iPhone 5 camera motion blur

cRuNcHiE · Sep 30, 2012, 06:12 AM

Is anyone else finding the iPhone 5 is worse than the 4s for motion blur?

I used to have a 4s and motion blur was rarely as issue but not I'm noticing it a lot more on my 5. It's as if the shutter speed is slower or stabilisation is worse?

Anyone else had issues?

ManuCH · Sep 30, 2012, 06:29 AM

Yes, I've noticed that with my iPhone 5 on average I'm producing more blurry pictures than I did with my 4S.

To bring up the old joke: "probably we're holding it wrong". Seriously, I find myself to be more shaky with my hands than I was with my 4S. I guess I still have to get used to the new shape, as I'm somehow holding it differently.

dasx · Sep 30, 2012, 06:38 AM

With the 4S I found it easier to use the Volume Up button to shoot photos. Now with the 5 I find it easier to use the in-screen button. Lets me hold the phone much better. (Less shaking that is)

noteple · Sep 30, 2012, 06:46 AM

Portrait shakier.
Landscape with volume button solid so far.

cRuNcHiE · Sep 30, 2012, 09:56 AM

Yeah I thought landscape seemed better too. Hmmm hope this is fixed in software else it's going back

DeuceDeuce · Oct 5, 2012, 06:58 PM

I have the same problem. Absolutely terrible. I have twin 20 month olds and photos with the 5 are so blurry they are unusable. My 4S was leaps and bounds better. Can't switch back either since I paid an ETF to AT&T and moved to Verizon.

If I took this photo with my 4S it would have been perfect, not the same with the 5. :-(

Not sure why the photo switched orientation when uploading.

MrXiro · Oct 5, 2012, 07:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeuceDeuce

I have the same problem. Absolutely terrible. I have twin 20 month olds and photos with the 5 are so blurry they are unusable. My 4S was leaps and bounds better. Can't switch back either since I paid an ETF to AT&T and moved to Verizon.

If I took this photo with my 4S it would have been perfect, not the same with the 5. :-(

Not sure why the photo switched orientation when uploading.

Maybe your kid watched the tape from The Ring...

mebehere · Oct 5, 2012, 07:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeuceDeuce

I have the same problem. Absolutely terrible. I have twin 20 month olds and photos with the 5 are so blurry they are unusable. My 4S was leaps and bounds better. Can't switch back either since I paid an ETF to AT&T and moved to Verizon.

If I took this photo with my 4S it would have been perfect, not the same with the 5. :-(

Not sure why the photo switched orientation when uploading.

Could either be worse stabilization or longer shutter speed based on conditions dictated by what is seen by the camera. Lower light = longer shutter speed (shutter stays open longer to let more light in) + bigger aperture (bigger opening of diaphragm to let more light in) during shutter opening. It's the longer duration shutter opening that causes the motion blur.

I really can't comment on how the two cameras react to light.

noteple · Oct 8, 2012, 09:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeuceDeuce

I have the same problem. Absolutely terrible. I have twin 20 month olds and photos with the 5 are so blurry they are unusable. My 4S was leaps and bounds better. Can't switch back either since I paid an ETF to AT&T and moved to Verizon.

If I took this photo with my 4S it would have been perfect, not the same with the 5. :-(

Not sure why the photo switched orientation when uploading.

Looks like the exposure metered on low light like the bulk of the rug and you got a Slow shutter speed.

Slow speed shows the motion in the child's hand.

If HDR is on it will make the problem worse.

darngooddesign · Oct 8, 2012, 10:06 AM

Just like with a gun, squeeze the trigger instead of pulling it.

Merkie · Oct 8, 2012, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by darngooddesign

Just like with a gun, squeeze the trigger instead of pulling it.

Lol, because everyone knows how to fire a gun first and take a photograph second.

darngooddesign · Oct 8, 2012, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Merkie

Lol, because everyone knows how to fire a gun first and take a photograph second.

Well now they do.

willmtaylor · Oct 8, 2012, 11:56 AM

I think, and this may be incorrect, that they stiffened up the buttons on the 5, thereby making the particular action of depressing the volume for taking photos more difficult and making photos blurrier.

