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Update (9.3) Camera Quality improvement
- Thread starter ToddH
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LOL... Here is a sample, a really good sample using cortex camera which will take the 12 megapixel image and interpolates it up to 27 megapixels. Just take a look at how clear this is now. I never got clarity like this prior to iOS 9 .3 I usee the app called Big Photo to get the full resolution image and took screenshots so here's what it looks like. The bottom picture is a 100% crop image.
![image.png]( "image.png")
![image.png]( "image.png")
If you are an avid iPhone photographer like I am, you should be able to notice the difference for yourself. I can tell a big difference in the quality. I really don't have much in the way of comparison other than this photo set. The OUT OF FOCUS AREA looks really clumpy and hammered looking (zoom in to see) Where the other is smoother and cleaner. There are many examples in this thread that I've posted, you just have to scroll up and read them. Did you do that already or did you just jump to the reply box and leave a message?
The first image shows the aggressive noise reduction (out of focus area / 100% crop) that the camera had since day one of the 6s series and the second image is much smoother and sharper. Many people were complaining about this aggressive noise reduction, including myself, that was applied and the software engineers at Apple finally did something about it. I saw this clumpy looking noise reduction in most of my photos, especially in areas where there wasn't much detail and in shadow / out of focus areas of the image. It was much worse in low light....much worse! That noise reduction would normally be applied (heavily) to the bricks in the bottom photo in this kind of low light, but it's greatly minimized now, images are clean. Take in mind, this is the default camera app that I'm using.
Individual blades of grass turned to mush prior to 9.3, now they are sharp.
Hope this helps. If you're not much of an iPhone photographer or any type of photographer, then you probably won't notice the change. I have a trained eye and can easily see the difference...have a good day.
In that example, there is a difference but I'm not sure I'm noticing a difference on my end. I'll have to shoot some more. The camera was my favorite thing about the iPhone but with the 6s, I've been greatly disappointed by the oily artifacts it produces. If it's true that they've improved photo quality, I'd love to go back to being the iPhone shutterbug I used to be.
Not a fully scientific test, but take a look at these images at 100%.
Left is 9.3, taken out of a window at sundown. iPhone 6S.
Right is February 2015, so... 9.0? Taken at noon on a clear sky. iPhone 6 Plus.
Noise-wise, the left one should lose out due to lack of OIS and worse lighting conditions, but it doesn't. It looks much softer IMO.
Left is 9.3, taken out of a window at sundown. iPhone 6S.
Right is February 2015, so... 9.0? Taken at noon on a clear sky. iPhone 6 Plus.
Noise-wise, the left one should lose out due to lack of OIS and worse lighting conditions, but it doesn't. It looks much softer IMO.
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Exactly!!! Much better. Thank you for the sample.
The rest of you, you guys can argue with me until you're blue in the face but the fact is the camera quality has been improved like it or not. You have to have a trained eye to see it (avid photographer) and I guess most of you probably don't... Don't get me wrong I'm not trying to be rude I'm just stating that I do this a lot.
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I would imagine.... Not sure though. But I'm willing to bet it is.
[doublepost=1459065510][/doublepost]A shot from a friend using the 6s plus. Great bokeh and no noise at all...None!
If you have a 6s with 9.2.1 try to setup some photo pre and post upgrade with same conditions so we can compare
that would be great!!Because that image processing effect was a major fault on their end that's plagued the iPhone since the launch of the iP6 and the Plus. Apple does NOT like to own up to their faults.
I can't tell. LolIf you have a 6s with 9.2.1 try to setup some photo pre and post upgrade with same conditions so we can compare
1st one is 9.2.1
2nd is 9.3
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Well thanks for the test. However I wish you would have chosen a different subject like a big tree with lots of leaves. Or a field of grass or something like that where the camera would have to struggle to resolve find details. The only thing I've noticed is the out of focus areas appear smoother without that hammered aggressive noise reduction look. What I've noticed so far it all depends on how much light you have in your photograph. Of course the lower the ISO the images going to look cleaner. Using Cortex Cam rock, which interpolate the image to a 27 megapixel file, that will also enhance any of the faults in the photo and what I've seen so far, is that the images look cleaner and sharper than they used to. Mostly this is with the default camera app, the other camera apps seem to produce a noisier image like the default used to do so now I'm only using the default camera because it appears to be cleaner. But you have to use that slider to adjust your exposure and dark in the image of needed to give it a better higher quality image.
