pro. I really like the wide lens and the telephoto is ok too but kind of useless. I really like the idea of the ultrawide lens. But I am a little unimpressed by The quality. I Actually considered if it might me defective. But I find it unlikely.

Took 3 pictures from the same spot: ultrawide, wide and telephoto.
Imgur uploaded photos

 

[TimothyL]

I’m very impressed with my iPhone 11 camera coming from the X. Not that the X is bad by any stretch of imagination, I think the new ones take great sharp pictures.

 

[ToddH]

I upgraded from 6s to 11pro. I really like the wide lens and the telephoto is ok too but kind of useless. I really like the idea of the ultrawide lens. But I am a little unimpressed by The quality. I Actually considered if it might me defective. But I find it unlikely.

Took 3 pictures from the same spot: ultrawide, wide and telephoto.
Imgur uploaded photos

I’m not sure why you would consider the telephoto useless, that’s equivalent to a 50 mm on a full frame digital SLR. The telephoto is used a lot on my iPhone 11 Pro Max. I don’t use it as much in portrait mode as I do the one X camera in portrait mode, that gives me a more pleasing image and overall feel. As for the Ultra Wide, yeah it doesn’t look great when the ISO gets above 800. During the day though under bright sunny light conditions it’s quite amazing for a wide angle that small. However there are some workarounds when using it at night, for example I use the app called NightCap and I set it to long exposure mode and it captures multiple frames and stacks them together to give you a better quality image but does not overexpose no matter how many seconds or minutes you expose for. From there I can totally sharpen it and get a very usable image and low light but it has to be on a tripod that’s the only thing. If you’re interested in NightCap check it out because it’s a very cool app to have. You can do star trails with it you can Do you long exposures during the day to blur water like on a waterfall etc.

I believe I posted some comparisons using NightCap versus not using NightCap in the pictures taken by the 11 Pro thread, anyway I can offer my help to you as much as possible, I am a photographer and if you do you have any questions I’ll be glad to help. Otherwise enjoy your new phone.

 

[Jordan921]

I’ve had the 11 pro for two months. Had a 6s before. It’s an improvement but the photos just seem really lacklustre compared to the advertisements and hype. Always have a bit of grain even in good lighting inside. Never use digital zoom. What are other people’s views?

I upgraded from a Xs Max to a Pro Max and it Was a good upgrade in photo quality.

 

[Nightrhyme]

I’m not sure why you would consider the telephoto useless, that’s equivalent to a 50 mm on a full frame digital SLR. The telephoto is used a lot on my iPhone 11 Pro Max. I don’t use it as much in portrait mode as I do the one X camera in portrait mode, that gives me a more pleasing image and overall feel. As for the Ultra Wide, yeah it doesn’t look great when the ISO gets above 800. During the day though under bright sunny light conditions it’s quite amazing for a wide angle that small. However there are some workarounds when using it at night, for example I use the app called NightCap and I set it to long exposure mode and it captures multiple frames and stacks them together to give you a better quality image but does not overexpose no matter how many seconds or minutes you expose for. From there I can totally sharpen it and get a very usable image and low light but it has to be on a tripod that’s the only thing. If you’re interested in NightCap check it out because it’s a very cool app to have. You can do star trails with it you can Do you long exposures during the day to blur water like on a waterfall etc.

I believe I posted some comparisons using NightCap versus not using NightCap in the pictures taken by the 11 Pro thread, anyway I can offer my help to you as much as possible, I am a photographer and if you do you have any questions I’ll be glad to help. Otherwise enjoy your new phone.

Thank you so much for your detailed reply.

Maybe I shouldn't have phrased it "useless" I just find the ultrawide much more usefull in everyday use. I constantly need it and just wish apple would have focused more on making it as good as the other 2 lenses.

I did managed to take a rather good pic with the ultrawide when the light was good. But in medium light everything becomes blurry. See 2 attached shots.
Adding OIS and pixelfocus and nightmode to the ultrawide would have been lovely.

I will check out NightCap...

 

[fred98tj]

I upgraded from 6s to 11pro. I really like the wide lens and the telephoto is ok too but kind of useless. I really like the idea of the ultrawide lens. But I am a little unimpressed by The quality. I Actually considered if it might me defective. But I find it unlikely.

Took 3 pictures from the same spot: ultrawide, wide and telephoto.
Imgur uploaded photos

Both the “tele” and “ultrawide” have a lot of chromatic fringing

 

[ToddH]

Thank you so much for your detailed reply.

Maybe I shouldn't have phrased it "useless" I just find the ultrawide much more usefull in everyday use. I constantly need it and just wish apple would have focused more on making it as good as the other 2 lenses.

I did managed to take a rather good pic with the ultrawide when the light was good. But in medium light everything becomes blurry. See 2 attached shots.
Adding OIS and pixelfocus and nightmode to the ultrawide would have been lovely.

I will check out NightCap...

It’s hard to tell the quality of the wide shots on this thread, but here is one of mine as I was close to a tree. Not sure if it will look good posts here or not. But on my iPad and iPhone, it looks really good

 

[Nordichund]

Sometimes when Live Photo is turned on it can cause single pictures to appear grainy. Otherwise I have no complaints with my phone.

 

[goodquestionmma]

To all people here, what makes the biggest difference by a long stretch is a clean lens. A lesson that has served me well and rendered my previous complaint without merit.