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Apparently, it’s a iPhone 13 and up feature. iPhone 12 (even pro) do not have it :(

If you got a 13 mini, you would be able to get it and have a light phone…

It is called Photographic Styles.
Ah I see, bummer but thanks for the heads up! Yeah I did check out the mini and I adore it, but ultimately I just found that display too small to be really useful. Now I see that the 15 Pro is one tick lighter than the previous ones, and with the weight apparently distributed in a different way so it feels lighter - at the same time as my wrist has got quite a bit better... So I'm kinda getting that itch again.... 😅
 
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Ah I see, bummer but thanks for the heads up! Yeah I did check out the mini and I adore it, but ultimately I just found that display too small to be really useful. Now I see that the 15 Pro is one tick lighter than the previous ones, and with the weight apparently distributed in a different way so it feels lighter - at the same time as my wrist has got quite a bit better... So I'm kinda getting that itch again.... 😅
A while ago (before you seemed to disappear from here) you were very keen on the Android side of things. Has that now changed?
 
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looks better to me this year on the 15 in terms of image quality. Lowlight the samsung does look magenta and the iphone warmer but I am more interested in image quality as white balance can be adjusted after the fact whereas quality cannot

 
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The cameras have all been fine since iPhone 5s.
I know MacRumours forum users are going to be some of the most picky, but the majority of people just want to point and capture the moment their dog gets a bucket stuck on their head with no fuss, while holding a kombucha in the other hand.
Don’t be under the illusion that you’re a “pro” user, and that the “Pro” is for you. The Pro is made to upsell to the general public. If you’re a pro, don’t take photos on your phone.
 
This is getting tiring. iPhones have been delivering very poor white balance and color rendering for YEARS now, especially in low or imperfect light (such as overcast). I don't understand what is going on. This year's Smart HDR was upgraded to version 5 but the "improvements" (or lack thereof) to rectify this issue are not up to par, in particular when compared to Pixel in many scenarios. If you have give me 10 pictures from an iPhone and 10 from any other smartphone I can usually figure out which one is the iPhone based on the yellow-green characteristic alone. Here are some yearly observations from all the review photos (as well as my own) that are yet to be fixed. I will use specific examples from 14 Pro and 15 Pro reviews to demonstrate.
  1. iPhones repeatedly render a green or yellow tinge in many photos and subsequently kill the kind of beautiful color contrast we see in the 'best case' photos from Apple's keynote as well as our own photographs.
  2. White balance misses all too frequently in scenarios without perfect direct sunlight. Even then it sometimes struggles.
It's getting to the point where every new iPhone release has me waiting in anticipation for the first real life photos to be published JUST so I can see if they've fixed this one issue. I often find myself adjusting my 14 PM photos slightly to account for the yellow cast and subsequent desaturation/poor contrast.

Let me start by presenting a side by side comparison of a shot from the 14 Pro and Pixel 7 from The Verge's iPhone review last year. I know it's a year old but I remember being irate when I saw it last year because this is a particularly disgusting example. As you will see the 15 Pro still has this issue in varying degrees of severity:


You see it? The Pixel is very balanced, there are different colored lights and the color of buildings can be seen through the harsh office lights, all the while the sky is closer to what you would see if you were actually standing there. The iPhone on the other hand looks like a PS3 cutscene from a Yakuza game, a complete blob of yellow-green Gotham CGI.

Unfortunately the 15 Pro exhibits the same issue, maybe there are some slight improvements but not enough. Again from The Verge 15 Pro review except this time I've included the same image with some very simple correction applied to it via Pixelmator. I'm no editor or professional photographer so you may not agree with the final output of my corrections (some are too magenta for example) but the point is to demonstrate that the original needs SOME form of correction, albeit better than mine, in the first place to counter the yellow-green tinge. The "balanced" versions are to provide contrast and demonstrate the yellow-green tinge exists in the first place for those that don't think it's obvious

15 Pro Original Output:15 Pro Balanced:
View attachment 2270069View attachment 2270070

Again, the correction is not perfect as I'm applying auto white balance adjustments to an already compressed jpeg, Apple's original processing could produce a much better result. Look at the overall color of the original image though, in particular the buildings and the sky. I assure you Market St doesn't look so jaundice.

