Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

iPhone 4 camera is a step down

Noise? There is grain similar to film grain when at pixel level, but that's not noise.

Ever used film? Velvia must be a step down for those used to disposable cameras. 🙄
 
Darkfox3889 said:
Thanks for all the great participation in this thread so far.
You guys have already convinced me otherwise on the issue of grain.
With the examples I have provided, what are you thoughts?
Click to expand...

Given the examples you provided, I wonder if you might have a defective camera or something. They're definitely grossly oversaturated, but personally, I haven't experienced that at all with the camera in my iPhone 4, or at least nowhere near that extent.
 

Attachments

  • 255e0d20.jpg
    255e0d20.jpg
    115.6 KB · Views: 116
  • bf4948c2.jpg
    bf4948c2.jpg
    70.7 KB · Views: 90
  • eb1d1608.jpg
    eb1d1608.jpg
    81.2 KB · Views: 103
Here are three pics of my dog, Layla.
1) Outdoors
2) Indoors, decent light
3) Indoors, poor light
None were tap focused, and the last two were taken at really close range. I think this camera is pretty badass for a cell phone

8fca304f.jpg


d333dca2.jpg


39ff42e8.jpg
 
Step down? Hardly

These are by no means scientific tests but anyway...

All photos were resized to 640px on the tall end, no processing at all other than saving the d90 raw file as a jpeg.

4753866120_ea1e234e8b_o.jpg


4753226487_8d0ae225d0_o.jpg


4753866230_c8782a5fd4_o.jpg


4753226651_a99e0eb4d5_o.jpg


4753570859_5691b5cdc9_o.jpg


4753570945_f1bc051a62_o.jpg


4754211470_109cd3752a_b.jpg


The iP4 isn't really that much better than the pissy 3G, I was pretty surprised at the results. It's almost like the iP4 shoots photos at a higher ISO (because of the added grain and low light performance) and oversaturates them to fool people that the photos are "better" when they actually suck the same amount.

Conclusion: phones suck for photos. Buy a real camera
 
As a photographer the noise on the IP4 is expected. I'm not aware of the sensor size increasing while they have nearly doubled the MP from the 3Gs. Cramming almost twice as many pixels in the same space will lead to more noise, it is just a fact. This reality has lead many camera manufacturers to stope their pixel race. For example, Canon recently reduced the pixel count on his premier point & shoot in order to increase image quality. Even with the backlit sensor keeping the ISO (light sensitivity) lower there is probably increased noise at the same ISO due to the increased pixel count. It is just physics, no matter how advanced the pixels are only so many can be fit on a sensor before their very presence leads to image degradation.

As for the over saturation, I have not personally seen that. The 4 compared to my 3G is more saturated, and a bit more than I prefer, but I would not call it over saturated.
 
FamiliaPhoto said:
As a photographer the noise on the IP4 is expected. I'm not aware of the sensor size increasing while they have nearly doubled the MP from the 3Gs. Cramming almost twice as many pixels in the same space will lead to more noise, it is just a fact. This reality has lead many camera manufacturers to stope their pixel race. For example, Canon recently reduced the pixel count on his premier point & shoot in order to increase image quality. Even with the backlit sensor keeping the ISO (light sensitivity) lower there is probably increased noise at the same ISO due to the increased pixel count. It is just physics, no matter how advanced the pixels are only so many can be fit on a sensor before their very presence leads to image degradation.

As for the over saturation, I have not personally seen that. The 4 compared to my 3G is more saturated, and a bit more than I prefer, but I would not call it over saturated.
Click to expand...

Actually, I believe the sensor size did increase slightly. Or at least the pixel pitch on the new 5MP sensor is identical to that of the outgoing 3MP sensor.
 
odklizec said:
As for me, iPhone 4 camera is a clear improvement over the 3Gs. Yes, there is more noise visible. But there is also a hell lot of details preserved! My personal opinion is that Apple did a very good thing leaving the luminance noise (grain) intact and only suppress the color noise. Because color noise and smeared details due to heavy noise reduction are the two things that really kills the joy from the photography.

I have no doubt that the iPhone 4 photos would look visibly better (more detailed) if printed and compared with 3Gs photos. I was never a big fan of the mobile phone photography. But I love some of the iPhone photo editors and the results I can extract with them even from the lousy iPhone 3G camera. The photos I saw so far from the iPhone 4 made me really excited. Of course, iPhone 4 cannot beat my trustworthy GRDIII. But I can imagine a lot of fun with iPhone 4 camera and some very good results with proper processing.

Here are some photos I took with 3G and edited straight in the phone. They are maybe not everyone's taste. But if I managed these with lousy 2MP 3G, what could I do with 5MP iPhone 4? 😉
Click to expand...

What apps do you use to edit?!? Especially the first picture... It looks amazing!
 
No problem for meeeee!!!

I took these yesterday and I wasn't even trying to take a good picture either. I was walking. I have a pic that I took at night with the flash and it is perfectly acceptable. You guys must have busted cameras on your iPhones.

-netdoc66

123564136.jpg


123563723-4de7f150615360082839a7850fdfb0b0.4c2e2920-scaled.jpg


123562109.jpg
 
gloss said:
Actually, I believe the sensor size did increase slightly. Or at least the pixel pitch on the new 5MP sensor is identical to that of the outgoing 3MP sensor.
Click to expand...

I have not been able to find indication the sensor is bigger. In fact, the Apple Insider article below notes the same concern of more pixels in the same size space.