Just a thought.

rkdiddy · Nov 19, 2012, 01:30 PM

Sorry to dig up an old thread, but Googled this issue and found this thread. I've been thinking about taking my phone in because of this, but it appears others are having the same issue. My 4S was awesome and I would say 50% of my photos are blurry. It's quite frustrating. I always use the volume button, so I will try the screen button to see if that helps.

BFizzzle · Nov 19, 2012, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rkdiddy

Sorry to dig up an old thread, but Googled this issue and found this thread. I've been thinking about taking my phone in because of this, but it appears others are having the same issue. My 4S was awesome and I would say 50% of my photos are blurry. It's quite frustrating. I always use the volume button, so I will try the screen button to see if that helps.

mine are not blurry as long as i manually tell it to focus.. where as my 4s i feel that i could just point and shoot without making sure i focus.

aliensporebomb · Nov 19, 2012, 02:38 PM

Well, as an avid camera user there are both good things and bad things about the iPhone5 camera:

1 - there is no way to shut off the image stabilization that I can find. In a perfect world I'd shut it off for still shots and have it on for movies.

2 - the autofocus is noticeably slower under certain lighting conditions than that of the iphone4 I used for multiple years for thousands and thousands of photos. Even in seemingly bright light. Yes, it's dealing with 3x the pixels but the processor is much faster so it should do okay theoretically.

3 - the facial recognition seems to turn on randomly for things that aren't faces. I actually wish I could shut the facial recognition off altogether because sometimes I'm not photographing people.

Yesterday I was in my car at a stoplight and saw two very high flying jets that were very close to one another and I started taking a movie of them - the first 4-5 seconds were perfect but the autofocus then wanted to focus on a piece of dirt on my windshield (which it showed up as facial recognition!) and wouldn't refocus on the planes despite tapping on the planes themselves on the screen to reorient the focus back to this stupid piece of dirt!

4 - it does do better in low lighting than the previous iphones for still shots but there's a certain point where if you are filming, say, a sunset type scene in movie mode with other things like cars and birds moving about the phone decides to randomly modulate the light levels and I've caught this on video - not only does it decide to randomly autofocus and change the light levels but if you tap on the item you want it to focus on it snaps to that object briefly then the autofocus starts wandering again. The more towards evening the light levels are, the more this behavior occurs.

Obviously the camera has a lot of potential - I've taken some pictures my iPhone4 could NOT have taken, some with astounding quality but it's almost like I need to learn a new photographic technique to get the most out of this particular camera.

I wonder if there's a "iphone camera forum" somewhere?

raf66 · Nov 19, 2012, 03:54 PM

I feel better knowing that I'm not the only one who's noticed this.

I posted a similar topic last month regarding blurriness that I was experiencing, especially when taking pics of human subjects that were (allegedly) stationary. I downloaded a couple of photo apps, specifically Camera Awesome and Blux Camera, and have tried them all out with varying results. Unfortunately I found that in some tests the iPhone's native photo app was superior, and in others either Camera Awesome or Blux was superior. It must be something that I'm doing wrong because I don't recall having this issue with my Droid X when taking photos, and clearly the iPhone's camera/software is superior to that of a 2 1/2 year old phone.

I guess I could be moving the phone at the exact moment I'm taking the picture, but if I am whatever minute movement is clearly imperceptible to me. I will have to work on my photo skills apparently.

jupebox · Dec 17, 2012, 08:57 PM

Goodness, yes. I have had this same problem, and it is driving me crazy. I hope we keep this thread going, and I hope that Apple takes notice. I just don't think enough people have complained yet for them to really take this seriously. I went to an Apple store and the one guy said no one has complained yet, so I hope that more people raise this issue.

If nothing else, keep the conversation going, so I have a support group to make me feel better.

If anyone finds a fix, or any app that adjusts the shutter speed, please let us all know.

rkdiddy · Jan 27, 2013, 02:59 PM

That I would update my experience. I took my phone into a Genius and they replaced it, he said it was slow to autofocus.

Not checking at the store, I went home and set everything up. I'm still having the issue.

Has anyone figured out a fix for this or is everyone just living with it? Should I take this phone back again?

