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Disappointed in 6+ camera

The picture is usually in the eye of the one looking at it. My son and I took same pic with default settings including flash on and my wife thought his S4 pic looked better. Someone else may disagree. I will take pics of my lanscaping this spring and compare to last years S4 pics.

That said, thanks for thread OP. Another good one for me to learn from. I am new to iPhone and Photography Challenged.

This was helpful for me also--

https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20510927#post20510927

Will check the Photo threads, didn't know there were any :eek:

I have gotten some other cameras/editors like Aviary/Camera+/Kimiko and may try the 645 mentioned.

Need to experiment as mentioned.

BTW when you take an HDR photo which one of the 2 is the HDR one?

looking forward to more tips here--:)
 
HDR should absolutely not be used in low-light situations like the OP's original scenario. Not sure where people are getting that from.

HDR is for when there is a great difference in brightness between two areas in the shot. That obviously isn't going to happen in a low-light situation.
 
Small White Car said:
HDR should absolutely not be used in low-light situations like the OP's original scenario. Not sure where people are getting that from...
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Agreed, especially after seeing the crops he posted from the photos in question. What I'm seeing in those looks like camera shake and/or graininess from high ISO being used. HDR is of no use in low-light - if anything, it has the potential to make the image worse by exacerbating the camera shake and/or introducing even more grain into the final image by compositing three already grainy images. I can't say for sure, but I'd make a safe bet that Apple's compositing algorithm doesn't incorporate noise reduction features similar to those found in the stacking software used by astrophotographers.

As far as OIS goes - sure, it helps reduce camera shake, but it can only do so much. I have OIS lenses for my DSLR that I can still easily get fuzzy shots with if I try to shoot handheld at too slow of a shutter speed. It helps, but it's not a cure-all. If you're shooting handheld at 3/4 second in low light, you're going to be hard pressed to get a nice, sharp image no matter how good the OIS is. It's hardware, not magic.

As to the question at the bottom of post #10: I don't leave any settings on 'Auto'. If I need flash or HDR, I turn it on; if I don't, I turn it off. I trust my own eyes and judgment more than I trust software algorithms to understand what I'm trying to accomplish. It's like people new to DSLRs that leave auto focus point selection on, then wonder why their photos have seemingly random points in focus. All the camera's algorithm knows is that it's looking for the nearest point with the highest edge contrast to focus on - it has no idea that what you really wanted to focus on was something completely different. So it chooses a crack in the sidewalk two feet in front of you instead of the skateboarder six feet back in the frame that you really wanted to focus on, and you get a nice, sharp shot of a crack in the sidewalk with a blurry blob of something behind it which vaguely resembles a skateboarder. :)
 
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Shanghaichica said:
I'm still learning how to take good pics but I've been pretty impressed with the camera on my 6 plus.

Here's some low light shots I took

Image

Image

Image

But at the end of the day it's only a phone.
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Ok, those look great. If I could get photos like that I would be thrilled. Those make mine look like utter crap.
 
azhava said:
cameras don't take bad pictures, people do. There's no camera made, no matter how much money you spend, that can compensate for a "lousy photographer" (as you described yourself). Without a basic understanding of the principles of exposure, composition and light, even the best camera in the world is going to turn out nothing but third-rate snapshots at best.

This is the flip side of the "compliment" most photographers hate - "you take great pictures, you must have a really nice camera". People say it innocently enough without realizing the implied insult - that all your study and practice isn't what makes your photos good, it's just a "good camera".

With that said, i don't think the 6+ has a spectacularly great camera, but i don't think it's spectacularly bad either. I think if you understand how it works, understand basic principles of photography and recognize its limitations, you can take photos which are more than good enough for the vast majority of non-professionals (pixel peepers not included). Look through the iphone 6 / 6+ photos thread - there are some good photos in there (including some in low light), along with some craptacular snapshots.
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+1
 
I have been shooting with Canon SLRs for almost decade. I own some really great lenses, some with OIS.

One thing I know from experience is that OIS doesn't benefit much when you have a wide angle lens like that on the iP6+. That's the reason Canon and Nikon don't offer iOS on their wide angle selections. If you ever tried binoculars at a shop you probably recall how the more powerful binoculars are prone to shaking.

The rule of thumb for steady handholding a shot is 1/focal length. So a 60mm lens you can probably hand hold it for 1/60 second. I think the iP6+ has a 28mm equivalence, so typically you can hand hold it for 1/28 second.

I took the shot below at 1/15 second. The scene is about as dark as I can imagine taking a photo. Any darker would be too dark for me to want to take a photo because normally I only want to capture what I can see. I expose the stairs to match what my eyes saw. I rested my hand against the railing when I took that photo.