Some more examples:


Disclaimer: let's get this out of the way. The following responses are meaningless so there's no need to post them: 1) "Buy a pixel" no thanks, I'm locked in to iPhone and prefer Apple's ecosystem, it's entirely reasonable to ask for improvements to a product you're heavily invested in. 2) "iPhones are not meant for upgrading every year, don't expect radical changes" this problem has been going on for years and it never gets addressed. If Google can deliver big upgrades to both their camera hardware and software processing whilst avoiding major mishaps with white balance/color, why can't Apple? I'm not asking for magic, just some focus on white balance and color
I understand your point. Photography or taken pictures seems damn important to you. If so, maybe it's time for you to jump to a dedicated camera, a Reflex, DSLR whatever you name it. Too much attention to something (WB) basic in photography and can be adjusted to taste in a dedicated photo app like Lightroom. Photos App can do the job too. Or buy the Pixel Pro which WB you like so much. DSLR, Point & Shoot or Phone photography, the WB "thing" was always present. Like watching a Sony TV with its blue tint compared to a Samsung with its oversaturated colours.
 
I think a lot of expect more from Apple without having to go to that length.
My point: most people do not notice what you see and happily accept whatever the stock camera app is spitting out. If you really care about colour accuracy or personal colour profiles, the iPhone gives you the option to dial it in to your taste. The default settings are what Apple considers to be ‘nice’. You don’t agree with that setting, and that is fine. It’s not a fault or mistake, it’s a deliberate choice by Apple. I’m neutral on the issue, not defending Apple.

I shoot in raw on the iPhone when not using a system camera.
 
This is getting tiring. iPhones have been delivering very poor white balance and color rendering for YEARS now, especially in low or imperfect light (such as overcast). I don't understand what is going on. This year's Smart HDR was upgraded to version 5 but the "improvements" (or lack thereof) to rectify this issue are not up to par, in particular when compared to Pixel in many scenarios. If you have give me 10 pictures from an iPhone and 10 from any other smartphone I can usually figure out which one is the iPhone based on the yellow-green characteristic alone. Here are some yearly observations from all the review photos (as well as my own) that are yet to be fixed. I will use specific examples from 14 Pro and 15 Pro reviews to demonstrate.
  1. iPhones repeatedly render a green or yellow tinge in many photos and subsequently kill the kind of beautiful color contrast we see in the 'best case' photos from Apple's keynote as well as our own photographs.
  2. White balance misses all too frequently in scenarios without perfect direct sunlight. Even then it sometimes struggles.
It's getting to the point where every new iPhone release has me waiting in anticipation for the first real life photos to be published JUST so I can see if they've fixed this one issue. I often find myself adjusting my 14 PM photos slightly to account for the yellow cast and subsequent desaturation/poor contrast.

Let me start by presenting a side by side comparison of a shot from the 14 Pro and Pixel 7 from The Verge's iPhone review last year. I know it's a year old but I remember being irate when I saw it last year because this is a particularly disgusting example. As you will see the 15 Pro still has this issue in varying degrees of severity:


You see it? The Pixel is very balanced, there are different colored lights and the color of buildings can be seen through the harsh office lights, all the while the sky is closer to what you would see if you were actually standing there. The iPhone on the other hand looks like a PS3 cutscene from a Yakuza game, a complete blob of yellow-green Gotham CGI.

Unfortunately the 15 Pro exhibits the same issue, maybe there are some slight improvements but not enough. Again from The Verge 15 Pro review except this time I've included the same image with some very simple correction applied to it via Pixelmator. I'm no editor or professional photographer so you may not agree with the final output of my corrections (some are too magenta for example) but the point is to demonstrate that the original needs SOME form of correction, albeit better than mine, in the first place to counter the yellow-green tinge. The "balanced" versions are to provide contrast and demonstrate the yellow-green tinge exists in the first place for those that don't think it's obvious

15 Pro Original Output:15 Pro Balanced:
View attachment 2270069View attachment 2270070

Again, the correction is not perfect as I'm applying auto white balance adjustments to an already compressed jpeg, Apple's original processing could produce a much better result. Look at the overall color of the original image though, in particular the buildings and the sky. I assure you Market St doesn't look so jaundice.