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/06/30/iphone_4_review_3_camera_photosvideos.html

Looking at the comparisons above I am convinced of two things which have changed, and perhaps they are IOS4 related more than IP4. The exposure metering is different. The IP4 appears to use a center weighted metering, much better for P&S type of shooting where the 3Gs appears to use averaged metering. Look at some of the above images and you will see the same background brighter in the IP4 compared to the 3Gs. This is from the metering being based on the center of the image which is usually the subject at hand. This is a guess and I do not know this for fact but look at some of the shot comparison in the review below and perhaps you might think as I do.

http://carrypad.com/2010/06/25/iphone-4-vs-iphone-3gs-camera-test-video-and-photos/

I also think Apple changed their white balance calcs, as someone previously mentioned. The IP4 does seem to go a bit to the yellow side when shooting indoors when using tungsten based light bulbs. Seems like it isn't quite compensating as well as it could for the color of the light. Again, just a guess and something that can be fixed with a software update.

Just some thoughts.
 
FamiliaPhoto said:
I have not been able to find indication the sensor is bigger. In fact, the Apple Insider article below notes the same concern of more pixels in the same size space.

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/06/30/iphone_4_review_3_camera_photosvideos.html

Looking at the comparisons above I am convinced of two things which have changed, and perhaps they are IOS4 related more than IP4. The exposure metering is different. The IP4 appears to use a center weighted metering, much better for P&S type of shooting where the 3Gs appears to use averaged metering. Look at some of the above images and you will see the same background brighter in the IP4 compared to the 3Gs. This is from the metering being based on the center of the image which is usually the subject at hand. This is a guess and I do not know this for fact but look at some of the shot comparison in the review below and perhaps you might think as I do.

http://carrypad.com/2010/06/25/iphone-4-vs-iphone-3gs-camera-test-video-and-photos/

I also think Apple changed their white balance calcs, as someone previously mentioned. The IP4 does seem to go a bit to the yellow side when shooting indoors when using tungsten. Seems like it isn't quite compensating as well as it could for the color of the light. Again, just a guess and something that can be fixed with a software update.

Just some thoughts.
Click to expand...

Here's Wired's article. They mention the larger sensor:

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/06/why-the-iphone-4-camera-is-so-good/
 
gloss said:
Here's Wired's article. They mention the larger sensor:

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/06/why-the-iphone-4-camera-is-so-good/
Click to expand...

Thanks, I have learned something new today which means the day has not been a loss. I'm serious, I appreciate the info.

I will have to spend the time to see how much bigger the sensor is than the 3Gs as the proportional increase would have to be somewhere in the range of 40% to keep the same pixel density. More stuff to do, more stuff to do.

In the end I think the IP4 camera is very good for what it is and so far I am pleased with what it can do. Honestly, my only wish is that it would shoot in a RAW format (digital negative) so things like white balance and such can easily be controlled for in post processing. I don't shoot in JPEG ever because I have never found a camera with acceptable processing algorithms. They always goof with my colors. But thats me, I'm probably the only person wanting that in a phone camera.

I'm strange that way.
 
this thread shows the Iphone 4 camera isn't that much better then a 3G or not even better then a EVO, and look how dead this thread got. Now If some bias website said the Iphone 4 camera was the **** this thread would be very active and approaching 15 pages already.
 
The camera seems pretty good overall (as in focuses fast, provides sharp defined images and gives a decent high iso for a phone), but the algorithms for processing the image are way off.

The white balance algorithms on the iPhone 4 stink and the colors are artificially saturated. They need some serious retuning. Or better yet... just give the user the option to tweak the camera processing.
 
Based on those two photos, the iP4's image is sharper. I have however noticed poor quality where others have gotten fabulous DSLR-like photos (non-enhanced) from their pics. I don't get it. None of my iP4 pics look as grand as touted.

I did realize though that the focus also white balances. So maybe that whitewashed one wasn't white balanced? Either way, I'd prefer the flat iP4 pic of those two since it's sharp and can be adjusted.
 
iPhone 4 camera

So I've read a handful of posts on this thread. I'm sorry, but I am indeed disappointed with the iPhone 4 camera. No matter what the conditions, the shots seem dark, grainy, and hazy. Under all circumstances, I have found the quality to be far inferior to my wife's Blackberry Bold camera, which is only 3 MP compared to 5 MP. I did a lot of reading before buying my regular camera, and clearly I will use that when I need good quality pictures. However, I was really hoping based on what I had heard that the iPhone would be a good option when I didn't have my regular camera on me.

Do people really think that there are some iPhones out there with a defective camera? Seems unlikely to me, but given the antenna issue, maybe the cameras are variable and some of the them perform differently than others (?)
 
Having a good quality camera on any smartphone is a plus.

But if you desire a high quality picture then please purchase a DSLR camera.
 
I hope they don't go with an 8MP sensor on the next iPhone. More noise > more in-camera processing = worse pictures.

5MP is plenty sufficient for a camera in a phone this thin. Any more would likely be a downgrade.
 
There is only one mobile phone with a better camera than the iPhone 4 right now and that is the Nokia N8. Beyond that you're looking into point & shoot territory.
 
I am quite happy with the ip4s camera, and while I didn't think the 3GS was horrible, I think the ip4s camera is much better, and worlds better than the evo camera. I'm not sure what evo the user above me had that took pictures that well, but all the ones I used were bad, very bad. I messed with my moms over Xmas, and i couldn't get it to take one good picture or video. Same thing with my friends droid and droid x.

This is a picture I took the day the iPhone 4 came out. I think the detail and coloring were very accurate.
456e185a.jpg


Another one I took outside during good lighting conditions
224bd10e.jpg


Outside on an overcast day
4e5cb0a4.jpg


Inside with garage lighting
68a6e9ce.jpg


Outside, good lighting, and pretty close to what I was shooting.
7cb531d1.jpg


It may not be the best camera in the world, but it's deffinatly decent, especially for what it is and step up from the 3GS (although I've taken nice pics with the 3GS. Like this one.

31d29c91.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back