Halide Developer Does Deep Dive Into iPhone 12 Pro Max Photographic Capabilities

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Kinda sad that MacRumors takes someone else's great report, re-words it for their own views. Sure, they link off to the other story, but most aren't going to bother checking it out now that they've basically read it here. At very least a MUCH smaller number will than if they'd said, "Here's an awesome report that gets really detailed, have a look!"

 

[Cosmosent]

For those of you who are comfortable with "Basic" Math:

1.7 um pixels / 1.4 um pixels = 1.21x

That's 21% larger !

The other 47% - 21% = 26% is due to a Border that is around the 12.2 Mpx center, resulting in a Resolution of ~15.4 Mpx !

The Border is for Image Stabilization purposes !

NOT for Sensor Shift color-capture !

NOT Rocket Science !

(NOT) Surprised by how many are so easily fooled by Apple's Marketing !

 

[PeteBurgh]

Semi-related, but did anybody ever receive those Halide tutorials they were promising?

Yes! I thought they were really helpful! I went back to reread them this afternoon - made me realise how little I knew!

 

[mr.steevo]

Most people aren’t good enough at photography to understand or realize benefits.

Most people also think brighter means it’s better.

That's how it is for me. TV's as well.

If only this inability to detect high quality extended to my wine preferences.

 

[noraa]

If only the Pro Max wasn’t so big and heavy

 

[Baymowe335]

That's how it is for me. TV's as well.

If only this inability to detect high quality extended to my wine preferences.

Lol...true. And there is a reason those TV displays at the stores are on full brightness and contrast.

When you get that new TV home, you have no idea why it looks like crap (it’s because their source is perfect and unattainable for most content).

You also question why you spent the extra $500 for some incremental improvement over the TV they had right next to it because there is no comparison panel anymore.

Im convinced people could pick out a tv, only to get it switched with a $500 TV and they’d never know the difference.

 

[Dizzy714]

Is it a high probability that they match the camera specs next year, or is it looking like this is going to be the new standard going forward with the Max. I picked up the Max, I’m only two days in use of it and I’m already annoyed at the day to day handling hindrances of it coming off the 11 Pro. I either stick with it and get used to it as the new normal, or return this B and go down to the 12 Pro in hopes that next year will they’ll be matched. I do admit browsing everything is a much better experience on the bigger screen, but, at the end of the day it’s still a cell phone and should be comfortable to use day to day. Also a bit concerned with battery life if I went down to the 12 Pro, as this 12 Pro Max is not pulling much more juice than my 11 Pro.

 

[doboy]

For those of you who are comfortable with "Basic" Math:

1.7 um pixels / 1.4 um pixels = 1.21x

That's 21% larger !

The other 47% - 21% = 26% is due to a Border that is around the 12.2 Mpx center, resulting in a Resolution of ~15.4 Mpx !

The Border is for Image Stabilization purposes !

NOT for Sensor Shift color-capture !

NOT Rocket Science !

(NOT) Surprised by how many are so easily fooled by Apple's Marketing !

You do realize that it’s the area that’s 47% larger right? Try 1.7 x 1.7 / 1.4 x 1.4. Let’s see you pull off that math, haha. It’s amazing how highly some people regard themselves.

edit: my example is for a square sensor, but the ratio holds true as long as the old and the new sensors have the same aspect ratio.

 

[BeatCrazy]

I'm no photo buff, but I'm always intrigued.

Photos I've taken on the 12 Pro Max native camera app seem to have some sharpening applied, even with plenty of light/outside. And this is really annoying to me. So, I'm going to try out Halide II and see how I can learn a bit, and hopefully capture photos without the sharpening or as much noise reduction.

Example below. The ghosting around this branch/stick is just so obvious to me. Frustrating.

 

[Denzo]

Not hating but this article screams justifying the Max’s similar camera abilities

 

[GuruZac]

I'm sure these improvements are in place, but as a 11PM and a 12PM owner, my pictures look identical.

Thank you. What I expected. Apple made tremendous gains from the XS to 11 Pro cameras. It was unlikely they were going to make similar leaps this year. It’s nice to hear someone who owns both comment on both. My wife is professional photographer and I was considering getting her the 12 Pro Max to have the latest camera she can point and shoot with, but she’s honestly very happy with her 11 Pro and there doesn’t appear to be big differences between 11 Pro and 12 Pro.

 

[PeteBurgh]

Is it a high probability that they match the camera specs next year, or is it looking like this is going to be the new standard going forward with the Max.

I don’t think anyone (outside Apple) really knows at this point. I would guess that it’s more likely than not - there is simply more room in the larger phone for a bigger camera module, and it makes sense to make use of that. But it’s just a guess.