Some more examples:


Disclaimer: let's get this out of the way. The following responses are meaningless so there's no need to post them: 1) "Buy a pixel" no thanks, I'm locked in to iPhone and prefer Apple's ecosystem, it's entirely reasonable to ask for improvements to a product you're heavily invested in. 2) "iPhones are not meant for upgrading every year, don't expect radical changes" this problem has been going on for years and it never gets addressed. If Google can deliver big upgrades to both their camera hardware and software processing whilst avoiding major mishaps with white balance/color, why can't Apple? I'm not asking for magic, just some focus on white balance and color
Correct, you are "no editor or professional photographer."

I am, and I have no trouble with iPhone white balance and color. Note also that Apple provides editing capability so you can change things to suit a specific image capture or your personal color balance preferences.
 
This is getting tiring. iPhones have been delivering very poor white balance and color rendering for YEARS now, especially in low or imperfect light (such as overcast). I don't understand what is going on. This year's Smart HDR was upgraded to version 5 but the "improvements" (or lack thereof) to rectify this issue are not up to par, in particular when compared to Pixel in many scenarios. If you have give me 10 pictures from an iPhone and 10 from any other smartphone I can usually figure out which one is the iPhone based on the yellow-green characteristic alone. Here are some yearly observations from all the review photos (as well as my own) that are yet to be fixed. I will use specific examples from 14 Pro and 15 Pro reviews to demonstrate.
  1. iPhones repeatedly render a green or yellow tinge in many photos and subsequently kill the kind of beautiful color contrast we see in the 'best case' photos from Apple's keynote as well as our own photographs.
  2. White balance misses all too frequently in scenarios without perfect direct sunlight. Even then it sometimes struggles.
It's getting to the point where every new iPhone release has me waiting in anticipation for the first real life photos to be published JUST so I can see if they've fixed this one issue. I often find myself adjusting my 14 PM photos slightly to account for the yellow cast and subsequent desaturation/poor contrast.

Let me start by presenting a side by side comparison of a shot from the 14 Pro and Pixel 7 from The Verge's iPhone review last year. I know it's a year old but I remember being irate when I saw it last year because this is a particularly disgusting example. As you will see the 15 Pro still has this issue in varying degrees of severity:


You see it? The Pixel is very balanced, there are different colored lights and the color of buildings can be seen through the harsh office lights, all the while the sky is closer to what you would see if you were actually standing there. The iPhone on the other hand looks like a PS3 cutscene from a Yakuza game, a complete blob of yellow-green Gotham CGI.

Unfortunately the 15 Pro exhibits the same issue, maybe there are some slight improvements but not enough. Again from The Verge 15 Pro review except this time I've included the same image with some very simple correction applied to it via Pixelmator. I'm no editor or professional photographer so you may not agree with the final output of my corrections (some are too magenta for example) but the point is to demonstrate that the original needs SOME form of correction, albeit better than mine, in the first place to counter the yellow-green tinge. The "balanced" versions are to provide contrast and demonstrate the yellow-green tinge exists in the first place for those that don't think it's obvious

15 Pro Original Output:15 Pro Balanced:
View attachment 2270069View attachment 2270070

Again, the correction is not perfect as I'm applying auto white balance adjustments to an already compressed jpeg, Apple's original processing could produce a much better result. Look at the overall color of the original image though, in particular the buildings and the sky. I assure you Market St doesn't look so jaundice.

Some more examples:


Disclaimer: let's get this out of the way. The following responses are meaningless so there's no need to post them: 1) "Buy a pixel" no thanks, I'm locked in to iPhone and prefer Apple's ecosystem, it's entirely reasonable to ask for improvements to a product you're heavily invested in. 2) "iPhones are not meant for upgrading every year, don't expect radical changes" this problem has been going on for years and it never gets addressed. If Google can deliver big upgrades to both their camera hardware and software processing whilst avoiding major mishaps with white balance/color, why can't Apple? I'm not asking for magic, just some focus on white balance and color
Yep, Apple keeps taking baby steps while their competition is sprinting.
It gets old being an Apple Fan. Is it just me or does it feel tiring holding the same phone every year even thought it’s technically a “ new “ phone?
It’s the same phone since the iPhone 12. Just minor updates…
 
OP I definitely agree with you in terms of the default camera, but you should include comparisons that use the “cool” photographic style, especially since that’s a set it and forget it setting. Curious to see if that clears up some of the gross green color.
 
