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iPhone 11 Blurry Ultra Wide lens

BB1970

BB1970

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 19, 2009
476
1,374
May return the iPhone 11. Win some. Lose some.
I've found through repeated testing with video and photos the ultra wide just isn’t up to the job in less than ideal lighting.
I'm not sure whether its a software or hardware issue, but the loss in detail makes everything look like a watercolor painting.
Before I’m called crazy, just know there’s like a 40 page thread on the Apple Forums with people having a similar issue.
For all the hype the cameras have received, it’s a shame the standout feature of a wide angle lens is such poor quality.
Anyone else having camera quality issues?
When I get around to it, I’ll post some samples.
 
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I think a 40 page thread on the Apple forums is pretty much 100% irrelevant. They have sold millions of these phones and if there was a real issue with the wide-angle lens there would be a lot more in the news about it than just a forum. I’ve taken loads of pictures with the white angle and I’ve been really really impressed with the results. I find it hard to believe yours are coming out as you describe them to be honest, ie a watercolour painting.

It would be beneficial if you did upload some so we could have a look. Maybe yours has a fault?

I’m no photographer, and I certainly have no eye for a good photograph, but those three pictures below were just pointing clicks with a wide angle. They are full of detail and certainly not blurry. This is on my 11 Pro Max.
 
41c9a8c7d0b8e03d12c60d4b21b26dce.jpg
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bbd950d41d114eb290333822603a61c0.jpg
 
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Good lighting only (natural lighting in particular), and at that focal length the subject should be at least 6 feet from the lens. Ultra wide shots are not for pixel peeping, whether on a phone or a SLR, but capturing the big picture. It lacks OIS and shoots at f/2.4 so unless your lighting is solid, the quality will not be as good as the main and telephoto lenses which have OIS and f1.8-2.0
 
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Nikhil72 said:
Good lighting only (natural lighting in particular), and at that focal length the subject should be at least 6 feet from the lens. Ultra wide shots are not for pixel peeping, whether on a phone or a SLR, but capturing the big picture. It lacks OIS and shoots at f/2.4 so unless your lighting is solid, the quality will not be as good as the main and telephoto lenses which have OIS and f1.8-2.0
Click to expand...
That’s pretty much the conclusion I’ve made as well. I was hoping for more clarity in under ideal situations, something an attachable Moment type lens to the standard wide provided, but alas, no dice. So to get that clarity in low light situations, one is forced back (literally) in distance to use the wide or use the ultra wide and contend with its digital zoom for framing. Ah well.
Thnx for the comments.
 
Nikhil72 said:
Good lighting only (natural lighting in particular), and at that focal length the subject should be at least 6 feet from the lens. Ultra wide shots are not for pixel peeping, whether on a phone or a SLR, but capturing the big picture. It lacks OIS and shoots at f/2.4 so unless your lighting is solid, the quality will not be as good as the main and telephoto lenses which have OIS and f1.8-2.0
Click to expand...
To add, sensor is smaller on the ultra and tele compared to wide (1X).
 
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BB1970 said:
May return the iPhone 11. Win some. Lose some.
I've found through repeated testing with video and photos the ultra wide just isn’t up to the job in less than ideal lighting.
I'm not sure whether its a software or hardware issue, but the loss in detail makes everything look like a watercolor painting.
Before I’m called crazy, just know there’s like a 40 page thread on the Apple Forums with people having a similar issue.
For all the hype the cameras have received, it’s a shame the standout feature of a wide angle lens is such poor quality.
Anyone else having camera quality issues?
When I get around to it, I’ll post some samples.
Click to expand...
i thought the same when I took photos with my 11 pro max using the UWA camera. It was soft and mushy looking. I found out why though, there is nothing wrong with your camera on uwa... as the ISO increases, the image gets really soft because of the noise reduction. The UWA is a fixed focused lens and during the day it’s super sharp. the UWA camera is not a low light camera at all (f/2.4) So the brighter the scene, the sharper it will look. I only use my UWA with a third party app in really low light where I can control the ISO and shutter. Nightcap app is really good for this. The long exposure setting is awesome (iPhone must be on a tripod though) and I have found that a lot of people have no interest and not taking time to make a great photo If they have to use a tripod. I gues tripods are for dedicated photographers. Anyway, take photos during the day with your ultra wide, you’ll see it’s plenty sharp. As I mentioned, I thought mine was faulty also, but it’s not.
18F4ADCD-5FF3-4806-9F07-58DBBEE041C0.jpeg
4C7D8E02-75E6-40E3-A49D-14F2E40AC37E.jpeg


here is a 15 second exposure using nightcap. I didn’t lift the shadows much, but it can easily handle it since there are many stacked images here. You can see the difference with and without. I was able to sharpen and clean up the long exposure photo taken in low light to a very useable image.

B8F5C354-3F3D-4242-8ABF-193CF26404C9.jpeg
 
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BB1970 said:
May return the iPhone 11. Win some. Lose some.
I've found through repeated testing with video and photos the ultra wide just isn’t up to the job in less than ideal lighting.
I'm not sure whether its a software or hardware issue, but the loss in detail makes everything look like a watercolor painting.
Before I’m called crazy, just know there’s like a 40 page thread on the Apple Forums with people having a similar issue.
For all the hype the cameras have received, it’s a shame the standout feature of a wide angle lens is such poor quality.
Anyone else having camera quality issues?
When I get around to it, I’ll post some samples.
Click to expand...

Where are you able to determine if your ultra wide angle camera is good or bad? I’m just curious since none of you have replied to the thread since I last posted something.
 
UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_largepv_8ee3.jpg


This is in not-so-bright light (sun was about to set) and the results are pretty good.

I think you're expecting miracles here. Extremely wide angle lenses are slower than normal lenses, especially so in that size. The phone has to apply noise reduction for good photos in medium to low light.

You can't change the laws of physics, Captain.
 
I’m afraid until I see examples from the OP showing the watercolour paintings, I don’t believe it’s anywhere near as bad as he suggests.
 
05385F77-6827-4187-9B2E-25A5A1414CFC.jpeg
6F8EAEA8-871B-4122-8646-7245210A2889.jpeg


I went out and did a comparison with my (both brand new) iPhone X and 11 and very disappointed with the image taken by the 11 even without comparing. Not sure what happened here but the 11 is very noisy . Most of the images I took unless in poor light swung towards the X having sharper and less noisy images. In poor light the 11 won hands down 🤷‍♂️ Weird.

iPhone X first image.
 
Sorry. Was really busy. Havent been here since I posted. I decided to keep it.
I should have mentioned I don’t really take many photos. I use the phone for video for almost everything. I’ve found the ultra wide just isn’t up to the job indoors for video. I was hoping I could avoid buying a Moment wide lens (less gear and save a little money), but it’s the best option if I want take advantage of the f1.8 lens for clarity in lower light, which by the way, has been very good. I used to attach a Zeiss Exolens to the iPhone 8 and had nice results, but again, it was utilizing the main lens.
The Ultra Wide has its place, and it’s generally for anything outdoors in decent light.
All in all, I get it’s limitations and my particular needs (tight spaces indoors recording music acts) isn’t what most people are doing, so I can’t expect miracles.
Thnx for all the responses and samples.
 
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rich32gb5s said:
View attachment 874840View attachment 874841

I went out and did a comparison with my (both brand new) iPhone X and 11 and very disappointed with the image taken by the 11 even without comparing. Not sure what happened here but the 11 is very noisy . Most of the images I took unless in poor light swung towards the X having sharper and less noisy images. In poor light the 11 won hands down 🤷‍♂️ Weird.

iPhone X first image.
Click to expand...
You have it on original or vivid?
 
rich32gb5s said:
View attachment 874840View attachment 874841

I went out and did a comparison with my (both brand new) iPhone X and 11 and very disappointed with the image taken by the 11 even without comparing. Not sure what happened here but the 11 is very noisy . Most of the images I took unless in poor light swung towards the X having sharper and less noisy images. In poor light the 11 won hands down 🤷‍♂️ Weird.

iPhone X first image.
Click to expand...

make sure your iPhone is on the current version of software. The UWA camera (if that’s the noisy one you describe) doesn’t do well at high iso. It will get mushy looking at high iso. So use the 1x camera for most low light shots so deep fusion or night mode will kick in. The UWA is best during the day and with iso no higher that 400. Otherwise scroll up a some and find my reply and samples I took using the Nightcap app.
 
ToddH said:
make sure your iPhone is on the current version of software. The UWA camera (if that’s the noisy one you describe) doesn’t do well at high iso. It will get mushy looking at high iso. So use the 1x camera for most low light shots so deep fusion or night mode will kick in. The UWA is best during the day and with iso no higher that 400. Otherwise scroll up a some and find my reply and samples I took using the Nightcap app.
Click to expand...
Hi. Thanks for the reply. I’m comparing like for like in settings (x1) and up to date for both with iOS. I also noticed the 11 struggles to take an in focus quick shot on the move when compared to the X. I’ll check out your samples. Thanks
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The Game 161 said:
You have it on original or vivid?
Click to expand...
Original. Cheers
 
Hi. Thanks for the reply. I’m comparing like for like in settings (x1) and up to date for both with iOS. I also noticed the 11 struggles to take an in focus quick shot on the move when compared to the X. I’ll check out your samples. Thanks
Click to expand...

I think this is one thing I have noticed. I did not check or adjust the focus area when I used it indoors. I just pointed and shot. See my shot (Not adjusted, cropped or filtered)

IMG_5023.jpg


I think at least picking a focus area is required or using a 3rd party camera app mentioned previously at least indoors to adjust ISO.
 
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rich32gb5s said:
I went out and did a comparison with my (both brand new) iPhone X and 11 and very disappointed with the image taken by the 11 even without comparing. Not sure what happened here but the 11 is very noisy . Most of the images I took unless in poor light swung towards the X having sharper and less noisy images. In poor light the 11 won hands down 🤷‍♂️ Weird.
iPhone X first image.
Click to expand...
Actually, those don't look like they're even taken at the same time / on the same day - there are 2 plants on the boat deck in the shot from the 11 and none in the shot from the X. Also it looks like the X shot is from the 1x lens while the 11 one is from the UWA lens, which isn't as good in low light (f1.8 for the 1x vs f2.4 for the UWA). Given that it's not really a valid comparison.
 
alFR said:
Actually, those don't look like they're even taken at the same time / on the same day - there are 2 plants on the boat deck in the shot from the 11 and none in the shot from the X. Also it looks like the X shot is from the 1x lens while the 11 one is from the UWA lens, which isn't as good in low light (f1.8 for the 1x vs f2.4 for the UWA). Given that it's not really a valid comparison.
Click to expand...
Yeah same time (within 5 minutes) but only because the owner came out in the middle of the comparison and indeed moved the plants annoyingly. Why I would want to cheat this I dont know? lol. For starters look at the bunch of leaves on the path. You missed this obvious detail the fact theyve not moved
Both x1 zoom. I made sure of that
 
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