I could use some advice.
I’m exploring using an iPhone for creative shooting and have upgraded from a 6s to a 11 Pro. I’m so far concerned with the results I’m getting comparing the two models.
For consistency of comparison, I’m using FiLMiC Pro settings of 4K, 24fps, FiLMiC Extreme, and Natural gamma curve.
Even in good light, the 11 Pro has a higher base ISO (32) and is noticeably more noisy than the 6s at its base (23).
On the 6s, low light shooting is noisier, but seems to resolve more naturally - the noise moves ‘freely’, and the detail ‘behind’ the noise reads well, with natural looking gradual shadow fall-off. It seems like it would respond well to careful noise reduction/film grain application, whereas the image I’m getting from the 11 seems far too degraded to do much with.
On the 11 Pro, in low light I’m seeing smudgy noise, smeary loss of detail (especially on the margins of the frame), and color banding in exposure fall off (like along a neutral wall as it goes into shadow).
Click on the links below for examples of the 11 in less than ideal lighting conditions The first clip was shot with a ludicrous ISO (1920) specifically to bring out the way the 11 interprets low light level detail :
Smearing & Smudging - 11 Pro 1920 iso 24 shutter:
Banding - 11 Pro 32 iso 48 shutter:
The 11 Pro is brighter, but going from a low Average Picture Level to high, there’s a flooding of light into the sensor (I think) - basically, even with ISO and Shutter Speed set, there’s a huge visible exposure shift. This is still present in the 6s, but far less pronounced, leading me to believe it’s common to how light enters the lens and hits a small sensor, with the increased dynamic range of the 11 making the shift more problematic. Would a ND filter (or UV, or CPL) soften or spread the way light hits the sensor?
The 11 Pro is more detailed (in good light), but going from movement to resting compositions, there is an artificial-looking ‘grabbing’ of fine detail. Sharpening?
Check out the example below for ‘detail grabbing’ on the porch railing, and ‘sensor flooding’ during tilts and pans:
Grabbing & Flooding - 11 Pro 32 iso 24 shutter:
Did Apple change something fundamental in their iPhone camera systems somewhere between the 6s and the 11 Pro? I briefly checked out a friend’s iPhone 8, which seemed consistent with my experience of the 6s - specifically, the same kind of ISO noise. It was a bit more pronounced, but so was the apparent detail, and I didn’t find it objectionable in the least.
I’m left wondering if there’s a model at which I part ways with Apple’s approach to image-taking, or if there’s simply something wrong with my 11 Pro.
- Jeff
I’m exploring using an iPhone for creative shooting and have upgraded from a 6s to a 11 Pro. I’m so far concerned with the results I’m getting comparing the two models.
For consistency of comparison, I’m using FiLMiC Pro settings of 4K, 24fps, FiLMiC Extreme, and Natural gamma curve.
Even in good light, the 11 Pro has a higher base ISO (32) and is noticeably more noisy than the 6s at its base (23).
On the 6s, low light shooting is noisier, but seems to resolve more naturally - the noise moves ‘freely’, and the detail ‘behind’ the noise reads well, with natural looking gradual shadow fall-off. It seems like it would respond well to careful noise reduction/film grain application, whereas the image I’m getting from the 11 seems far too degraded to do much with.
On the 11 Pro, in low light I’m seeing smudgy noise, smeary loss of detail (especially on the margins of the frame), and color banding in exposure fall off (like along a neutral wall as it goes into shadow).
Click on the links below for examples of the 11 in less than ideal lighting conditions The first clip was shot with a ludicrous ISO (1920) specifically to bring out the way the 11 interprets low light level detail :
Smearing & Smudging - 11 Pro 1920 iso 24 shutter:
Banding - 11 Pro 32 iso 48 shutter:
The 11 Pro is brighter, but going from a low Average Picture Level to high, there’s a flooding of light into the sensor (I think) - basically, even with ISO and Shutter Speed set, there’s a huge visible exposure shift. This is still present in the 6s, but far less pronounced, leading me to believe it’s common to how light enters the lens and hits a small sensor, with the increased dynamic range of the 11 making the shift more problematic. Would a ND filter (or UV, or CPL) soften or spread the way light hits the sensor?
The 11 Pro is more detailed (in good light), but going from movement to resting compositions, there is an artificial-looking ‘grabbing’ of fine detail. Sharpening?
Check out the example below for ‘detail grabbing’ on the porch railing, and ‘sensor flooding’ during tilts and pans:
Grabbing & Flooding - 11 Pro 32 iso 24 shutter:
Did Apple change something fundamental in their iPhone camera systems somewhere between the 6s and the 11 Pro? I briefly checked out a friend’s iPhone 8, which seemed consistent with my experience of the 6s - specifically, the same kind of ISO noise. It was a bit more pronounced, but so was the apparent detail, and I didn’t find it objectionable in the least.
I’m left wondering if there’s a model at which I part ways with Apple’s approach to image-taking, or if there’s simply something wrong with my 11 Pro.
- Jeff