I agree with OP. iPhone have always had bad white balance and tint. Their keynote photos always look different.

Most people here saying it's a matter of taste. It's not really, you either have correct WB and tint or not. And if the WB or tint is off you correct it. To get a different colour/taste you adjust other parameters.
 
White balance amounts to nothing more than measuring the color temperature of the light source illuminating the image to be shot. Light at sunrise and sunset is warmer than light at mid-day. Light in shade is cooler than direct sun.

Some cameras have different white balance Nikon's tend to lean warmer Canon's cooler. iPhones come out in the fall and lots of fall colors in the background for reviewers photos lead the phone to read warmer. In SuperSafs videos usually the ones with the warmer tints had fall colors in them. The night shots it is hard to say because the light source affects things as well, but you can fix all that so easily. I have used almost every camera brand the last 20 years for photography and for work and none of them have a perfect white balance unless you are using a gray card, but it is all easily fixable unlike the issues last year of the over crunchy hdr clarity mess the iPhone pics were "in some instances", not all were affected. This year looks to be better in that regard but I will see for myself when it gets here.

If you prefer the out of the phone images of a certain phone maker then you should switch to that maker. Though you can set your photos to a cool image tone with the iPhone so not sure why this is an issue
 
This thread is a joke and should be deleted.

Don't stop there! Let's delete every thread that you personally dislike!

Apple has really jumped the shark on cameras. The Studio Display (which I have and love) 's camera is the most absurd of all. It's funny because every year the hypesphere goes on about how the new cameras are _the reason_ to upgrade your iPhone. It's really not a compelling reason at all beyond what they write on paper, the over-processing of photos wipes out most of the lens improvements other than low light performance
 
Don't stop there! Let's delete every thread that you personally dislike!

Apple has really jumped the shark on cameras. The Studio Display (which I have and love) 's camera is the most absurd of all. It's funny because every year the hypesphere goes on about how the new cameras are _the reason_ to upgrade your iPhone. It's really not a compelling reason at all beyond what they write on paper, the over-processing of photos wipes out most of the lens improvements other than low light performance
Strong downvote of this comment, "the over-processing of photos wipes out most of the lens improvements" in particular.
 
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If you think that’s bad you should see my 12 Pro Max - looks like someone badly dehydrated urinated over the shots!

Happy to sell this trash off and move to the 15 PM, should be a big upgrade cam quality wise even if still a long way to go for Apple in terms of colour and exposure.
I had no issues with the thousands of pix I captured with the 12 Pro; YMMV.
 
For year's, I have been traveling around the world, attending concerts, etc. taking photos with whatever iPhone I own, then showing my pics unedited to people both in real life and social media.

Everyone says they are beautiful. Glad I don't have a professional photographer friend who would complain about the color accuracy. Lol.
 
For year's, I have been traveling around the world, attending concerts, etc. taking photos with whatever iPhone I own, then showing my pics unedited to people both in real life and social media.

Everyone says they are beautiful. Glad I don't have a professional photographer friend who would complain about the color accuracy. Lol.
Note that it is not the professional photographers here that are complaining about color accuracy.
 
Who then? Art directors? Photography teachers?
I cannot answer that Who then? question except to point out that the OP, (with whose commentary I fully disagree) described himself as: "I'm no editor or professional photographer..."

My opinion is that most pros just accept the ever-increasing competence of iPhone cameras as a good thing, learn how to best use the tool and then use ILC cameras when the iPhone is inappropriate. My guess is that the complainers on this thread are amateurs that want image capture to be perfect without putting thought into the process. And Apple exacerbates that through some of their marketing efforts.

Pros see every camera and every lens as flawed, and then use or don't use the tools accordingly. E.g. Nikon makes a super-fast f/0.95 S Noct normal lens with great image quality - - but it weighs 4.4 pounds and costs ~$8k, so most photogs needing fast will instead choose the f/1.8 S 50mm that weighs less than 1 pound, costs ~$600 and will work around its flaws. Said pros do not waste breath whining about how the f/1.8 lens has less good bokeh than the Noct that is 4x heavier and 12x more costly.
 
