Trick to low light photography

[SteveJobs2.0]

I noticed this the other day... it seems that if you hold the shutter button down, the phone will apply more low light processing to give a less noisy picture. This weekend I took two almost identical pictures, they both show that they used ISO 3200, but the second one where I held the button down is much less noisy. It's almost as if holding the button down tells the phone to take a second and apply processing to the picture. You can even see the picture become less noisy in on the screen before you release the shutter button to take the picture.

 

[gentlefury]

Can you post the pics. I would like to see this. It's bright daylight now so I can't try.

 

[darster]

Is that with HDR on or off?

 

[SteveJobs2.0]

Is that with HDR on or off?

HDR off, Flash off, Apple's default camera app. Colours and lighting are very close to what it actually looked like.

 

[STiNG Operation]

I've noticed this too. It's good to point this out.

Although I've still noticed inconsistent lighting even when doing this

 

[Brad02]

The only thing I can tell different from the Exif data is the better quality one is Matrix Metering mode where as the grainier one is Spot metering.

I cant reproduce this on my ip5.

 

[SteveJobs2.0]

It almost seems like the phone applied some noise reduction by lowering sharpness of the picture. I just find it interesting that you can get 2 quite different sets of outcomes depending on how you press the button (or, I suppose, based on the way the phone decided to take the picture). :/ I would bet that most iPhone users would prefer the second picture anyway so it should be the default outcome.

 

[Shockwave78]

Wirelessly posted

When I switched over to the Gnex for a short few weeks after its initial release there were many complaints about the camera(and there still are because it sucks) BUT one of the big tricks was to hold down the button to get a better picture all around.

With all these phones coming out with zero shutter lag people are just pressing very quickly and it's shaking the phone , which effects the picture quality greatly. As mentioned already even if you are just talking a single shot it is Better to hold the button for a second and let the phone stabilize.

 

[darster]

Seems with HDR on, it does the same thing. At least with the pictures I take. I could see this helping with the flash on.

 

[SteveJobs2.0]

Problem with the flash is that it is overpowering as it does not appear to have the metering ability. Using flash produces a more clear picture, but it is washed out and the colour/lighting/mood are all compromised.

 

[gentlefury]

are you holding down the onscreen button or the volume button? That is a considerable difference.

 

[scaredpoet]

It almost seems like the phone applied some noise reduction by lowering sharpness of the picture. I just find it interesting that you can get 2 quite different sets of outcomes depending on how you press the button (or, I suppose, based on the way the phone decided to take the picture). :/ I would bet that most iPhone users would prefer the second picture anyway so it should be the default outcome.

I'm not sure it's how you pressed the button that did this. Can you try it again and see if you get the same result? And this time, try it in reverse (hold down the button for the first shot, and don't with the second one).

A different metering mode was used, like Brad02 mentioned above. On the second photo, the camera used matrix metering mode and a broader subject area to get the right light and level balance, unlike the first photo where spot metering was used.

It could very well be that the camera just had more time to evaluate the shot between your first photo and the second photo. Looking at the EXIF timestamps, the camera had an extra four seconds to meter the second shot. If you're "shooting from the hip" the camera has less time to make an educated decision on what level of image processing to do, and so you'll get worse results.

 

[SteveJobs2.0]

are you holding down the onscreen button or the volume button? That is a considerable difference.

I used the virtual, onscreen button.

 

[erratikmind]

Excellent . . . Thank you for sharing this. I'll pass this onto my family and friends.

 

[gentlefury]

I used the virtual, onscreen button.

Ill have to give this a shot tonite

 

[Apollo 13]

I'm doing something wrong because I see no difference.

 

[ToddH]

There is an app called average camera pro that works really really well for getting rid of all of the noise in photographs from your phone. The app has not been updated for the iPhone five, but it still works just as well and it will allow you to take up to 128 photos that are all stacked together but virtually zero noise . Click on the link below and check it out. The trick for making this app works correctly is a very stationary phone/camera. Either lenient against something or stand it up during the exposures that way all of the photos will lineup correctly


https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/average-camera-pro/id415577873?mt=8

 

[SteveJobs2.0]

Ok I did more testing and it might not be the button holding thing. It seems that after the camera locks on, you have to keep on holding it for it to apply the low light noise reduction. It is a bit counterintuitive since people will see it adjust iso (brightness) and focus, but there is no indication that you need to keep on holding it still for a second or two after the focus lock.

If you want to try it, prepare to take a low light picture of something near a wall where noise will be pronounced. Click on the screen to lock onto a desired subject. Then keep on holding the phone still. If done right, you will see the picture become a bit more blurred, but also it will show much less noise. At that point you can take the picture to get the same result as my picture #2.

 

[Myiphone7]

I noticed this the other day... it seems that if you hold the shutter button down, the phone will apply more low light processing to give a less noisy picture. This weekend I took two almost identical pictures, they both show that they used ISO 3200, but the second one where I held the button down is much less noisy. It's almost as if holding the button down tells the phone to take a second and apply processing to the picture. You can even see the picture become less noisy in on the screen before you release the shutter button to take the picture.

Wow really works.

Thanks!!!

 

[Gathomblipoob]

Thanks for the tip!

 

[SteveJobs2.0]

I have an idea why this might be happening...

iPhone 5 camera assembly is largely the same as iPhone 4S, right? I believe that Apple programmed the iPhone 5 camera behaviour based on existing iPhone 4S code. As a result, iPhone 5 camera first does the "regular" iPhone 4S adjustments such as brightness adjustment and focus lock. Only after does the iPhone 5 do it's improved low light improvement capabilities. Unfortunately, since most people do not realize that they should wait for the iPhone 5 to finish adjusting, they will take a picture before they are able to get the full benefit of their iPhone 5. In reality, iPhone 5 should be doing all of these things simultaneously or, at the least, do a better job of explaining how the low light function mode can be used properly. I've taken a few more pictures around the house and there is noticeable difference if you wait an extra second or two to let the additional processing kick in.

 

[jmunter]

I have noticed the low light quality is hit or miss with mine, at first I was comparing it to my 4 and didn't notice much of a difference. Then I recently took a picture of a car at night that I thought wouldn't turn out good but it almost looked like there was some daylight.

I couldn't get the OP's method to work, but taking extra time and playing with the focal points can help "activate" the higher ISO.

 

[propalitet]

I noticed this the other day... it seems that if you hold the shutter button down, the phone will apply more low light processing to give a less noisy picture. This weekend I took two almost identical pictures, they both show that they used ISO 3200, but the second one where I held the button down is much less noisy. It's almost as if holding the button down tells the phone to take a second and apply processing to the picture. You can even see the picture become less noisy in on the screen before you release the shutter button to take the picture.

Oberon beer?

 

[GeeSixx]

There's definitely a difference there. Thanks for the tip.

 

[iF34R]

Ahhh!! Thanks for the tip! Helps a lot actually.