PS: I can confirm that my 4S never had this issue.

wxman2003 · Jan 27, 2013, 03:18 PM

I don't have this problem. Do you tap the screen to get box to focus on subject before you take picture?

rkdiddy · Jan 27, 2013, 06:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wxman2003

I don't have this problem. Do you tap the screen to get box to focus on subject before you take picture?

If I do it helps the issue - but with my old 4 and 4S, the auto focus did a much better job. Are you manually focusing every time?

Sep 30, 2012, 06:12 AM	#1
cRuNcHiE macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jan 2007	iPhone 5 camera motion blur Is anyone else finding the iPhone 5 is worse than the 4s for motion blur? I used to have a 4s and motion blur was rarely as issue but not I'm noticing it a lot more on my 5. It's as if the shutter speed is slower or stabilisation is worse? Anyone else had issues?
	0

Sep 30, 2012, 06:29 AM	#2
ManuCH macrumors member Join Date: May 2009	Yes, I've noticed that with my iPhone 5 on average I'm producing more blurry pictures than I did with my 4S. To bring up the old joke: "probably we're holding it wrong". Seriously, I find myself to be more shaky with my hands than I was with my 4S. I guess I still have to get used to the new shape, as I'm somehow holding it differently. __________________ 27" iMac, 3.4 GHz Core i7; 15" MacBook Pro, 2 GHz Core i7; 32 GB black iPhone 5; 32 GB black iPad 3
	0

Sep 30, 2012, 06:38 AM	#3
dasx macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Barcelona	With the 4S I found it easier to use the Volume Up button to shoot photos. Now with the 5 I find it easier to use the in-screen button. Lets me hold the phone much better. (Less shaking that is) __________________ 2012 Mac Mini
	0

Oct 5, 2012, 06:58 PM	#6
DeuceDeuce macrumors 6502a Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: San Dimas, CA	I have the same problem. Absolutely terrible. I have twin 20 month olds and photos with the 5 are so blurry they are unusable. My 4S was leaps and bounds better. Can't switch back either since I paid an ETF to AT&T and moved to Verizon. If I took this photo with my 4S it would have been perfect, not the same with the 5. :-( Not sure why the photo switched orientation when uploading. Attached Thumbnails
	0

Oct 8, 2012, 10:06 AM	#10
darngooddesign macrumors 604 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Atlanta, GA	Just like with a gun, squeeze the trigger instead of pulling it. __________________ Lego Apple Store
	0

Sep 30, 2012, 06:46 AM	#4
noteple macrumors 6502a Join Date: Aug 2011	Portrait shakier. Landscape with volume button solid so far.
	0

Sep 30, 2012, 09:56 AM	#5
cRuNcHiE Thread Starter macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jan 2007	Yeah I thought landscape seemed better too. Hmmm hope this is fixed in software else it's going back
	0

Oct 8, 2012, 11:56 AM	#13
willmtaylor macrumors 65816 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Midwest	I think, and this may be incorrect, that they stiffened up the buttons on the 5, thereby making the particular action of depressing the volume for taking photos more difficult and making photos blurrier. Just a thought. __________________ "Each of us knows it all, and knows he knows it all--the rest, to a man, are fools and deluded." -Mark Twain
	0

Nov 19, 2012, 01:30 PM	#14
rkdiddy macrumors 65816 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: OC Baby!	Sorry to dig up an old thread, but Googled this issue and found this thread. I've been thinking about taking my phone in because of this, but it appears others are having the same issue. My 4S was awesome and I would say 50% of my photos are blurry. It's quite frustrating. I always use the volume button, so I will try the screen button to see if that helps. __________________ Mini: rMBP 15" 2.6ghz i7/16/256GB \| 2.5ghz i5/8/750GB 27" TB ACD \| B&W MM-1 \| 2TB TC \| iPhone 5 \| iPad 4G advertising : design : marketing : print : social media : web - www.risencreative.com
	0

