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Out of Apple's more recent adverts this one is definitely much better than previous offerings.

Just wish they'd drop the "practically magic" slogan-it's not working (sorry!)

Anyhow... when the conditions are right Portrait Mode produces some good results:
Smartphone cameras usually perform best outdoors under direct sunlight. Portrait mode likely isn't any exempt.
 
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Well, okay - if you carry around a phone as your camera and this effect works some/most of the time, then fine. But being software based it will not work all of the time, the way a camera with a wide aperture lens would. Seems odd, however, to make a commercial based on this. I think in this day and age of Facebook, etc., most people wouldn't appreciate or care much about background blurring.

But I know one thing that's "practically magic" - the Mac disappearance act.
 
Okay, I actually thought this was a really good ad, but just from the title alone I was scratching my head.

iPhone 7 Plus - Take Mine (as in, "I don't want it anymore") :)
 
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Portrait Mode works as advertised. I use it all the time and it's the closest thing to a "fast" lens on a DSLR on your phone, although sometimes the edges on some objects get blurred out if they are too thin. Otherwise, the subject separation is pretty good.
I am a full-time professional photographer and I own a 7Plus and a Canon 1DX Mark II with F2.8 and F1.4 Lenses.
Just a few problems with this commercial. The granny photo: She is too close to her to produce the photo on the commercial. Portrait mode requires 8 feet of distance since it uses the Zoom lens.
The photo of the kid, the mandolin guy and the fisherman have "fill lights" on the left. Clearly seen on their eyes.
Reflections in the eyes give away lighting techniques. Some photographers even go to the extent of photoshopping the reflections not to reveal their lighting setup.
Also, in the fisherman's photo, she seen holding the phone vertically and the photo displayed is landscape.
I understand it's a commercial but it is a little deceiving. Fill lights and such should not be used to enhance the photos.
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Okay, I actually thought this was a really good ad, but just from the title alone I was scratching my head.

iPhone 7 Plus - Take Mine (as in, "I don't want it anymore") :)
I agree. The title is confusing... I thought it was a sorry Samsung commercial pushing you to get rid of your iPhone 7 HAHA
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Well, okay - if you carry around a phone as your camera and this effect works some/most of the time, then fine. But being software based it will not work all of the time, the way a camera with a wide aperture lens would. Seems odd, however, to make a commercial based on this. I think in this day and age of Facebook, etc., most people wouldn't appreciate or care much about background blurring.

But I know one thing that's "practically magic" - the Mac disappearance act.
People care. Most of the photo apps have blurring background filters. People do heavy retouching on their photos before uploading. Girls make their bodies slimmer and smooth out their skin with apps like Facetune... iPHone's portrait mode is a great tool that will make your photos look more pro... I like it.
 
Τhank you Apple for showing another face of Greece! It's always about us being lazy scums, not paying our debts and trying to get away with everything... Thank you Apple for showing the world that our country is of exceptional beauty, our people are compassionate and loving and that it's not always about money, it's also about the little things in life! You are the best!!!
My good fortune to visit Greece on several occasions. Agree totally with your assessment.
 
As a photographer, I really appreciate this advert. Background defocus and bokeh are often really important aspects of all photography, especially portraits.

I just wonder if the average viewer of this advert will even understand what's going on. Maybe I worry too much. Maybe this is a good example of Apple not treating its customers as idiots, and treating them instead as people who love photography and understand many aspects of it.

I doubt the average viewer will understand what's going on. I just had a conversation last night with a couple of people who thought that Amazon's partnership with Ford was going to be the first of its kind because they've never heard of CarPlay.

I like the commercial but I think Apple could have done a much better job of showing what depth of field is because it is very subtle for anyone not paying attention; which is most people.
 
You don't know what you're missing until you get a bigger phone. You won't want to go back, especially with all that extra battery life.

Larger screen is nice, but it's not everything. I enjoy the convenient size of my iPhone SE. I chose it specifically for that size. It's the size that I wanted.
 
Fun ad. Makes me want to go back to Greece. Wonderful country, great people.

Interesting music. I thought yodeling was more a Swiss thing than a Greek thing? It works for the ad, so I guess that's the main thing.
 
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There will always be trolls regardless of what Apple does. Apple had its share of critics when they announced the iPhone, the iPod, the iPad, the MacBook Air; pretty much everything Apple did was mired in controversy.

What we need is more informed, in-depth and well-reasoned arguments. No more of this knee-jerk "Fire Tim Cook" or smart-ass quips which contribute absolutely nothing to the main discussion at hand.

People need to stop and think through what they want to say first before saying it. There is no prize for being first where this sort of thing is concerned.

That will instantly shave off the majority of the useless posts in these threads, make them more readable and help promote more meaningful discussion.


You can be unhappy with the direction Apple has take and still be respectful and civil about it.

Simply put - I don't really care what these people feel about Apple. They are free to hold their own opinions and think whatever they want about Apple. But when they start crapping all over this forum and start making the atmosphere of this place so much more hostile and toxic, that's when I feel compelled to step in.