Honestly though, if you’re finding it annoying to handle in day to day use, I’d pay attention to that and change it, and let 2021 take care of itself.

 

[Silver78]

It is much better... you should all buy one..... then the stocks will grow and I will have more money... as for myself I will stick with my old iphone 7

 

[AFDoc]

Still not worth its size...

You forgot to add "to me" to your statement.

 

[AFDoc]

I took a photo last night of the waxing crescent moon, Jupiter and Saturn and the pic came out fantastic (compared to any other of my iPhone model pics) ...I could actually see the crescent shape... this was hand held so obviously not as sharp as if on a tri/mono pod and there is a street light literally 15 feet to my right..... If I tried the same on my XS max the moon would have been just a white blob.... That's all I need to see to know the camera on my 12pro max is better.

 

[TantalizedMind]

This is a honest question from a non-professional photographer...

I’m 32. These photos taken on the 12 Max Pro don’t even look different to me in quality than the photos I take on my XR.

Is my eyesight **** or are the “Pro users” and photographers just being picky and want whatever specs look better on paper?

 

[SocialKonstruct]

My Leica digital camera is still better than any iPhone out there.

 

[wittyphrase]

This is a honest question from a non-professional photographer...

I’m 32. These photos taken on the 12 Max Pro don’t even look different to me in quality than the photos I take on my XR.

Is my eyesight **** or are the “Pro users” and photographers just being picky and want whatever specs look better on paper?

Reply from someone that does some work as a pro photographer. For a lot of photography equipment, the jump in specs between models within the same camera line are most useful in fringe cases. The more controlled a scenario the less useful some of these features tend to be (with some exceptions).

In theory, the more of these features you stack up, the more scenarios you have where you can capture not only usable photos, but good photos. So for the most part the images could certainly look pretty similar to you, and you’re not wrong. But the question is how much detail did the camera keep in highlights in shadows so that if you wanted to edit it you could push the exposure in different ways? Does the new RAW format whenever it arrives allow for better colors in the image that can be pushed? A larger sensor should theoretically allow for better low light performance. A stabilized sensor means less impact from your movement, which is important for a smaller camera.

So most of the improvements are things you appreciate if you’re taking images that push the boundaries a little bit.

 

[Digital Dude]

There are a lot of reports from users mentioning focus issues, I wonder why these reviewers don't mention this?

iPhone 12 Pro camera cannot focus up close

Interesting usecase. Sounds like you won't have much of a choice. I just did some testing here. I don't have any ICs to test with, but I did find an old aaa battery with text too tiny for my old eyes to read. I don't have any older iPhones around, so I compared with my Gen 1 iPad Pro. The...

forums.macrumors.com

💸💵💰

 

[Digital Dude]

My Leica digital camera is still better than any iPhone out there.

Of course, it is. I wish I never sold my M8 and brass super primes

 

[Denzo]

💸💵💰

I actually noticed on my iPhone 12 pro it definitely struggled focusing on macro type photos compared with the regular 12. Not sure why. I’m still going back to the pro once it’s back in stock. Hopefully issues are resolved.

 

[patrick.a]

I don’t think anyone (outside Apple) really knows at this point. I would guess that it’s more likely than not - there is simply more room in the larger phone for a bigger camera module, and it makes sense to make use of that. But it’s just a guess.

Honestly though, if you’re finding it annoying to handle in day to day use, I’d pay attention to that and change it, and let 2021 take care of itself.

It‘s not just about the size in area but also in thickness: The cameras of the PM stick out more because they need more distance from sensor to lense to achieve the same focal length with the bigger sensor. The camer hump ist bigger and thicker making the phone wobble on a straight desk even more then before. I don‘t think they would put that on the smaller iPhone as it would look even more ridiculous. And fot what anyway? The gain in quality hardly justifys the more obviuos gain in size in thickness.

 

[doboy]

My Leica digital camera is still better than any iPhone out there.

Congrats, you win the most obvious post of the year. Now go make calls, play games, browse the internet, and more with your fancy camera.

 

[doboy]

I actually noticed on my iPhone 12 pro it definitely struggled focusing on macro type photos compared with the regular 12. Not sure why. I’m still going back to the pro once it’s back in stock. Hopefully issues are resolved.

It may be the LIDAR related. Maybe parallax issue? They should have a macro mode.

 

[trifid]

It may be the LIDAR related. Maybe parallax issue? They should have a macro mode.

Yea I can already see an iPhone 13 next year with macro mode which will destroy the 12’s, and everyone will agree then how much the 12 sucked for closeups and focusing 🤦🏻‍♂️