Anyway I can just tell a little bit of difference from the outdoor photos. Especially at nighttime. I don't see that aggressive noise reduction like I used to so... I don't know. I guess make your own conclusions and we can just leave it be for now. Just enjoy your camera .
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Hi ToddH!
I signed up on this forum basically to post a reply to this
(Background: I am an Android user but I kind of like the new nicely spec. SE, so I am reading up on iPhones now..)
So, I just wanted to say that you are so right!
I read an older 19 page thread (https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...e-consistently-good-photos-with-my-6.1790221/) were some saw the problem and some didn't. Kind of scary in a few ways. For one, many users really tried to find excuses for a software flaw, and for another a lot of user didn't seem to see this. That's ok however, since you kind of have to know what to look for.
However, I am really glad you brought this up since it is clearly a step in the right direction and I hope Apple will continue with this more honest approach. After all, where the smudging isn't visible on a small screen (or a small copy of the image), neihter is the noise.
Last of all I have to say that since I do not own an iPhone myself, I cannot verify any of this, so all of the above is just based on sample images uploaded here and around the internet.
Best regards
// Björn
One could at least hope so!
The only source that could say for sure if there has been any altering in the software in the camera is Apple themselfes.
But by looking at some photos in this thread the software seem to be doing something diferent.
However, noisereduction will probably be needed for many years to come, but it dosn't hurt to dial it down a little. Everything you do to a .jpg is final. When working with raw picture data most programs create a profile for that picture and applys changes that way which can then be reverted. But when exporting a jpg you get what you get. Better to do the "extra" noisereduction yourself if needed.
Again, as I am not an iPhone user myself I cannot verify anything. But I can tell you this:
One thing that could help with this is to get the raw files from the phone. The downside to that is it take a lot of time to adjust every single picture.
And, yes, you will probably have to.
As an LG G4 owner, I used to have the raw-option enabled all the time, but there are a few downsides to this.
First, some kind of noise reduction will be needed.
Second, every photo needed to be de-vignetted. The large aperture compared with the small lens and widescreen format will cause really dark edges. A program called cornerfix is great for this, but it will add another step.
Third, the files will be huge compared to jpg. That might nog be a problem if you are shooting something important, but as your everyday pic's starts to pile up you got like a lot of gb's of yesterdays dinner and tomorrows movie-tickets
So in my personal conclusion, it is way better if the pictures comes out as balanced as they can get.
The only source that could say for sure if there has been any altering in the software in the camera is Apple themselfes.
But by looking at some photos in this thread the software seem to be doing something diferent.
However, noisereduction will probably be needed for many years to come, but it dosn't hurt to dial it down a little. Everything you do to a .jpg is final. When working with raw picture data most programs create a profile for that picture and applys changes that way which can then be reverted. But when exporting a jpg you get what you get. Better to do the "extra" noisereduction yourself if needed.
Again, as I am not an iPhone user myself I cannot verify anything. But I can tell you this:
One thing that could help with this is to get the raw files from the phone. The downside to that is it take a lot of time to adjust every single picture.
And, yes, you will probably have to.
As an LG G4 owner, I used to have the raw-option enabled all the time, but there are a few downsides to this.
First, some kind of noise reduction will be needed.
Second, every photo needed to be de-vignetted. The large aperture compared with the small lens and widescreen format will cause really dark edges. A program called cornerfix is great for this, but it will add another step.
Third, the files will be huge compared to jpg. That might nog be a problem if you are shooting something important, but as your everyday pic's starts to pile up you got like a lot of gb's of yesterdays dinner and tomorrows movie-tickets
So in my personal conclusion, it is way better if the pictures comes out as balanced as they can get.
All, the heavy noise reduction that we thought was gone is back... I don't understand Apple's logic at all sometimes, seriously.
Thanks. and yes, seeing a degradation on my 6S+ since moving to 10. Didn't really notice it much until I was editing a number of pics and could see where the quality dropped (detail). It was just after I installed 10.x