Some lenses are known for being soft up close and wide open (X100 until the V). I think this is processing.. even with the RAW (I know..) because it looks more like the old smudging issue from the 7. Look at the text in this image. Compare the large area of text to the text above the recycle logo. That text looks smudged.
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iPhone 13 Pro iPhone 13 Pro main camera softness, less sharp than older iPhones
- Thread starter coso
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I think Apple decided to oversharpen fine detail to enhance the perception of sharpness. Sometimes the result are weird, with super sharpened part of the image and softer ones, like in the one you posted (the big text in the upper part is soft, then line just under is super sharpened). They might tune the software differently, but the fundamentals of the main lens are here to stay. How well, I’m keeping it so let’s see
In many YouTube reviews by tech bloggers. You don’t even have to go far, as you can try it yourself if you have any iPhone 13. If you try shooting anything close (not even macro), the phone switches to the Ultra Wide lens. It’s only visible by a slight image change in the camera finder on the screen. By covering the UW lens with your finger, the phone is forced to switch back to the main lens.
I've been preoccupied with the iPhone 13 pro and cameras for a long time. I was doing video tests and I have noticed that the macro mode does not work at 4K 60fps! But if I activate 4k at 24 and 30 fps and HD yes! I thought my iPhone was broken !! Has anyone else tried it?
The Max I checked in store today was the same as the other two Pro I tried (mine and another demo unit). Can you try taking the same photo with your old iPhone and see? The difference might be subtle sometimes. The worst case is close photos. It's like they sacrificed the close focusing of the 1x camera because maybe they made the 0,5x camera very capable of close and macro shots. Then for sure there is tolerance. My phone was slightly worse than the others in store, but marginally. But my 3x lens is super sharp and no way I'm risking to get another one with possibly a worse 3x lens, which will be my most used.
Really hope this is mostly a software issue.
Anyway the iPhone have a great camera but on the pixel count they should step up their game, it's unacceptable to have to shoot at 9MP if you want a 16:9 photo.
Anyway the iPhone have a great camera but on the pixel count they should step up their game, it's unacceptable to have to shoot at 9MP if you want a 16:9 photo.
You're right! 4k60fps with 0.5x if I record in macro but at x1 the macro does not focus! It's very weird!
Oh darn, how terrible. Seeing as how I have to wait another MONTH for my Pro, send me yours please.I'll PM you my address. Thanks!
My 13Pro came in today and I did a quick comparison with my Pixel2 (essentially the same as the Pixel3). This isn't scientific as I don't have a phone tripod and framing is a little different (it does seem like the Pixel puts more pixels on target, which could account for some difference). To my eyes at least under these conditions (indoor artificial light), the 13Pro is slightly softer than the Pixel2. The difference isn't nearly as drastic as some examples shown with other conditions and subject distances. I would say this looks to me like possibly slightly lower resolving optics or possibly a stronger AA filter (do phones have AA filters?). The difference here could be made up with +10 on the capture sharpening slider in LR. More testing needed for sure.
Photos should be downloadable and exif intact. Included full jpeg and 100% crops. These are DNG files captured with the LR app in each phone, processed in LR Classic, zero sharpening, zero NR, zero export sharpening.
ETA: the sharpness discrepancy in these examples should absolutely not be an issue at display resolution and post starpening. Really hard to say what is going on overall. Will get out and play in the daylight tomorrow.
ETA2: Attached previews, hit the link for full res and 100% crop files.
Photos should be downloadable and exif intact. Included full jpeg and 100% crops. These are DNG files captured with the LR app in each phone, processed in LR Classic, zero sharpening, zero NR, zero export sharpening.
ETA: the sharpness discrepancy in these examples should absolutely not be an issue at display resolution and post starpening. Really hard to say what is going on overall. Will get out and play in the daylight tomorrow.
ETA2: Attached previews, hit the link for full res and 100% crop files.
Attachments
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I was checking some night shots I did today, I am starting to think it's a software issue.
Whatever AI filter they use to remove noise is too strong.
One video I have seen yesterday was pointing this out compared to iPhone 11 at night.
I suppose that to a much more limited extent this filter is also applied in shots with plenty of light, like the card one @dallegre has posted above, the pixel 2 photo has more noise while the iPhone 13 photo is softer.