Nov 19, 2012, 02:38 PM	#16
aliensporebomb macrumors 65816 Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Minneapolis, MN, USA, Urth	Camera Well, as an avid camera user there are both good things and bad things about the iPhone5 camera: 1 - there is no way to shut off the image stabilization that I can find. In a perfect world I'd shut it off for still shots and have it on for movies. 2 - the autofocus is noticeably slower under certain lighting conditions than that of the iphone4 I used for multiple years for thousands and thousands of photos. Even in seemingly bright light. Yes, it's dealing with 3x the pixels but the processor is much faster so it should do okay theoretically. 3 - the facial recognition seems to turn on randomly for things that aren't faces. I actually wish I could shut the facial recognition off altogether because sometimes I'm not photographing people. Yesterday I was in my car at a stoplight and saw two very high flying jets that were very close to one another and I started taking a movie of them - the first 4-5 seconds were perfect but the autofocus then wanted to focus on a piece of dirt on my windshield (which it showed up as facial recognition!) and wouldn't refocus on the planes despite tapping on the planes themselves on the screen to reorient the focus back to this stupid piece of dirt! 4 - it does do better in low lighting than the previous iphones for still shots but there's a certain point where if you are filming, say, a sunset type scene in movie mode with other things like cars and birds moving about the phone decides to randomly modulate the light levels and I've caught this on video - not only does it decide to randomly autofocus and change the light levels but if you tap on the item you want it to focus on it snaps to that object briefly then the autofocus starts wandering again. The more towards evening the light levels are, the more this behavior occurs. Obviously the camera has a lot of potential - I've taken some pictures my iPhone4 could NOT have taken, some with astounding quality but it's almost like I need to learn a new photographic technique to get the most out of this particular camera. I wonder if there's a "iphone camera forum" somewhere? __________________ ASB Music Web is at http://www.aliensporebomb.com/ "This is Aliensporebomb" (a soundtrack with no film) is available at http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/thi...mb/id391880218
	0

Nov 19, 2012, 03:54 PM	#17
raf66 macrumors regular Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Columbus, Ohio	I feel better knowing that I'm not the only one who's noticed this. I posted a similar topic last month regarding blurriness that I was experiencing, especially when taking pics of human subjects that were (allegedly) stationary. I downloaded a couple of photo apps, specifically Camera Awesome and Blux Camera, and have tried them all out with varying results. Unfortunately I found that in some tests the iPhone's native photo app was superior, and in others either Camera Awesome or Blux was superior. It must be something that I'm doing wrong because I don't recall having this issue with my Droid X when taking photos, and clearly the iPhone's camera/software is superior to that of a 2 1/2 year old phone. I guess I could be moving the phone at the exact moment I'm taking the picture, but if I am whatever minute movement is clearly imperceptible to me. I will have to work on my photo skills apparently. __________________ 20" Aluminum iMac with Mountain Lion, 2.66 GHz, 4 GB RAM, 32gb black/slate iPhone 5
	0

Dec 17, 2012, 08:57 PM	#18
jupebox macrumors newbie Join Date: Jan 2012	Yes! Goodness, yes. I have had this same problem, and it is driving me crazy. I hope we keep this thread going, and I hope that Apple takes notice. I just don't think enough people have complained yet for them to really take this seriously. I went to an Apple store and the one guy said no one has complained yet, so I hope that more people raise this issue. If nothing else, keep the conversation going, so I have a support group to make me feel better. If anyone finds a fix, or any app that adjusts the shutter speed, please let us all know.
	0

Jan 27, 2013, 02:59 PM	#19
rkdiddy macrumors 65816 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: OC Baby!	That I would update my experience. I took my phone into a Genius and they replaced it, he said it was slow to autofocus. Not checking at the store, I went home and set everything up. I'm still having the issue. Has anyone figured out a fix for this or is everyone just living with it? Should I take this phone back again? PS: I can confirm that my 4S never had this issue. Attached Thumbnails __________________ Mini: rMBP 15" 2.6ghz i7/16/256GB \| 2.5ghz i5/8/750GB 27" TB ACD \| B&W MM-1 \| 2TB TC \| iPhone 5 \| iPad 4G advertising : design : marketing : print : social media : web - www.risencreative.com
	0

Jan 27, 2013, 03:18 PM	#20
wxman2003 macrumors 6502a Join Date: Apr 2011	I don't have this problem. Do you tap the screen to get box to focus on subject before you take picture? __________________ iMac I5, Macbook, iPad 4, iPhone 5, iPod, ATV 3
	0

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