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This is getting tiring. iPhones have been delivering very poor white balance and color rendering for YEARS now, especially in low or imperfect light (such as overcast). I don't understand what is going on. This year's Smart HDR was upgraded to version 5 but the "improvements" (or lack thereof) to rectify this issue are not up to par, in particular when compared to Pixel in many scenarios. If you have give me 10 pictures from an iPhone and 10 from any other smartphone I can usually figure out which one is the iPhone based on the yellow-green characteristic alone. Here are some yearly observations from all the review photos (as well as my own) that are yet to be fixed. I will use specific examples from 14 Pro and 15 Pro reviews to demonstrate.
  1. iPhones repeatedly render a green or yellow tinge in many photos and subsequently kill the kind of beautiful color contrast we see in the 'best case' photos from Apple's keynote as well as our own photographs.
  2. White balance misses all too frequently in scenarios without perfect direct sunlight. Even then it sometimes struggles.
It's getting to the point where every new iPhone release has me waiting in anticipation for the first real life photos to be published JUST so I can see if they've fixed this one issue. I often find myself adjusting my 14 PM photos slightly to account for the yellow cast and subsequent desaturation/poor contrast.

Let me start by presenting a side by side comparison of a shot from the 14 Pro and Pixel 7 from The Verge's iPhone review last year. I know it's a year old but I remember being irate when I saw it last year because this is a particularly disgusting example. As you will see the 15 Pro still has this issue in varying degrees of severity:


You see it? The Pixel is very balanced, there are different colored lights and the color of buildings can be seen through the harsh office lights, all the while the sky is closer to what you would see if you were actually standing there. The iPhone on the other hand looks like a PS3 cutscene from a Yakuza game, a complete blob of yellow-green Gotham CGI.

Unfortunately the 15 Pro exhibits the same issue, maybe there are some slight improvements but not enough. Again from The Verge 15 Pro review except this time I've included the same image with some very simple correction applied to it via Pixelmator. I'm no editor or professional photographer so you may not agree with the final output of my corrections (some are too magenta for example) but the point is to demonstrate that the original needs SOME form of correction, albeit better than mine, in the first place to counter the yellow-green tinge. The "balanced" versions are to provide contrast and demonstrate the yellow-green tinge exists in the first place for those that don't think it's obvious

15 Pro Original Output:15 Pro Balanced:
View attachment 2270069View attachment 2270070

Again, the correction is not perfect as I'm applying auto white balance adjustments to an already compressed jpeg, Apple's original processing could produce a much better result. Look at the overall color of the original image though, in particular the buildings and the sky. I assure you Market St doesn't look so jaundice.

Some more examples:


Disclaimer: let's get this out of the way. The following responses are meaningless so there's no need to post them: 1) "Buy a pixel" no thanks, I'm locked in to iPhone and prefer Apple's ecosystem, it's entirely reasonable to ask for improvements to a product you're heavily invested in. 2) "iPhones are not meant for upgrading every year, don't expect radical changes" this problem has been going on for years and it never gets addressed. If Google can deliver big upgrades to both their camera hardware and software processing whilst avoiding major mishaps with white balance/color, why can't Apple? I'm not asking for magic, just some focus on white balance and color
Why do you keep spending over $1000 on crap that isn’t satisfying you. I wish I had that much disposable income.
 
View attachment 2270389I hear a lot of what you are saying, but you have a finely controllable feature to make the photos less yellow by default.

Now if you want to make the argument that it should be better to begin with, that’s fine, but it is good to know that this exists.

If somebody can help me with what it is called, that would be great. You can access it by clicking the arrow at the top of the camera screen.

This was my first thought...Photographic Styles. OP could use the "Cool" Photo Style or dial in a custom style (it saves the last used setting), use a 3rd party app with additional color controls, or shoot RAW and edit later. Plenty of options for dialing in color/wb.

Disclaimers pertinent to thread:
-Former Pixel owner
-Former pro level photographer (wedding/concert/documentary)
-Aging (red/green) colorblind male
 
Try out the "photographic styles" in the camera app, they let you make images cooler by default, among other things.
Didn't see the post above, sorry.
(If anyone knows how to delete a comment, help please!)
 
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