Whatever AI filter they use to remove noise is too strong.
One video I have seen yesterday was pointing this out compared to iPhone 11 at night.
I suppose that to a much more limited extent this filter is also applied in shots with plenty of light, like the card one @dallegre has posted above, the pixel 2 photo has more noise while the iPhone 13 photo is softer.
The exposures are:
iPhone 13: 1/120, f/1.5, ISO 80
Pixel 2: 1/125, f/1.8, ISO 125
So there's the expected ISO bump due to the narrower aperture on the Pixel. The IMX362 of the Pixel holds up damn well.
What's baffling is that some of the worst iPhone13 "softness" examples are in broad daylight with grass/leaves. That would be more light than in the scene I used. Imo (at this point at least) the 13 is making weird decisions about which textures need smoothed and which edges need enhanced. Or maybe things just break down optically at longer subject distances.
It’s a design choice. They gave macro capabilities to the 0,5x lens so for some reason they decided the 1x didn’t need to
With Halide or Lightroom you can still go closer than what the stock camera app allows you though. But probably Apple stopped you before because close range quality isn’t the best. Again, for optical design reasons
I took a look at some of the photos I've taken yesterday night.
iOS camera uses a lot of post processing, making photos less sharp and giving a painted look.
With Halide I took a decent night photo with none of it (default settings, therefore with some AI post processing on)
I will take daily pictures today
iOS camera uses a lot of post processing, making photos less sharp and giving a painted look.
With Halide I took a decent night photo with none of it (default settings, therefore with some AI post processing on)
I will take daily pictures today
I've been following this thread and yesterday I was able to get my hands on a 13 Pro. I've been testing it against my 12 PM and honestly I can't see any difference. The post processing that Apple is doing to the JPEG/HEIC files is slightly different, but once you switch to ProRaw they look about the same.
Here's a comparison between the 13 Pro, 12 Pro Max and a full frame camera using the Sony 24mm GM (which is as sharp as it gets for this focal length). If anything, the 13 looks slightly sharper.
These are all ProRaw/Raw imported to Adobe Camera Raw with default settings and sharpness set to 0 (full size)
Edit: If anyone is interested, here is the comparison of the HEIC/JPEG files (full size)
You can download the full size JPEGs here:
drive.google.com
Here's a comparison between the 13 Pro, 12 Pro Max and a full frame camera using the Sony 24mm GM (which is as sharp as it gets for this focal length). If anything, the 13 looks slightly sharper.
These are all ProRaw/Raw imported to Adobe Camera Raw with default settings and sharpness set to 0 (full size)
Edit: If anyone is interested, here is the comparison of the HEIC/JPEG files (full size)
You can download the full size JPEGs here:
iPhone Camera - Google Drive
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I've been following this thread and yesterday I was able to get my hands on a 13 Pro. I've been testing it against my 12 PM and honestly I can't see any difference. The post processing that Apple is doing to the JPEG/HEIC files is slightly different, but once you switch to ProRaw they look about the same.
Here's a comparison between the 13 Pro, 12 Pro Max and a full frame camera using the Sony 24mm GM (which is as sharp as it gets for this focal length). If anything, the 13 looks slightly sharper.
These are all ProRaw/Raw imported to Adobe Camera Raw with default settings and sharpness set to 0 (full size)
View attachment 1860791
Edit: If anyone is interested, here is the comparison of the HEIC/JPEG files (full size)
View attachment 1860826
You can download the full size JPEGs here:
iPhone Camera - Google Drive
That's certainly an encouraging result. I was thinking about doing the same with the 24GM, but you beat me to it!
Honestly I'm struggling to notice anything in the pictures that have been posted so far. My mom has an iPhone 8 so I will get a chance to test it against the 13 Pro later today when I meet her. I will post more comparisons.
Even with mines? My examples are quite clear. The latest posted are comparable with my results (I didn't test against my full frame mirrorless camera, I could do that), and all demo units were like mine. Maybe the 8 is just sharper because of the smallest sensor and better depth of field, I don't know. But the results against the Pixel posted were posted and they're quite self explanatory... I mean the photos of my 13P are still nice even if not hyper sharp