I like this place. It has been a steady source of information and productive discussion ever since I fled Cnet and Engadget and the last thing I want to see happen is for Macrumours to devolve into another seething morass of toxicity and hostility. And so I do the only thing I know - I push back against the hatred.

Maybe I am making the problem worse, but I know I can't just sit back and do nothing while I watch this whole place go to crap. I won't.


Cause and effect.

We need doctors because people get ill. We need police because there is crime. I go where I am needed, and post when I am needed.

One cannot exist without the other.

When the acerbic trolling stops, I too will stop. That is my promise to you and this forum.
So you're saying we have no right to criticize Tim because there is always something that we don't understand.

For example, I hate they way iCloud Drive, iCloud Photo Library, Family Cloud and the lack of family iCloud Drive is organized. There is no way to have one shared photo library with your wife. And instead of having a SQUARE type in your camera app you could have the ability to choose "option" family, what would result in putting a photo to a shared family library. Or super badly designed Camera app where if you need to change 1080p/4K or 60/30 fps you need to go all the way to settings.

Secondly, Apple Maps in Poland and their updates ARE SLOW AS **** (Medieval will catch us). Google Maps, OpenStreetMap or whatever free service you can compare is WAAAAAAAAAAAY ahead.

I hope the management of Apple saw that too (among other things) and that is why Cook got smaller salary.

PS Sorry for the language but your appreciative comment needed some less appreciative one.

Ergo,
I go where I am needed, and post when I am needed.
One cannot exist without the other.
 
Another nail in the coffin for professional photographers and expensive larger DSLR / Lens. And I love my Canon 5DSR.
 
THANK YOU APPLE
GREAT AD
its an honour that its in our language
showing our great country light and spirit
I'm film director and its true the "PORTRAIT mode" photos are great and when someone sees the result the ask me to sen it to his mail
so
THANK YOU
4 SUPPORTING OUR COUNTRY
 
I just watched this wonderful advert.. it makes me want the Plus model when I upgrade to the 7. Good job, Apple!
 

Does anyone know where in Greece this commercial was filmed? I love the Greek village and was curious if it was in Naxos.

Apple today shared a new iPhone 7 Plus ad on its YouTube channel, highlighting the Portrait Mode feature exclusive to Apple's larger handset.

In the ad, entitled "Take Mine", a young lady arrives at a Greek village to visit her grandmother. After greeting each other with open arms, the two women are seen sitting in a café, where the granddaughter uses a Rose Gold iPhone 7 Plus to take a picture of the elderly woman using the Depth Effect.


After previewing the shot, her grandma stands up in awe, taken aback by its quality. This catches the attention of others in the café, and a woman asks if she can get a picture, too. The young lady happily obliges.

Thus begins a spree of depth-of-field photography as locals in the village queue up to have their pictures taken, including fishermen, a musician, children, a barber, and even a local shepherd, all framed in sharp focus with the familiar blurred background effect. The ad ends with the tagline, "Portrait mode on iPhone 7 Plus - practically magic".

Today's iPhone 7 Plus ad is the latest in a series that have showcased the features of Apple's latest handsets, like waterproofing, improved battery life, the camera, and the iOS 10 operating system.

Apple has also previously shared tips to "Shoot like a Pro" with the depth-of-field effect in the iPhone 7 Plus, highlighting a range of suggestions collected from professional photographers on its news site.

Article Link: Apple Shares 'Take Mine' Ad Showcasing Photos Taken in Portrait Mode on the iPhone 7 Plus
 
As a photographer, I really appreciate this advert. Background defocus and bokeh are often really important aspects of all photography, especially portraits.

I just wonder if the average viewer of this advert will even understand what's going on. Maybe I worry too much. Maybe this is a good example of Apple not treating its customers as idiots, and treating them instead as people who love photography and understand many aspects of it.
Not to worry. Apple's made "shallow depth of field" automatic now. So all anyone has to do is compose. Once they see the result, they'll take more and learn more. This would not have been possible with a manual camera.
 
Another nail in the coffin for professional photographers and expensive larger DSLR / Lens. And I love my Canon 5DSR.

It's true that first point-and-shoot cameras and now smart phones have resulted in nearly everyone being a "photographer," with the resultant reduced demand for professionals. But that's in part because most people don't care to have a well-composed, well-focused, well-exposed and illuminated photograph, but are content with quick snaps that they post to Facebook and other websites, which compress and reduce the quality even further. Just look, for instance, at pet adoption websites and you will find some of the worst photos imaginable, which the "photographers" were obviously content posting.

As I mentioned elsewhere, software blurring of the background will not work well under all conditions, but optical blurring using a DSLR and wide aperture lens will. People who don't care about those conditions where the software fails will be content with the iPhone. People that do, or who need to have things work all the time for commercial reasons, will still use the DSLR.

P.S. And I love my Nikon D700 and 85mm f/1.4 lens.
 
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