With a little practice, most people can handhold a phone at 1/15 second. OIS may help a little, but not really necessary. I wouldn't say so had the iP6+ lens being longer, say 50-200mm. But at 28mm, not really. In reality, when I take photos with people in it, the limiting factor is often people movement, not my hand holding ability, and definitely not the lack of OIS. OIS only helps stabilizing your hands, not the people in your photos.

By the way, you can see noise in the image, as expected for such a small sensor shooting at ISO 1000. But for a snapshot, the noise isn't too distracting to the content. Not so long ago people would be happy to have an SLR with such pleasing noise level at ISO 1000, let alone a point and shoot , or a phone.

ry%3D480
 
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meistervu said:
...With a little practice, most people can handhold a phone at 1/15 second. OIS may help a little, but not really necessary...
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The two biggest factors I find in handholding a cell phone camera vs. a DSLR:

1) Form factor. The DSLR is designed to fit into your hands, with ergonomically shaped grips and a balanced body, whereas the phone is thin and flat. Even with the (considerable) extra weight, I find it easier to hold a DSLR steady than a phone. Of course on the flip side of that, I'd probably find it equally awkward to hold a camera in the right position to make a phone call on it. :)

2) Actuation. The button on a DSLR is smooth and doesn't require a hard press. With an iPhone, you're either using the volume button (which isn't anywhere near as smooth as a DSLR shutter button) or tapping the 'soft' button on the screen, both of which can induce movement if not done delicately. They're also both in kind of awkward positions for smooth operation when you're handholding the phone, compared to the shutter release button on a camera naturally falling right underneath your finger when you're holding it correctly.

As you said, it can be done with practice - most importantly, bracing the camera whenever possible (as you did in your photo) and developing a very light touch on the shutter release. With that said, if I was going to try to be "serious" about taking good iPhone shots in low light, I'd bring my GorillaPod and attach a set of earbuds which have an inline volume switch. You can use the volume button on your earbuds as a remote shutter release, which avoids you having to touch the camera at all. A GorillaPod and shutter release isn't practical for taking drunkies of your friends at a party to post on Facebook/Instagram, but most people aren't exactly looking for 'fine art' in those kinds of shots anyway.

In one of the "iPhoneography" blogs I read, the photographer said he took an old pair of Apple earbuds and cut them off right above the volume switch, making it more compact and tangle-free to carry with him. Pretty slick idea.

[ETA:] Another suggestion in low-light situations is to use burst mode to shoot several photos instead of just taking one. It gives you a better chance that one of them may be steadier than the others.
 
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I guess I'm in the minority but isn't it a phone first and a camera secondly? Meaning maybe if we want stellar pictures we might need to use technology that was created for the purpose? It does say iPhone and not icamera.
 
nathan.kindle said:
I guess I'm in the minority but isn't it a phone first and a camera secondly? Meaning maybe if we want stellar pictures we might need to use technology that was created for the purpose? It does say iPhone and not icamera.
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Yes and no, IMO. There's no reason you can't take good photos with an iPhone if you use good technique and understand its limitations. With that said, yes - if I was going somewhere with one of the intents being taking truly high-quality photographs, I'd be bringing my DSLR kit along. But the fact is, I'm not dedicated enough to carry my DSLR gear with me everywhere I go, so I like having a camera/phone that's good enough to capture decent shots if I run across something I want to photograph. As the saying goes, "the best camera is the one you have with you", and my phone is with me pretty much all the time. You might not get anything worthy of being hung in a fine art gallery, but the iPhone is certainly capable of taking much better than just crappy snapshots.
 
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meistervu said:
I have been shooting with Canon SLRs for almost decade. I own some really great lenses, some with OIS.

One thing I know from experience is that OIS doesn't benefit much when you have a wide angle lens like that on the iP6+. That's the reason Canon and Nikon don't offer iOS on their wide angle selections. If you ever tried binoculars at a shop you probably recall how the more powerful binoculars are prone to shaking.

The rule of thumb for steady handholding a shot is 1/focal length. So a 60mm lens you can probably hand hold it for 1/60 second. I think the iP6+ has a 28mm equivalence, so typically you can hand hold it for 1/28 second.

I took the shot below at 1/15 second. The scene is about as dark as I can imagine taking a photo. Any darker would be too dark for me to want to take a photo because normally I only want to capture what I can see. I expose the stairs to match what my eyes saw. I rested my hand against the railing when I took that photo.

