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It's definitely better, but it's pretty baffling why it's still worse than putting an iPad that has the same sensor and same processor on a stand in front of it.

What an overengineered mess.
Does the iPad have more sensors available to adjust for the lighting conditions?
 
Dan - thanks for the video. Did you have center stage on or off? If seems like you had it off, and it looks like Apple lowered the angle of the camera so that it shows more of your head/body in non-center stage mode?

My number one complaint with the Studio Display is in non-center stage mode, it only shows the top of my head and positions it at the bottom of the frame. It's really, really aggravating. I have to angle/tilt the display all the way down just to look semi-normal.

Apple care today advised me that "the camera in non-center stage mode was designed to point straight ahead and that my head being positioned at the bottom of the frame was 'normal' ". Hoping they've fixed this! Thanks!
 
To be honest I never thought there was problem with the original firmware. I do, however, think there will always be never-satisfied nerds screaming their lungs out about something.


If truly representative, I'd be totally satisfied with the iMac Pro camera, way back from 2017:

The camera is still pretty bad compared to the one in the iMac Pro.


The Studio Display camera looks quite crappy in comparison.

Dan - thanks for the video. Did you have center stage on or off? If seems like you had it off, and it looks like Apple lowered the angle of the camera so that it shows more of your head/body in non-center stage mode?

My number one complaint with the Studio Display is in non-center stage mode, it only shows the top of my head and positions it at the bottom of the frame. It's really, really aggravating. I have to angle/tilt the display all the way down just to look semi-normal.

Apple care today advised me that "the camera in non-center stage mode was designed to point straight ahead and that my head being positioned at the bottom of the frame was 'normal' ". Hoping they've fixed this! Thanks!
This is one of the most important points IMO, but so far nobody has specifically mentioned this.
 
I think it looks a little bit better with the new firmware but lighting is not good on both samples. It will probably take a few tries for Apple to get it.
 
I just tried it myself. I don't notice much difference, so those expecting huge improvements will be disappointed. It does seem to change how Center Stage works (making it a bit less jerky). I still prefer the one in my 14" MacBook Pro.
Update: Apparently the update didn’t “take” the first time I downloaded it, as the display was still running iOS 15.5. I had to let the Mac restart itself (rather than click “Restart”) for it to properly install on the ASD (I’ll be reporting that bug).

It does seem a bit less grainy and skin tones a bit more natural, but it is still a modest improvement.
 
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It looks like:

My iMac 2017: Mediocre. No Center Stage.
Studio Display: Mediocre but perhaps a bit better than my iMac 2017, and with Center Stage.
iMac Pro 2017: Way, way better than both of these. No Center Stage.

I wonder if the rumoured mini-LED display actually exists. If so, maybe it would come with a higher end camera, as it would be a higher tier display.
 
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If the question is "is it better," the answer is clearly yes.

If the question is "is it good," the answer is... it's good enough? But given the processing grunt available, I'm surprised this is all they've managed.
 
It would of been better if they offered a full size nicely integrated and designed magnetic detachable webcam as some other displays have, instead of re-using an iPad camera from the parts bin. After all you are paying big bucks for this display.
 
So for me this firmware update made a huge difference. These are awful photos of me but they do illustrate the difference.

1st is before
2nd is after

BeforeFWupdate.png


AfterFWupdate.png
 
Is the webcam different from those used in the M1 iMac?
From what I recall, the reviews were pretty good. They should have just used that same camera for the Studio Display?
 
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I find it unremarkable that Apple can't get an HD webcam right. I mean HD webcams have only been out on the market for 5 years and it took them forever to get away from 780p and it still looks like a 1st generation webcam from years ago.

It seems to me they just threw this in to the Studio Display to appease customers and did very little testing on it.
 
I dunno... I think Apple has a different idea of what a good webcam looks like than I do. I find the 16" M1 MBP webcam pretty bland too. I keep trying to clean the glass in front of it. No contrast, no real details, the colors are washed out. I feel like the older generation camera was better-- noisier and it struggled in low light, but I preferred the image. Or maybe just got used to it...

This might just be what happens when you put machine learning between the camera and the screen. Maybe they trained it to boost shadows and pull back the highlights to make it harder to lose exposure on the face in really bad lighting, but...
 
Aren’t you generally closer to the iPad and sit further back from a Studio Display by comparison? Maybe sitting closer to the Studio would improve things. Not sure you’d want to use the monitor close up like that though ?
 
It is clearly better. The old video looks like it’s got True Tone cranked up and the new one does not. I prefer blue to brown. IMHO, the new is way better.
 
So for me this firmware update made a huge difference. These are awful photos of me but they do illustrate the difference.

1st is before
2nd is after
Are these with Center Stage on or off? Could you show an 'after' with center stage off, if you have the time? Thanks!
 
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