With a little practice, most people can handhold a phone at 1/15 second. OIS may help a little, but not really necessary. I wouldn't say so had the iP6+ lens being longer, say 50-200mm. But at 28mm, not really. In reality, when I take photos with people in it, the limiting factor is often people movement, not my hand holding ability, and definitely not the lack of OIS. OIS only helps stabilizing your hands, not the people in your photos.

By the way, you can see noise in the image, as expected for such a small sensor shooting at ISO 1000. But for a snapshot, the noise isn't too distracting to the content. Not so long ago people would be happy to have an SLR with such pleasing noise level at ISO 1000, let alone a point and shoot , or a phone.

Image
Click to expand...

I don't know about others, but I can easily get a sharp picture at 1/15 s even without OIS. With my 6 Plus, I can get sharp photos at 1/4 s or 1/2 s, handheld, 95% of the time (if the subject is still obviously).
 
hausjam said:
I wasn't expecting great photos. It was a restaurant with, I suppose, romantic lighting. I was just expecting to get some decent pictures I could use/keep. Almost all of them were blurry, grainy, or washed out.
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You need to post some examples but in a dark resturant shutter speeds will be slow and make images blurred unless you brace and hold the phone VERY still. Also thew grain will come from the phone increasing camera sensor sensitivity to the MAX and this will always result in grainy images.

My 6 Plus camera is the best of all my iPhones to date.
 
hausjam said:
Granted, I am a lousy photographer. However, hype has led me to believe the 6+ has a completely automatic, idiot-proof camera that takes phenomenal pictures in all conditions. Well it doesn't for me. Like all my other recent phones (iphone5s, one plus one, Xperia z ultra, moto x, Galaxy s4, lumia 1520) it takes great photos in well lit environments. In low light conditions, the photos are grainy, lots of noise, motion blur, etc. flash won't come on at all in auto. Have to set it on manually. Then, most photos are way too bright. Overexposed? Whatever they call it. Truth be told, my lumia 1520 took much better photos than this 6+.

I like this phone otherwise. I am just tired of all phone manufacturers hyping the new cameras and making me think, just maybe, this one will take good photos for me.
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Join the club
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1827634/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1797081/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1790221/
 
azhava said:
Yes and no, IMO. There's no reason you can't take good photos with an iPhone if you use good technique and understand its limitations. With that said, yes - if I was going somewhere with one of the intents being taking truly high-quality photographs, I'd be bringing my DSLR kit along. But the fact is, I'm not dedicated enough to carry my DSLR gear with me everywhere I go, so I like having a camera/phone that's good enough to capture decent shots if I run across something I want to photograph. As the saying goes, "the best camera is the one you have with you", and my phone is with me pretty much all the time. You might not get anything worthy of being hung in a fine art gallery, but the iPhone is certainly capable of taking much better than just crappy snapshots.
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Fair enough! I can see your point.
 
I think my 6+ takes garbage photos indoors w/ low light. The noise filtering or whatever you call that paint smear effect is atrocious. My gf also sees this problem with her 6.

I don't know much about photography but I just keep all my camera settings on Auto. Maybe there are some tweaks I need to make to correct this but I kept my iPhone 5 camera on Auto and never had issues like this indoors.
 
To be clear, I am not saying the camera is bad. It's mostly on par with other smartphone cameras. I am disappointed, because I have read reviews about the 6+ camera (and to be fair, others like the Note 4) that claim it takes photos on par with dedicated cameras, when that is simply not true. I understand that a tiny camera sensor the size of coincell battery will never be able to take photos like a sensor the size of a cupcake. But bloggers really need to stop pretending that it does.
 
cababah said:
I think my 6+ takes garbage photos indoors w/ low light. The noise filtering or whatever you call that paint smear effect is atrocious. My gf also sees this problem with her 6.

I don't know much about photography but I just keep all my camera settings on Auto. Maybe there are some tweaks I need to make to correct this but I kept my iPhone 5 camera on Auto and never had issues like this indoors.
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Only way to avoid the "smear" is for there to be an app where you can turn off noise reduction. This and other controls would help alot. There may be such an app, just have not looked for it.
 
Newtons Apple said:
Only way to avoid the "smear" is for there to be an app where you can turn off noise reduction. This and other controls would help alot. There may be such an app, just have not looked for it.
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What was Apple thinking when they released the 6/6+ though? This is the first iteration of iPhone that is clearly inferior to the previous generation in some areas. I shouldn't have to find a 3rd party app to fix their crappy choice in camera hardware/software.
 
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The image that they used during the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus makes me laugh now cause we all know that photo wasn't really shot with an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus.
 
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